A waste walk is a simple and fantastic way to identify improvement opportunities in your organization and engage your team. We’ve built this function directly into PDCA Complete as we know just how powerful this tool can be.
In this post, I’m going to share with you a few steps that supplement our help page on waste walking. I want you to be able to can carry out a live waste walk with your team.
Create a waste walk
Within PDCA Complete, create a new waste walk record. Give it a name, add your team and any other details that are pertinent.
Pick a route
Agree with your team exactly where you are going to go, who you are going to see and which points you are going to stop at. If there are any particular points of interest, include them in your itinerary.
Load up your tablet
Log into PDCA Complete via your tablet, and navigate to your waste walk.
Capture the wastes
Start the walk and as your team spot issues that need to be resolved, add them directly into PDCA Complete. Using a tablet is a great way to do this, as you carry out your walk. No more taking notes and then writing them back up in the office.
Agree and assign the tasks during your walk
From the finding, add the necessary task(s) to deal with the waste found. Ensure that you agree deadlines and responsibilities there and then.
Complete the walk and discuss any key points that came up during the walk.
Manage via My Tasks
Using the My Tasks page, deal with your tasks as you would do with any other tasks. Don’t forget to add notes to the tasks if you need help from stakeholders, or need to capture information whilst you close out that task.
Follow up meeting (if required)
If you haven’t seen enough action, arrange a follow up meeting. You can access the waste walk record and review the tasks by clicking on the briefcase icon.
Alternatively, add a note to the outstanding tasks and avoid the need for a meeting. This will send the assignee an email, as a gentle prompt of course!
Free account
If you haven’t already started using PDCA Complete, sign up for your free account today. You can add two further team members and start using tools like the Waste Walk today.
You can upgrade at any time. Full pricing information can be found here.
In the meantime, enjoy waste walking with your team.
