Unit‐level activities occur every time a service is performed or a product is made. The costs of direct materials, direct labor, and machine maintenance are examples of unit‐level activities. Batch‐level activities are costs incurred every time a group (batch) of units is produced or a series of steps is performed.

Which of the following is an example of a nonvalue-added activity? R&D.

Product-level activities. These activities relate to specific products and must be carried out regardless of how many batches or units of product are produced or sold. For example, designing a product, advertising a product, and maintaining a product manager and staff are all product-level activities.

Examples of non-value-added activities in service enterprises might include taking appointments, reception, bookkeeping, billing, traveling, ordering supplies, advertising, cleaning, and computer repair.

On the shop floor, Value Added Activities are those that transform the product from raw material into finished goods that the customer is willing to pay for. Examples might include drilling, piercing or welding a part.

A value-added activity is any action taken that increases the benefit of a good or service to a customer. A business can vastly increase its profitability by recognizing which activities increase value and which do not, and stripping away the non value-added activities.

Value Added Activities must satisfy the following three criteria:

1. Work that the customer is willing to pay for.
2. Work that physically transforms the product (or document/information)
3. Work that is done right the first time.

For something to be add value, three things must happen: The step must change the form or function of the product or service. The customer must be willing to pay for the change. The step must be performed correctly the first time.

The 8 wastes of lean manufacturing include:

• Defects. Defects impact time, money, resources and customer satisfaction.
• Excess Processing. Excess processing is a sign of a poorly designed process.
• Overproduction.
• Waiting.
• Inventory.
• Transportation.
• Motion.
• Non-Utilized Talent.

Under the lean manufacturing system, seven wastes are identified: overproduction, inventory, motion, defects, over-processing, waiting, and transport.

The seven wastes are Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Overproduction, Overprocessing and Defects. They are often referred to by the acronym ‘TIMWOOD’.

The 8 Types of Waste

• Transportation.
• Inventory.
• Motion.
• Waiting.
• Overprocessing / Extra Processing.
• Overproduction.
• Defects.
• Skills Underutilized / Non-Utilized Talent.

The acronym for the eight wastes is DOWNTIME….The 8 deadly lean wastes – DOWNTIME

• Defects.
• Overproduction.
• Waiting.
• Not utilizing talent.
• Transportation.
• Inventory excess.
• Motion waste.
• Excess processing.

According to Lean Six Sigma, the 7 Wastes are Inventory, Motion, Over-Processing, Overproduction, Waiting, Transport, and Defects.

Muda translates roughly as waste, and refers to the inefficiencies within processes which you can seek to reduce or eliminate entirely. In effect, lean declares war on waste – any waste. Waste or muda is anything that does not have value or does not add value. Waste is something the customer will not pay for.

In Japanese, the five S’s are Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke. In English, the five S’s are translated as Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain.

Muda, muri and mura are called “the three M’s.” Together they form a dissonant triad. All three M’s must be eliminated to create a sustainable lean process.

Examples of common special wastes include petroleum-contaminated soil, asbestos, stabilized grit & bar screenings, absorbent booms, and pads, liquids, pit sludge, baghouse dusts , dried paint filters, biosolids, grease/scum waste, or any other hard-to-handle material that is not considered hazardous under RCRA.

Waste can be classified into five types of waste which is all commonly found around the house. These include liquid waste, solid rubbish, organic waste, recyclable rubbish and hazardous waste. Make sure that you segregate your waste into these different types to ensure proper waste removal.

Two main waste categories can be established based on the distinct legislation and policy instruments usually in place: non-hazardous or solid waste; and hazardous waste. Such a classification is also used in the Basel Convention.

Classifying waste is a very important exercise for any waste producer willing to comply with their legal duty of care and to avoid potential fines. Despite the best effort to manage resources efficiently and sustainably, it is still possible to produce waste that must be disposed.

A breakdown of solid waste types and sources is provided in Table 8.1. For the purposes of this review these sources are defined as giving rise to four major categories of waste: municipal solid waste, industrial waste, agricultural waste and hazardous waste.

Careful and robust classification of waste materials is important given the strict controls required for storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous waste, in addition to the higher costs involved compared with other waste types. It is also important to ensure that wastes are disposed of in the correct landfill sites.

There is usually a lot of paper, glass, metals, and plastics in waste. A large part of this waste is discarded packaging. Household waste may also include toxic materials such as paint, batteries, plastic diapers (nappies), motor oil, and old pesticides and cleaning product containers.

Type 1 is the necessary but non value adding waste. This is where from a business perspective we do it to meet regulations, cannot afford to duplicate, such as pharmacies on every floor of a hospital, photocopiers, faxes and printers on every desk etc.

Lean asserts there are three types of waste:

• Mura, or unevenness: waste due to fluctuations in demand.
• Muri, or overburden: waste due to trying to do too much at once.
• Muda, or in-process waste: the traditional target of “process improvement,” e.g. having 5 steps in your process when only 2 are needed.

When categorizing hazardous waste, the EPA breaks it down by four characteristics:

1. ignitability, or something flammable.
2. corrosivity, or something that can rust or decompose.
3. reactivity, or something explosive.
4. toxicity, or something poisonous.

Infectious waste: waste contaminated with blood and other bodily fluids (e.g. from discarded diagnostic samples),cultures and stocks of infectious agents from laboratory work (e.g. waste from autopsies and infected animals from laboratories), or waste from patients with infections (e.g. swabs, bandages and disposable …

Solid wastes may also be deemed a source of infectious or biohazardous waste and include items such as IV equipment tubing, suction canisters, surgical gloves, personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as wound dressings, which may contain blood or bodily fluids that are “pourable, drinkable, squeezable, or flakable …