Creating value: a sufficient way to eliminate waste in lean design and lean production

Waste elimination is a by-product of lean process, lean design and lean production management. Viewing it as the raison d’etre, focus or purpose for lean is itself wasteful. The paper shows how an alternative purpose—creating value for customers and end users—is likely to result in more effective waste elimination and lead to more satisfied customers. The second part of the paper outlines the creative process as described by Robert Fritz, views Last Planner® as a creative process, draws some lessons from that viewpoint and then examines the waste reduction processes inherent within the Last Planner System.