Ship Product, Not Air

Packaged air is of value only to divers and astronauts

Shigeo Shingo was able to summarize entire concepts in single phrases, such as “paint parts, not air.” This meant that paint which misses parts in a spray booth constitutes wasted material and also an environmental aspect. “Ship product, not air” defines similarly empty space in packaging as wasted shipping capacity and shipping material.

“Ship value, not water” extends this concept to products that are mostly water, and that can be shipped in dry forms to which water can later be added.

I ordered replacement heads for my Sonicare toothbrush, with which I have had good results for many years. The pack of six arrived, along with air-filled bags to occupy the empty space in the box, as shown here.

Figure 1: Waste in Plain Sight

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Comments

MODAPTS for Reducing Unnecessary Motion

Bending over to pick up bricks is a type of motion that can be optimized using MODAPTS - a methodology for analyzing and optimizing worker motion. Eliminating unnecessary motion saves time and increases productivity.

I've included an example at https://www.qimacros.com/quality-tools/MODAPTS-template-excel/. Major manufacturers use MODAPTS to optimize worker motion on assembly lines.

Steve Jobs always said: Real developers ship. Nowadays, ones and zeros make up most of the software delivery in the world. No shipping delays. The same is true of books (Kindle) and music (iTunes). There's no air in digital delivery. And very little carbon.

but don't forget

Dear Dr Levinson,

I just want to complement your suggestion - Ship Product, Not air guaranting product integrability when costumer receive it.

Best regards