where is the first step in Lean thinking

 Value-creating work . Activities adding directly to the value of the product as determined by the customer. (Manufacturing examples are painting the product or adding parts during assembly.) A simple test is to ask whether customers would mind if this work was not done but their product still performed properly. If they would mind, it is value creating. For example, almost all customers expect their products to be painted with all the parts assembled, so these steps are value creating.

Incidental work . Activities that are currently necessary to create a product for a customer but which have no value to the customer. Examples include handling materials, clamping fixtures to hold the work, and returning kanban cards. No customer ever bought a product and offered to pay more because the kanban were all returned to the scheduling point!

Waste . Activities that create no value and can be completely eliminated. Examples include rework, storing items between work steps, and searching for missing materials. No customer anywhere wants to pay for these activities and there is no need for them to be done if Lean principles are fully applied.

Categorizing the existing steps is a great way to start Lean thinking, and it’s pretty easy in a factory environment when drawing a value stream map.