What is control waste & variability waste?

 

What is control waste?

Definition:

Control waste is energy used for supervision or monitoring that does not produce sustainable, long term improvements in overall performance. 

A large part of traditional supervision and management interaction with employees is control waste

Example- 

A purchasing manager “walks the floor” through their department several times a day to “ see who is doing what”. It is assumed that people are doing their jobs if they are at their desks or are “looking bush”

 

What is variability waste?

Definition:

 Resources expended to compensate for and/or correct  outcomes that deviate from expected or typical outcomes create variability waste

Example- 

A customer expects, based upon prior experience, to receive a reimbursement cheque from his insurance company within four weeks of filling claim. 

When the cheque does not arrive in within four, the customer calls the claims department. 

The claims department must research the claim and the call the customer back. 

Over the next week, the customer calls several more times, initiating additional searches by personnel not familiar with the earlier calls.

 Because two of them are new employees and/or they do not fully understand the customer service data input system. Dozens of calls are made. 

The cheque was mailed only one week late due to a number of small, routine delays in the system. 

The customer receives the cheque before the claims department calls the customer to tell him that the check will arrive soon.