Make the problem surface!

I have been trying how to create some sense of urgency that our spare part store need to be more organized. So I decide to kick off 5S and lay down all the "waiting for decision" items near where people walk by everyday including the management with message "The leader is the person who suppose to make a decision"! Part of this I call it "make the problem surface" because it is this problem which always hide in the store where people get use to it and can not see it as the problem anymore.

Air Travel Value Stream Mapping

I had listened to James P. Wormack about his "Lean Thinking Audio Book". He mention about the air line industry which is trying to do the opposite way of lean way by trying to introduce a lot like executive lounge etc. This is according to value stream mapping, it is "Muda" because passengers only wish to travel from point A to point B at reasonable price. This is consider the only value added from the point of view of customers. It is true that most of the time spent during air travel is waiting which is "MUDA"

I spent total 8 hrs from my airport in my country Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Surabaya, Indonesia. The actual duration I seat in the plane is roughly 4hrs. So the actual value added is only 4 hrs! The rest of 4hrs was spent on waiting and change over, the plane. James P. Womack also mention that the "type 1 muda" is not avoidable while "type 2 muda" is avoidable therefore must be eliminate immediately. So, I guess my travel experience is type 1 muda, waiting which can't be eliminate at this time but at least reducing! So waiting…

Here we go, Life is waiting. If waiting is not avoidable! How can we make passengers feel not like waiting at all? I remember an article from Donald Norman in his MIT published article "Designing Wait that Work". That is probably why so many thing inside the airport like Changi International Airport of Singapore of course if you feel like go shopping. This is probably why there is an exec lounge in the airport and some other entertainment.

My view on "Muda/Waste" is it is always co-exist and should always not worry about it but rather look at it as an opportunity to create wealth by "eliminate" or "reduce". Let's admire ourselves that we are able to see it!