Why Eliminating Waste Alone Doesn’t Work: Understanding Muda, Muri, and Mura
- Lean Basics, Lean Definition
- April 15, 2026

Total Cycle Time is the actual time elapsed from when a customer expresses a need for a product until customer’s need is satisfied. It includes all the time spend by managers in directing the business, by office personnel in handling and processing the paperwork, by engineers in creating and developing new products and technologies, by
READ MORE
Many business leaders envision lean initiatives as massive endeavors that require long training sessions, big meetings, and complete overhauls. Yet the reality is that some of the most successful lean initiatives begin with a commitment to creating a culture that’s focused on small, continuous improvements. It’s the only way to achieve the long term company
READ MORE
When thinking Lean, you should always be thinking about waste. Each business potentially has 7 Deadly Wastes according to Lean thinking. The 7 wastes are:• Defects• Overproduction• Transportation of product• Waiting• Inventory• Motion of people• Processing Students participating in a education program at IDEXX Laboratories made a video to illustrate the 7 wastes. This video reminds me
READ MORE
A recent fortune cookie fortune reminded me of an important Lean lesson. The fortune says: “The best angle from which to approach any problem is the TRYangle.” I’ve learned at Wiremold, originating from Art Byrne, the fundamentals of trystorming. This method consists of, “Rapid cycles of real-time experimentation, used to test and adjust improvement ideas
READ MORE
Jidoka is very popular with the product quality inspectors, who check items at the end of the production process. That’s because Jidoka ensures that a defect is identified and corrected immediately and not at the end of the process. This, therefore, reduces the pressure on a process engineers relying on final inspection. So what happens
READ MORE
Courtesy of Lean.org There is no room for compromise in Lean when it comes to quality. Jidoka incorporates quality checks into every step of the production process by providing machines and operators the ability to detect when an abnormal condition has occurred and immediately stop work. This enables operations to build in quality at each
READ MORE


