Newprt City Footbridge Business Process Waste - some good advice for businesses in Pontypridd and Rhondda.
9th September 2010
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Newport City Footbridge Business Process Waste  - some good advice for businesses in Pontypridd and Rhondda. by Deborah Rees, www.leansynergies.co.uk

 

This week I have watched in bemusement at the preparations for the Newport festival.  Why bemusement, you may wonder... Well in amongst the very worthy and worthwhile attractions the most visible as we head towards the festivities is a massive washing line with oversized clothes hanging from the Newport City footbridge which claims to be art. It has been very much a talking point as the staff gaze out of the window at the pink bra, the white Y fronts, T shirt and the other indeterminable clothing.

There is also a daily event whereby 2 men in high visibility jackets walk across the maintenance arm of the bridge dutifully unwrapping the clothes that have wound themselves around the line itself. Now most people just watch this out of the window as a change from routine; however with my process head on I see things very differently. Let’s assume that this is a very good idea, after all it is easy to criticise something that someone else has done, and instead, let’s just look at it in terms of process waste.

 

Using the 7 wastes, the daily maintenance of the washing can come under a couple of categories

a)      Defect /corrective actions- there was an error in design or implementation of the design which means that the display is defective. Reason? The purpose of design is unclear and the items cannot be identified no matter how hard you squint at the display from the window.

b)      Over-processing - the need to employ 2 men on a daily basis to re-do the work (untangle the washing), in plain English- a waste of time.

c)       Waste of intellect - the expertise of working at height is quite specialist and requires special training certificates. These men could have been utilised elsewhere.

d)      Waste of capital – the need to deploy the men daily means that there is a cost to the defective solution, in other words a waste of money

I am sure that if I thought long and hard about the other 3 wastes I could get some tenuous link under each heading!

There are a few very interesting attractions, however for me the washing line takes top prize a being the most talked about feature of the landscape and also headlines in the South Wales Argus. Sadly the display has now been taken now prior to it’s starring role this weekend.

 

If you need to investigate waste in your business, you can meet me in person at Llantrisant 4N on 3rd September for a free 10 minute consultation or you are invited to a 10 minute mini seminar on 1st October 2010 again at Llantrisant, (just e-mail back and I will obtain an invitation for you). Alternatively meet me for breakfast in The Blue Bell hotel in Neath on 8th October where I will be presenting an interactive session on how to spot the 7 wastes in a real life process and eliminate them to improve efficiency. Last but not least is The Lean Office Autumn program will be running in October and November in Cardiff and Bristol. For more details contact me directly or visit the website at www.leansynergies.co.uk

 

 

   Deborah Rees,

    MD, Lean Synergies

    T: 01443 445999

    M: 0797 0797 105

    www.leansynergies.co.uk

   SKYPE: lean.synergies           

 

 

 

 

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Team Pontypridd

Member since: 6th November 2009

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