Lean Wastes & Tools

The eight wastes of Lean are commonly remembered by the acronym DOWNTIME. What does the 'D' stand for?

• A Downtime
• B Defects ✓
• C Distance
• D Delay

Answer: In the DOWNTIME mnemonic the 'D' stands for Defects, which is work that contains errors and must be reworked or scrapped.

In the DOWNTIME acronym for the eight wastes, what does the 'T' that follows 'N' represent?

• A Timing
• B Transportation ✓
• C Teamwork
• D Throughput

Answer: The first 'T' in DOWNTIME stands for Transportation, the unnecessary movement of materials or products between steps.

A Pareto chart is most useful for:

• A Identifying the 'vital few' causes that account for most of the problem ✓
• B Mapping the flow of materials through a factory
• C Displaying the correlation between two variables
• D Showing how a process changes over time

Answer: A Pareto chart ranks causes by frequency or impact, helping teams focus on the vital few that drive most of the problem (the 80/20 principle).

The fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram is primarily used to:

• A Schedule project milestones
• B Measure customer satisfaction scores
• C Track project budget
• D Brainstorm and organise potential causes of a problem ✓

Answer: The fishbone or Ishikawa diagram is a cause-and-effect tool used to brainstorm and group the potential root causes of a problem.

Which of the following is an example of the waste of 'Overproduction'?

• A Searching for a misplaced tool
• B Waiting for a machine to warm up
• C Producing reports before anyone needs them ✓
• D A scratch on a finished part

Answer: Overproduction means making more, or making it sooner, than the customer needs, such as producing reports before they are required.

Which waste in the DOWNTIME mnemonic refers to people or equipment standing idle?

• A Inventory
• B Overprocessing
• C Motion
• D Waiting ✓

Answer: The 'W' in DOWNTIME represents idle time when people, materials, or equipment are not actively progressing the work.