From the course: Improve Communication Using Lean Thinking

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Three sources of waste: Muri, mura, and muda

Three sources of waste: Muri, mura, and muda

From the course: Improve Communication Using Lean Thinking

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Three sources of waste: Muri, mura, and muda

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- One of the objectives of Lean is to drive waste out of processes. To help embed this objective and raise awareness, Toyota has classified waste into three types. MURA, unevenness or inconsistency. MURI, overburden. And MUDA, waste. Let's look at these through the lens of the communication process, where the goal is to achieve a common understanding with a Right the First Time mindset. Think of the concept of MURA in a matrix organization, where communication flows vertically and horizontally at the same time. Often, in such cases, instructions are sent from vertical stakeholders, which might be aligned with shareholders, but misaligned with the horizontal process owners that serve the end customer. Thus, the information is inconsistent. I've worked in organizations where the headquarters are in another country. MURA often occurred when messages from headquarters were inconsistent with the ones communicated…

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