DOWNTIME and the Eight Wastes

DOWNTIME and the Eight Wastes in Lean Manufacturing

Acronyms are powerful tools for remembering important concepts, objectives, and processes. In Lean manufacturing, one of the most effective acronyms is DOWNTIME, which represents the Eight Wastes. These wastes highlight the distinction between value added vs non-value added activities and provide a framework for process improvement.

The Eight Wastes: DOWNTIME Acronym

The term DOWNTIME serves as a memory aid to identify the eight

categories of waste that exist in any manufacturing or

service-oriented process:

Letter	Type of Waste	Description
D	Defects	Errors in products or services that require rework or result in customer dissatisfaction.
O	Overproduction	Producing more than needed or earlier than required, leading to excess inventory.
W	Waiting	Idle time when people, materials, or machines are waiting for the next step.
N	Non-Utilized Resources/Talent	Failing to use employees’ skills, creativity, and knowledge.
T	Transportation	Unnecessary movement of materials or products between processes.
I	Inventory	Excess raw materials, work-in-progress, or finished goods tying up capital.
M	Motion	Unnecessary movement of people or equipment within a process.
E	Excess Processing	Performing more work or using more resources than necessary.

These wastes collectively create delays, add costs, and reduce customer satisfaction—hence the fitting acronym DOWNTIME.

Value Added vs Non-Value Added Activities

In Lean manufacturing, every step in a process can be classified

into one of two categories:

• Value Added Activity (VA): Work that directly creates value for the customer—something they are willing to pay for.

• Non-Value Added Activity (NVA): Work that consumes time and resources but does not add value from the customer’s perspective.

Research shows that in many organizations, 60–80% of process steps are non-value added activities, meaning most of the time, money, and effort goes into things the customer does not value.

Why Eliminating the Eight Wastes Matters

When processes are filled with waste, the total lead time—the time it takes

to deliver a product or service—becomes much longer than necessary.

By identifying and eliminating the Eight Wastes, organizations can:

• Shorten lead times and deliver faster to customers.
  
  

• Lower operating costs by reducing rework, inventory, and delays.
  
  

• Increase capacity to handle more demand without adding resources.
  
  

Boost customer satisfaction by focusing on quality and value.

Embedding Lean Thinking into Company Culture

The DOWNTIME acronym is more than a teaching tool—it is a practical way to build

awareness of waste across teams.

Embedding Lean principles into company culture shifts

the mindset from traditional “keep busy”

work to one focused on continuous process improvement.

Leaders play a critical role in helping employees understand the difference between value added vs non-value added work and empowering them to reduce the wastes in their daily activities. When organizations invest in developing their people, the impact on efficiency, morale, and profitability can be profound.

Final Thoughts

The Eight Wastes of Lean manufacturing, remembered through the DOWNTIME acronym, highlight how much of our time is consumed by non-value added work. By applying Lean principles and focusing on process improvement, companies can reduce waste, respect their employees’ time, and deliver greater value to their customers—driving both growth and sustainability.

Lean Quote: Make Stress Your Friend

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"The best way to make decisions, is go after what it is that creates meaning in your life and then trust yourself to handle the stress that follows."   —  Kelly McGonigal

Kelly McGonigal, health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University, shares inspiring new research showing that stress may only negatively affect your health if you believe it will. Her 2013 TED talk, How to Make Stress Your Friend, is one of the 20 most viewed TED talks of all time, with over 20 million views. She shares strategies for stress reduction by reframing how you view stress and making stress your friend. You can reframe by turning it from a negative into a positive and using it to build resilience and connection to others.

To make stress your friend, according to Kelly McGonigal, you should view stress as a positive force that can help you handle challenges and connect with others. Focusing on the belief that stress is harmful can negatively impact your health. Instead, embrace stress as a signal that your body is preparing you to meet a challenge and that it can enhance your social connections. 

Here's key things people can do to make stress their friend:

1. Reframe Your View of Stress:

Instead of seeing stress as a negative, recognize that it's a natural human experience that can be a catalyst for growth and resilience. 

2. Understand the Benefits of Stress Hormones:

McGonigal highlights that stress hormones like oxytocin, which are often associated with the negative effects of stress, also promote social connection, empathy, and a desire to support others. 

3. Embrace Social Connection:

Stress can motivate you to reach out to others, seek support, and strengthen your relationships. 

4. Focus on Meaning:

Chasing meaning in life, even if it involves stress, is more beneficial for your health than avoiding discomfort, according to McGonigal. 

5. Trust Yourself:

Believe that you have the capacity to handle the stress you encounter, and don't be afraid to pursue activities that are meaningful to you, even if they involve challenges. 

By changing your mindset about stress and understanding its potential benefits, you can harness its power to build resilience, strengthen relationships, and live a more meaningful life, says McGonigal. 

The Real Impact of a Lack of Transparency

A lack of transparency can have significant negative impacts on individuals and organizations. It erodes trust, fuels suspicion, and can lead to poor decision-making and reduced productivity. In the workplace, it can create a toxic environment, while in business, it can lead to reputational damage and financial consequences.

Here's a more detailed look at the impact of a lack of transparency:

1. Unforced Errors: Miscommunication and misunderstandings about priorities and goals can lead to inefficiency, redundant tasks, missed opportunities, and teams working against each other.

2. Problems Fester: Without transparency, problems remain unresolved as their root causes go unnoticed, undiagnosed, and incorrectly addressed.

3. Resistance Grows: When team members aren't open about their ideas, concerns, or feedback, opportunities for improvement are missed, and overall progress stalls.

4. Silos Form: Lack of clarity can lead to conflicts between departments or teams, each vying for resources, priorities, or approaches, which hampers collaboration.

5. Feeling Left in the Dark: Unclear priorities or exclusion from crucial information can lead to mistakes and misunderstandings, making it hard to meet expectations.

6. Feeling Unappreciated: Exclusion from key conversations or not being given access to important information suggests that one's insights and involvement aren't valued.

7. Feeling Insecure: Unclear or absent communication can lead to second-guessing, stress, and a sense of disorientation, making individuals feel like mere cogs in the wheel, questioning their worth and the value of their contributions.

8. Reduced Employee Engagement: A lack of transparency can make employees feel undervalued and disengaged, impacting morale and productivity.

9. Poor Decision-Making: Without access to relevant information, employees may make poor decisions that negatively affect the organization.

10. Erosion of Trust: When employees lack access to information or feel decisions are made in secrecy, they are likely to distrust management and colleagues, leading to a breakdown in communication and collaboration.

In essence, transparency is crucial for building trust, fostering collaboration, and promoting ethical behavior in any context. Its absence can have far-reaching negative consequences.

I suppose no further convincing is needed. Each and everyone of these seven points is in itself already a sufficient reason to increase transparency. And together they express one simple message: be transparent.

Is there enough transparency in your organization?

Celebrating the Worker on Labor Day – A Lean Perspective

Labor Day, celebrated on the first Monday of September in the United States, honors the contributions and achievements of American workers. Established in the late 19th century, it became a federal holiday in 1894 as a tribute to the labor movement’s role in building the nation’s strength, prosperity, and well-being. While it often marks the unofficial end of summer, at its heart, Labor Day is about recognizing the value of the people who make work happen every day.

In Lean, we know that respect for people is not just a principle—it’s a foundation. The success of any process, system, or business depends on the creativity, dedication, and problem-solving of its employees. Labor Day is the perfect opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate that truth.

Ways to Recognize Employees This Labor Day
Here are a few ways organizations can connect the holiday’s meaning to their Lean culture:

1. Celebrate Achievements Publicly – Share recent improvement wins and highlight the people behind them. Recognize those who have gone the extra mile to remove waste, improve quality, or make work safer and easier.
2. Connect Improvements to Purpose – Remind employees how their daily efforts contribute to customer value, team success, and the organization’s mission. People are more engaged when they understand the “why” behind their work.
3. Encourage Reflection and Feedback – Use the holiday to invite employees to share ideas for improvement. This shows respect for their expertise and reinforces that their voice matters in shaping the future.
4. Make Appreciation Visible – Whether through a small gift, a handwritten note, or a recognition board, tangible signs of gratitude go a long way in reinforcing a culture of respect.
5. Empower and Invest – Commit to ongoing training, skills development, and providing the tools employees need to succeed. Continuous improvement thrives when people are given the resources to grow.

This Labor Day, let’s remember that Lean is about more than processes—it’s about people. By honoring the contributions of every worker and fostering an environment where they can thrive, we not only celebrate the holiday’s spirit but also strengthen our culture of continuous improvement all year long.

Lean Quote: Prisoner of the Past or Pioneer of the Future

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future."   —  Deepak Chopra

It’s unlikely that many of us would want our lives to look exactly the same in 10 years as it does today. Yet we often resist change rather than embrace it, bringing old responses to new situations. Embracing change requires courage, resiliency, insight and perspective.

Making a conscious decision to let go and free yourself is key. Without freedom from the past there really is no freedom to embrace the future. Here are some tips to help you let go of the past:

1.     Challenge yourself – Ask yourself a very fundamental question. How am I benefiting from the past activity. Once you clearly understand that it doesn’t serve you in any way it will help you detach yourself from it. Learn the lesson and more on.

2.     Don’t over analyze - Let’s face it: kicking the past around and living in the land of " What if?" is not only exhausting; but not helpful. Under no circumstances “should on yourself” If you hear yourself saying “should have”, “would have” or “could have” all you will do is make yourself feel disappointed and regretful.

3.     See mistakes as stepping stones - Some of the best and most precious lessons I have learnt in my life have come from my biggest mistakes and potential set backs not when everything was a walk in in the park. Remember you weren't born to be perfect you were born to be real and real people make mistakes, so learn the lesson and move on...!

Every day — every moment — is a new beginning, one in which we have the opportunity to think, feel and respond in new ways. We get to plant the seeds of who we are becoming and set new patterns of our choosing into motion. We also can choose to neglect ourselves to varying degrees and, on autopilot, keep recreating the past. For some it’s frightening to consider the power they have in their own lives.

Lean Roundup #195 – August, 2025

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of August 2025.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.   

 

Daily Management Walks – a Primer – Pascal Dennis talks about Daily Management Walks keep leaders connected to reality by seeing the work directly rather than relying only on reports. 

 

Einstein’s Favorite Mistake — and What It Teaches Us About Lean Thinking – Mark Graban says Einstein’s “biggest blunder” illustrates the danger of ignoring evidence and the importance of humility in Lean learning. 

 

What Makes Employees Actually Participate in Continuous Improvement Programs? - Danielle Yoon shares white paper that discusses employee buy-in, more than tools or processes, is the deciding factor in whether continuous improvement efforts succeed or fail. 

 

How to Make Improvements Stick in Your Organization - Alen Ganic shares tips to why sustaining improvements is harder than making them, requiring leadership commitment, accountability, and culture change. 

 

Turning Conflict into Growth: 7 Steps Every Emotionally Intelligent Leader Should Know – Ron Pereira says if handled well, conflict can spark creativity and stronger relationships, making it a vital leadership skill in Lean. 

 

The Digital Dark Age: Why Electronic Records Could Leave Future Archaeologists Empty-Handed – Kevin Meyer discusses how our digital age—seemingly the most documented period in human history—may paradoxically become the most invisible to future archaeologists. 

 

Ambidexterity – the Battles We Have to Win – Pascal Dennis says to thrive in today’s volatile world requires balancing operational excellence with innovation to avoid obsolescence. 

 

15 Unmeasurable System Conditions – Christopher Chapman says there are things you can’t measure with a KPI, yet are vital for determining the output quality of your organization’s products and services. 

 

Celebrating our Frontline Scapegoats – Bruce Hamilton shares a lighthearted tribute to frontline workers who too often bear the blame for systemic quality issues. 

 

Efficiency? What efficiency? – Jacob Stoller explains how siloed “efficiency” misses the mark—and why leaders should focus on system-wide productivity instead. 

 

What Are We Really Teaching in Frontline Jobs?  - Josh Howell explains that frontline jobs are more than entry-level work — they’re powerful training grounds for future leaders. 

 

Data is Good; Facts that Tell You What’s Actually Happening in Your Business Are Better - Eric Ethington says in product and process development, leaders must see facts, engage stakeholders, and design processes that reveal problems. Tools matter only when they serve people and process. 

 

Kaizen Alone Isn’t Enough: Why Leaders Must Fix the System for Real Improvement – Mark Graban explains true improvement requires leaders to address systemic barriers, not just rely on frontline kaizen.