Mura

Mura, one of the three types of waste in the Toyota Production System, translates to "unevenness" or "inconsistency" in English. It refers to the irregularity in the flow of work, causing fluctuations in capacity and production. Identifying and removing Mura is essential for creating a steady work pace and optimizing resources.

One of the main causes of Mura is multitasking. When team members are constantly switching between tasks, they often lose focus and efficiency, leading to unevenness in the workflow. This results in longer lead times, increased inventory, and higher costs.

Another cause of Mura is overproduction. Producing more than what is needed, whether it's goods or services, creates an imbalance in the system and results in unnecessary inventory. This not only ties up valuable resources but also increases the risk of defects and rework.

To handle Mura, one must first understand the root cause of the unevenness. This can be done through value stream mapping, a tool that visually represents the flow of work and helps identify areas of waste. By analyzing the current state of the process, one can identify the steps that are causing Mura and implement solutions to eliminate them.

One effective solution is to implement a pull system, also known as "kanban" in Japanese. This system ensures that work is only produced when it is needed, eliminating overproduction and promoting a steady flow of work.

Another solution is to implement standard work. By standardizing the work process, team members are able to work consistently and efficiently, resulting in less Mura. This also helps in identifying and addressing any abnormalities that may occur in the process.

Additionally, involving the team members in problem-solving and continuous improvement activities can lead to increased ownership and accountability, leading to a reduction in Mura.

Implementing a pull system, standard work and involving team members in problem-solving and continuous improvement activities can help organizations to create a steady flow of work and optimize resources.

It's important to note that Mura is not a problem that can be solved once and for all. It's a continuous effort and requires constant monitoring and improvement. Regularly conducting value stream mapping and Gemba walks, where one goes to the place where the work is done to observe and understand the process, can help in identifying and addressing Mura.

In conclusion, Mura is a key concept in lean management and must be addressed to ensure a steady work pace and optimize resources. By understanding the root cause of Mura and implementing solutions such as pull systems, standard work, and involving team members in problem-solving and continuous improvement activities, organizations can achieve the goal of smooth and well-organized workflow.

Muri

Muri, a Japanese term meaning "unreasonable, impossible, or overburdened," refers to the excessive demands placed on resources, such as equipment and operators, which can lead to wear and production downtime. This traditional Japanese concept is often associated with overburden, unreasonableness, and absurdity. However, it can be eliminated through the implementation of standard work practices.

INTRODUCTION

Lean management aims to optimize resources and eliminate wasteful activities in the production process. However, many lean practitioners often focus solely on identifying and eliminating the 7 wastes, known as Muda, neglecting the importance of the other two M's: Mura and Muri.

Identifying and addressing Mura (unevenness) is essential for creating a steady work pace, but it is equally important to identify and address Muri, which is the overburden of resources in the organization's work system. By identifying Muri, organizations can analyze and optimize the capacity of their workforce.

Let's dive deeper into understanding what Muri is and its significance.

What does Muri stand for?

As a lean expert, it's important to understand the concept of Muri, which is a Japanese term meaning "overburden or unreasonable." It is one of the three types of waste (Muda, Mura, Muri) and a key element in the Toyota Production System.

Muri occurs when demands placed on a team exceed their capacity, leading to stress and decreased productivity and efficiency. This can also result in extra working hours and occupational burnouts, negatively impacting team morale and the overall health of the work process.

To avoid this, it's important to be mindful of the workload and to strive for balance at the optimal capacity, where all parts of the system are able to deliver results without the need for extra work. It's also essential to understand the root causes of Muri in order to effectively address it.

What can Muri cause?

It's important to be aware that overburdening teams can occur without conscious intent. Setting unrealistic deadlines, for example, can lead team members to rush their work and result in poor quality and decreased customer satisfaction.

For instance, if a designer is asked to create twice the number of images they are capable of producing within a certain timeframe, it's likely that the final output will not be of the highest quality.

This analogy can be applied to an assembly line as well, where rushing the process can increase the likelihood of low-quality products being delivered to customers. There are various reasons that can contribute to creating Muri and it's important to identify and address them to maintain a smooth and efficient workflow.

Over-demanding

One of the most apparent causes of Muri is over-demanding, where higher management places excessive workloads on teams with the belief that more inputs will result in more outputs.

However, this often leads to a rising number of pending tasks and can cause chaos and burnouts among the team members. This over-demanding behavior is commonly seen in the contemporary business world, it is important for management to be aware of the consequences of overburdening the team, and to instead aim for a balance between inputs and outputs.

Lack of training

The lack of proper training can lead to inefficiencies and the prolonging of tasks. For example, if a team member is not properly trained for a specific task, they may take longer to complete it than necessary.

For instance, if an individual is trained as a copywriter but is assigned tasks of a designer, they may require twice as much time to produce high-quality images as compared to a regular designer who is properly trained for that role.

This highlights the importance of providing proper training and ensuring team members are equipped with the necessary skills to perform their roles effectively, which can help prevent Muri and optimize the workflow.

Lack of communication

Effective communication is crucial for the success of any team. To avoid overburdening, it is essential to establish clear communication channels and practices.

For example, if a meeting with team members is held and a decision is made to create 10 new landing pages for a website, it is important that all team members are informed and aware of the project, including the expected deadline.

Failure to do so, such as in the scenario where a designer is not informed until the last day before the deadline, can lead to overburdening and negative consequences of Muri due to miscommunication. Clear communication can prevent such situations and help teams work efficiently and effectively.

Lack of proper tools and equipment

When the necessary tools and resources are absent, the occurrence of Muri becomes evident and unavoidable. For example, if certain developers are given new computers while others are still using outdated equipment, the latter group will experience overburdening as they will require more time to complete their tasks.

Muri can be caused by various factors, it's important to keep in mind that managing and addressing all of them is crucial in order to maintain a stable and efficient workflow.

To effectively deal with Muri, it's important to identify and understand the root causes, and develop strategies to address them. This may include providing proper tools and resources, implementing clear communication channels, and providing adequate training to ensure that teams have the necessary skills to perform their roles effectively.

Different ways to deal with Muri

Lean management offers various techniques and strategies that can assist in minimizing the negative impact of overburdening or eliminating it altogether.

Map your team’s workflow

A useful starting point in identifying and addressing Muri is to map out your team's workflow. One tool that can aid in this process is a Kanban board, which visually displays the various stages of the workflow and allows for an understanding of your team's capacity and where value is added.

Next, implementing work-in-progress limits for each stage of the workflow can ensure that team members are not juggling multiple tasks at once, but are focusing on completing one task before moving on to the next. This helps to create an efficient pull system, which leads to better organization and prevents overburdening.

When dealing with multiple teams whose work is interdependent, it is important to also implement WIP limits on a global level. For example, if team A is responsible for developing new features for a software service and team B is responsible for deploying those features, but team A is delivering new features faster than team B can deploy them, team B will be constantly overburdened. To avoid this, team A must ensure that team B has the capacity to handle new features before starting work on them. This may mean that team A may have to wait, but it is better to have one team blocked than have the entire company impacted.

Standardize your process

Another approach to addressing Muri is through the implementation of standardization. By documenting all processes and providing thorough training to team members, you can ensure that everyone is equipped to complete their tasks in an efficient and effective manner. This promotes clear communication and helps to eliminate misunderstandings, which can contribute to overburden.

Practice Jidoka

Another Lean management technique that can be used to address Muri is Jidoka. This practice empowers team members to halt the work process if an issue arises, and requires the problem to be resolved before the process can continue. This helps to establish built-in quality standards and prevent the need for rework.

Furthermore, regularly conducting Gemba walks, which involve physically going to the work area to observe and understand what is happening, can also provide insight into where Muri is occurring and how it can be addressed.

In a nutshell

Many businesses unknowingly put excessive demands on their staff, known as Muri in Japanese. This can lead to decreased efficiency and wasted resources, impacting profitability. To address Muri, it is important to:

• Provide proper training and necessary tools and equipment to teams

• Establish clear communication channels and protocols

• Implement standard procedures within the organization

Implementation of 5S

If you want the short version just go here. Otherwise we will deep dive in this article on how to implement the 5S methodology in your organization. We will simply follow the 5 Steps and explain the topics.

1st S SEIRI = Sort out all unnecessary objects

• Unnecessary objects are all objects that are not needed for the current manufacturing processes (production, logistics, quality, and administration, etc.), that means, defective parts, unused material, material that has been written-off, all spare parts, non-utilized tables and so on

• Determine in advance, what is truly needed. This is helpful when dealing with statements such as: “That still can be used“, “That should be useful for something,“ etc.

• Remove all redundant objects or at least visually mark them so that everybody is aware that they are to be disposed of

• Unused objects should be concentrated in one marked closed area. The decision about those that can not be immediately liquidated, as whether to dispose of them, should be made by the person responsible within 2 weeks

Target: At the workplace are only objects essential for the current work in progress.

Red Tag Campaign

• Ask three questions for each separate object:

  • Is this object useful?

  • How many of these objects do we need?

  • Where should this object be stored?

• Don‘t support others in searching for excuses. Be fair – mark objects that should be removed in all divisions of the company

• Don‘t compromise! When in doubt - the rule applies: Get rid of it!

• If there are suggestions for improvement of the current manufacturing process, it is possible to “red tag“ even objects still in use

• Make sure that everybody understands what should be marked and why

Course of action and rules for the “Red Tag Campaign”

• Write on the tag why the marked object is not needed (Example: Surplus packing boxes; parts stored in boxes are not used any more)

• Contact Information about the person who made the decision that the object is superfluous (name and department)

• The person responsible for the object will be informed and their name will be entered on the “Red Tag”, and along with the agreed-upon date of removal (maximum 3 days), the action should be recorded (Example: The employee who recognized that the boxes are not used anymore, will inform the warehouse attendant and will appeal to him to verify if they are really not of use anymore. If it will be discovered that the object is still in use, the “Red Tag” will be removed. (For instance: The warehouse manager finds out that the boxes will be used to store other parts very soon)

• If the object will be classified among the superfluous, it must be removed within three days by the person who has the responsibility for this area. (For instance: Redundant storage boxes - person responsible for the warehouse). Afterwards the “Red Tag” can be liquidated

• Objects can be “Red Tagged” only in working areas of ones responsibility. The Shift Leader can issue “Red Tags” in the entire area they are responsible for

The “Red Tag” will be filled out by hand and attached to the unwanted object.

Examples of unwanted objects:

1 Defective products

• Faulty parts

• Rejects

2 Unnecessary objects

• Unused empty packaging

• Personal objects (on undefined places)

• Unneeded assembly sets

• Unused material (remaining bundles)

• Unused tools, auxiliary and production material

• Inventory no longer being used

• Surplus of manufactured components

2nd S SEITON = Clean-up and correct arrangement of needed objects

• After the removal of all unnecessary objects, remove all uncleanness, as new organization of areas for laying down objects or their storage can start only after everything is clean

• Each machine and each tool must have its designated place.

• Thoroughly deliberate about where you will store material, tools, and equipment

• Use colored markings (for instance stickers) to designate areas, cabinets, shelves, cupboards with shelves, important places, direction of work procedures, etc.

• With each object ask three key questions: Where? What? How many?

• Permanent storage of objects in

Targets:

• A place for each object and each object in its place

• Visual control and expedient detection of deviations

• Proper storage of all needed objects in the right place. These objects can then be found and used whenever needed

• Every thing has its own place and after its use is always returned to its place!

Think about color markings on the floor e.g.:

• Yellow = transportation zone

• White = raw material

• Green = finished goods

• Red = closed area/NOK parts

3rd S SEISO = Keeping the workplace tidy so as to achieve the already established standards through 5S

The purpose of the cleaning action is to remove all contamination from the workplace and to maintain it in order.

• For this purpose a cleaning schedule will be formulated that will determine what is to be cleaned, with what, and by whom

• If you discover any shortcomings or abnormalities during the cleaning process – mark them down

• All employees of the workplace / work area will participate in the cleaning process

• Keep records of the cleaning process, display visually “Red Tags,” as well as the clean-up time schedule of your workplace. Display results

• Define responsibilities with consideration even to the smallest work sections

• Be effective. Even a five-minute cleansing action can achieve a lot

Targets:

• Cleaner and safer workplace

• Achieving the already established standards

Cleanliness

• Cleanliness at the workplace must be observed, because a clean workplace is essential towards quality and safety at work

• If the workplace is not dirty it is not necessary to clean it

• Any kind of uncleanness and any kind of untidiness will be visible thanks to the initiation of a regular cleaning process – for instance, dusting, sweeping, and waste disposal

• Continuous usage of equipment

• Removal of all uncleanness and untidiness

• Prevention of working accidents

• Cleanliness means controlling, which implies that when cleaning a certain workplace, also check the state of the machinery, equipment, and working conditions

4th S SEIKETSU – Establishing regulations for work standards

SEIKETSU has the greatest importance of all 5S Steps.

• With this 5S Step the main focus is on three aspects:

1. No unnecessary objects

2. No messiness and

3. No uncleanliness

• Visual control is the first step towards discipline. The ideal workplace is that with which any eventual problems can be detected at first glance – any corrective measures can be immediately implemented

• Use control lists to control the 5S standard and to identify deviations from the defined 5S standards

• Conduct 5S audits with consideration to the situation on the individual work place. Attempt to identify deviations from the 5S standards

• Ask yourself “follow-up questions”, as for instance: Has the mess been cleaned up immediately? Is it clear who is supposed to do the job? Can the clean-up be done quickly? - and others

Targets:

• Securing the adherence to the 5S Standards

• Increasing the team responsibility on the work place

• Schedule of everyday clean-up

5th S SHITSUKE – Adherence to the Work standards and continuous improvement

• Discipline, namely, adherence to work standards is basically a question of personal attitude. For it to be easier, various teaching aids are used, e.g. Courses of the 5S Basics

• Use photographs, single-topic lectures, video-programs and presentations

• Constructive criticism is the foundation for proper 5S training

• Take pictures to document the status quo before and after

• The Team Leader functions as an example to the team. During his work he should focus on the goals of 5S, he should strive for a continuous improvement of quality and in this direction aim his training activity also

• Define together the measures for improvement and how to realize them.

• Regulations are better than criticism and a system is better than regulations

Targets:

• Promotion of this know-how in the entire company from top-to-bottom

• Well-organized work places that require only the minimum attention

The 3 MU

In the lean world it is all about “WASTE ATTACK” > eliminate the 3 MUs. It is the bottom line of all KAIZEN and Lean activities. The 3 Mu come from the Japanese words muri, mura and muda. Muda is the most known as it describes waste and we discuss the 7 kinds of waste in the TIMWOOD article. Just to give you a hint TIMWOOD stand for: transport, inventory, motion, over production, over processing and defective parts. These kinds of waste are easily visible by observing manufacturing processes. It gets a little bit trickier if we talk about the other 2 Mu. Muda you get a straight forward feeling, mura and muri are more hidden. 

The best way to explain muri is that you are over stressing a system or process. If you e.g. use a forklift that has a maximum of 500kg and you are transporting 1 ton. Your forklift won’t last long. You are either overstressing or trying to do something that can’t be done. The result of it will be a loss in performance.

Mura is unevenness or variation of processes most of the time a result from muri. You can also compare it in administrative work, if you have too little or too much to do. To stick with the example of the forklift, mura would be having only 200kg to load on the forklift on one transportation and on the next route 1.400kg. The result of this variation may be that you try to load 700kg on each route even this is exceeding the max load. The result of it will be that you have breakdowns, defects, excessive motion and other wastes. In all lean management, whether it is manufacturing, logistics, healthcare or knowledge transfer focuses on getting rid of muri, mura and muda in order to improve performance. If you want to get rid of waste in a sustainable way, you have to go upstream and start looking at how products, services or the work itself is designed. You need Value Designing and Value Engineering in the widest sense of the lean terms.

A simple and easy way to make things visible is the classic GEMBA walk – go to the production and see what crime your designers and engineers have committed. Go Gemba helps you to identify and eliminate wasteful steps in assembly and set preventive measures such as Poka Yoke devices to ensure conformity of your products. If we think of designing work itself we want to achieve a continuous and smooth stream of activities. Having this in mind always helps us to redesign processes, get rid of rework, delays or overengineered process steps. Value Stream Mapping as it is done today and redesigning it to focus on fast, high quality hands-off will result in reduced costs and time to market lead times.

MURI in terms of the designing phase will be visible in the need of long working hours to meet the schedule. You will see that it also comes from MURA because the workload itself is not levelled. Who hasn’t been in the situation that you have a design release and suddenly you are twice as busy as before. In the end MURI and MURA leads to MUDA when we start making failures under the pressure of time, when we start releasing before everything has been fully tested or checked.

In the designing phase or let’s say in the creative phase it is typically hard for employees to judge what is waste and what not. It starts with unclear requirements from the customer, but yes some work needs to be done anyway. That’s one point and another one is the mainstream mindset that design is 100% creative and can’t be standardized or quantified. We all heard about Pareto which tells as that 80% of a project are carry over parts and 20% are individual solutions for the specific project.

Lean Design is more a mental rather than a technical challenge.

Carrying on with the example of lean product development, the focus should be to streamline the routine and repetitive work packages so that there is more time for the individual, creative, value-adding part of the project. To clean out your process standardization of items, design elements, documentation, software used and the wiki of Lessons Learned from other projects are just some methods to apply basic lean principles in the development process.

If you think about decentralization of organizations with a global presence, design teams usually suffer from inefficient processes and inadequate design review meetings. Think about standardization as an organization wide language to communicate. If everybody talks the same language you have transparency which rewards you with more time for the creative part.

Considering the cost of delays in time to market, troubleshooting during launch phase and failure occurrence in the field, the design team should think about the rule of ten according costs of failure.
Lean management is based on continuous improvements (kaizen) based on standards and lean design is no different.