Can You See the Signs?

摘要

Waste is at the heart of a lot of what we do in operations management. We teach our personnel to identify waste, understand why it is important, and determine ways to eliminate or reduce it. We teach them that waste is an evil because it represents an activity or product that consumes resources without generating any significant value or benefit. As a result, we have created a group of people who are fixated on waste. And while waste is important, it is not the real problem on which they should focus. Rather, it is a symptom indicating the presence of the underlying issue.