What is the hardest waste to remove?
Of the seven wastes defined in the Agile & Lean Glossary, defects is the waste that is hardest to reduce. Defects are the result of errors or mistakes. Mistakes happen. This can be truer when people are involved. Telling someone to make fewer of defects rarely accomplishes the intended result. Many times the extra pressure of trying not to make a mistake just leads to an increased numbers of mistakes. However, the other six forms of waste are relatively easy to reduce or eliminate. If someone is overproducing, the process can be changed to produce the value closer to when it is actually needed. If an underutilized process is reduced, then the cost of that process will be reduced.
