The concept of Non-utilized/underutilized talent, while not included in the original Japanese list of the seven wastes, is an integral part of the American concept of DOWNTIME. Rather than being transparent to the system, people themselves have been plugged into the equation, in the sense that poor utilization of existing talents, ideas, abilities, and skill sets is a waste as real as using ten pounds of iron when five will do. This type of waste can be caused by a myriad of things, not least:
• Lack of teamwork
• Lack of training
• Poor communications
• Management's refusal to include employees in problem-solving
• Narrowly defined jobs and expectations
• Poor management in general
If the above list sounds oddly familiar, it should: many of these failings are the same ones that result in a lack of employee engagement, which can hamstring any organization's productivity. Failing to eliminate these lapses will result in a lessened ability to tap into the human resources available to you, which makes it difficult to effectively attack the other seven DOWNTIME wastes. You know the solution: empower your employees, rectify any lacks in their training, and stop micromanaging. Basically, you have to treat experienced people as process experts who know what they're doing, not as interchangeable spare parts in your system. Don't just tell them what to do: ask them to think, too.