Guide · Lean & OpEx · 5 min read
Muda, Mura, Muri: The Three Wastes of Lean
The three losses that erode efficiency in Lean thinking: waste (Muda), unevenness (Mura) and overburden (Muri).
The three losses
Muda is any non-value-adding activity (waiting, transport, excess inventory, defects…). Mura is unevenness/fluctuation in the workload. Muri is overburdening people or machines beyond capacity. They feed each other: Mura often causes Muri, and Muri causes Muda.
How to reduce them
First make the flow visible (Value Stream Mapping), reduce unevenness with leveling (heijunka), and balance overburden with standard work and capacity planning. Then eliminate remaining waste step by step with 5S, SMED and TPM.
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