// ROBOTICS AND SMART FACTORIES TERM
Muda
A Japanese term in Lean manufacturing referring to any activity that consumes resources but does not add value to the product or service.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
Muda, a foundational concept in Lean manufacturing, denotes any non-value-adding activity or waste within a process, categorized into seven types (e.g., overproduction, waiting, defects), whose elimination is central to improving efficiency and delivering customer value.
BACKGROUND
Kaizen is a Japanese vocabulary word that outside of Japan has been adopted as a concept in business studies which asserts that significant positive results may be achieved due to the cumulative effect of many, often small improvements to all aspects of a company's operations. Kaizen is put into action by continuously improving every facet of a company's production and requires the participation of all employees from the CEO to assembly line workers. Kaizen also applies to processes, such as purchasing and logistics, that cross organizational boundaries into the supply chain. Kaizen aims to eliminate waste and redundancies. Kaizen may also be referred to as zero investment improvement (ZII) due to its utilization of existing resources.
READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIASYNONYMS & ALIASES
- Waste
- non-value-added activity
- inefficiency
- excess
USAGE NOTE
Identifying and eliminating Muda is a primary goal of all Lean initiatives.
DEVELOPERS
Organizations developing technology related to Muda.
Develops the Digital Enterprise Suite, including the MindSphere IIoT platform and Opcenter MES, which help manufacturers digitize and optimize production processes to identify and eliminate waste (Muda) such as waiting, defects, and over-production.
Provides industrial automation and information solutions like the FactoryTalk software suite, which enables real-time production monitoring and asset management to reduce downtime (Waiting) and improve quality control, directly addressing forms of Muda.
Offers Asset Performance Management (APM) and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) on its Predix IIoT platform. These solutions use analytics to predict equipment failure, reducing unplanned downtime which is a primary form of Muda (Waiting).
Develops the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, with its DELMIA brand for manufacturing operations management. It enables the creation of virtual twins of production lines to simulate, optimize, and eliminate wasteful motion, processes, and resource allocation before implementation.
Offers the ThingWorx Industrial IoT platform, which provides real-time visibility into factory operations to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies. Their Vuforia AR solutions guide workers through complex tasks, reducing errors (Defects) and unnecessary motion.
Provides a no-code manufacturing app platform that allows frontline engineers to build applications for guiding operators, tracking production, and collecting data. This empowers teams to directly target and eliminate Muda like defects, waiting, and unnecessary motion from their workflows.
Develops an Industrial IoT platform that provides real-time data on equipment health, energy consumption, and production counts. This visibility helps manufacturers reduce waste associated with machine downtime (Waiting) and inefficient energy use (Over-processing).
Provides an Asset Operations Management platform that includes a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS). The technology focuses on reducing the Muda of Waiting by shifting maintenance from reactive to preventive, minimizing costly unplanned equipment downtime.