Last week, I learned a new acronym for remembering the 7 deadly wastes of manufacturing, WORMPIT. It certainly provides a more vivid image of “deadly” wastes than the acronym TIM WOOD, wouldn’t you agree?
Waiting
Over Production
Rework (defects)
Motion
Processing (over or excess)
Inventory
Transportation
Worms have long been a symbol of decay and death. In nature, worms are attracted to decaying organic matter and dead vegetation. If the environment is also dark and damp, you don’t have to wait long and soon the worms will appear.
Using WORMPIT to help describe 7 deadly wastes may bring to our minds many images of something dead. Our businesses will most certainly face the same fate where wastes are allowed to exist in our processes.
If our business processes are full of waste, don’t allow it to become a WORMPIT. We should change the environment, by shining a bright light on all our problems. We must look for all the wastes and work to remove them every day. To begin, “all you need to do is follow the worms”.*
*(Lyrics from “Waiting for the Worms” by Pink Floyd – Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3).
That is a good one Mike. I still like the acronym for the eight wastes DOWNTIME.
ReplyDeleteDefects
Over production
Waiting
Non-utilized talent/resources
Transportation
Inventory
Motion
Excess Processing
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Tim. I can now add DOWNTIME to my list of new acronyms. I like it too. It does make me curious what other acronyms for the wastes are out there and other ways it is taught.
ReplyDeleteAnother one is UWITDMOP, as in "Hey, You Wit' Da Mop":
ReplyDeleteUnused Human Talent
Waiting
Inventory
Transportation
Defects
Motion
Overproduction
Processing
This is a new one for me. A very fitting acronym indeed.
ReplyDeleteYou could think of a worm pit not as a place of death and decay but rather renewal, since works convert waste into energy and also into fertile soil, which leads to more growth. Waste is bad, wa orm pit is good!
ReplyDeleteIm with jon on this one. Worms recycle nutrients and aerate the soil.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the positive role worms contribute to our environment. Perhaps we could view it that worms themselves are not waste but are drawn to the wastes. With a large number of worms present (ie wormpit), we will find plenty of waste.
ReplyDeleteOur company added an additional letter to arrive at TIM WOODY, where Y = Your unused ideas.
ReplyDeleteMike,
ReplyDeleteI used the WORMPIT acronym 4 or 5 years ago with a major truck manufacturer. We had posters, t-shirts, etc. Was curious where you heard of the acronym?
Hey Jeff,
ReplyDeleteIt was from one of our new directors at Batesville but
I don't know where he got it from.
Mike