Does everything have to be under control, or how to eliminate waste in companies
Every company wastes time, money and energy on tasks that do not create value. The question is not “if” it is making losses, but “how much” has been wasted. Identifying wastes is just the beginning. The real challenge is to eliminate them – and to do so in such a way that the changes are accepted by employees, not imposed from above.
Why doesn’t traditional control eliminate waste?
The history of management knows many approaches to combating inefficiency. The most famous example is Frederick Taylor and his method of measuring employee movements in detail. The problem is that micromanagement does not work in today’s reality.
Controlling every minute, monitoring with cameras or accounting for computer clicks does not eliminate waste. On the contrary, it creates resistance, lowers motivation and creates a culture of fear. As a result, the organization loses what is most valuable – people’s commitment and creativity.
What really helps reduce costs?
Eliminating waste requires a systems and data-driven approach. Proven practices include:
- Transparency of data – when each department sees the same indicators, the problem of conflicting interpretations disappears. Dashboards and MES systems facilitate collaborative decision-making.
- Quick pilots – instead of multi-year implementation projects, it is better to launch a small pilot that shows results in a few months. This builds confidence and gives proof in numbers.
- Change management – employees need to understand the “why.” If implementing a system eliminates paper reports and saves them time, they will accept it faster.
- Engaging the team – change should be co-created. Employees’ ideas, collected if only through feedback systems, allow better matching of solutions to the realities of work.
Eliminating waste in practice
This is particularly evident in manufacturing companies.
- Paper reporting – at a client with a fleet of 50 machines, manually filling out reports consumed 15 minutes per day per operator. Over the course of a year, it cost PLN 800,000. Reporting automation gave a return on investment in less than 9 months.
- Meeting optimization – at explitia, a 32% reduction in the number of meeting cycles translated into time recovery equivalent to several full-time positions.
- Energy monitoring – elimination of machine “dry runs” and analysis of utility consumption has resulted in hundreds of thousands of zlotys in savings at the food plant.
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The role of external authority
Often it turns out that employees are well aware of where time and money are being wasted in the company. The problem is that this knowledge does not reach decision-makers or is ignored.
This is where an external expert comes in handy. His role is not to discover new facts, but to reinforce the signals coming from the organization. An audit from the outside acts as a mirror – it shows what was known, but scattered and unnamed.
5 steps to eliminate waste
- 360° audit – mapping processes, meetings, data flow and costs. It is important that both managers and operators participate in the analysis.
- Prioritize waste – not every waste is worth eliminating right away. First, focus on areas with the greatest financial impact.
- Technology pilot – implementation of MES, traceability or media monitoring system on one line or department.
- Scale up solutions – after a successful pilot, expand the project to other areas.
- Maintenance and improvement – eliminating waste is not a one-time project, but a process of continuous improvement.
What doesn’t work? 4 enemies of cost containment
- Attempts to control every activity – result in decreased confidence and increased stress.
- Implementation without proper communication and preparation of the team – if employees do not understand the meaning of the changes, they will sabotage them.
- Solutions tailored to a leader’s ego – decisions based on one manager’s intuition instead of data end up costly investments with no return.
- Stalling projects – the longer it takes to implement, the lower the chances of success.
Why is the ROI in eliminating waste so fast?
Digitization of processes, elimination of paper reports or real-time monitoring are projects where the return on investment (ROI) is often 6-12 months. The reason is simple: waste is expensive, so eliminating it immediately translates into savings.
Eliminating waste is not only about cutting costs, but above all about improving the quality of work and the comfort of the team. Employees want to create value, not struggle with paperwork or information chaos.
Therefore, an effective strategy is not control and pressure, but transparency, cooperation and the use of technology. This not only saves the company money, but also gives it a competitive advantage and stability in the market.
