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is a Japanese word meaning "futility; uselessness; idleness; superfluity; waste; wastage; wastefulness",〔''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', 5th edition, 2003, Tokyo: Kenkyusha, p. 2530.〕 and is a key concept in the Toyota Production System (TPS) as one of the three types of deviation from optimal allocation of resources (''muda'', ''mura'', ''muri''). Waste reduction is an effective way to increase profitability. Toyota adopted these three words beginning with the prefix ''mu-'', which in Japan are widely recognized as a reference to a product improvement program or campaign. A process adds value by producing goods or providing a service that a customer will pay for. A process consumes resources and waste occurs when more resources are consumed than are necessary to produce the goods or provide the service that the customer actually wants. The attitudes and tools of the TPS heighten awareness and give whole new perspectives on identifying waste and therefore the unexploited opportunities associated with reducing waste. Muda has been given much greater attention as waste than the other two which means that whilst many Lean practitioners have learned to see muda they fail to see in the same prominence the variation of mura (unevenness) and muri (overburden). Thus, while they are focused on getting their process under control they do not give enough time to process improvement by redesign. ==Seven wastes== One of the key steps in Lean and TPS is the identification of which steps add value and which don't. By classifying all the process activities into these two categories it is then possible to start actions for improving the former and eliminating the latter. Some of these definitions may seem rather 'idealist' but this tough definition is seen as important to the effectiveness of this key step. Once value-adding work (actual work) has been separated from waste then waste can be subdivided into 'needs to be done (auxiliary work) but non-value adding' waste and pure waste. The clear identification of 'non-value adding work', as distinct from waste or work, is critical to identifying the assumptions and beliefs behind the current work process and to challenging them in due course. The expression "Learning to see" comes from an ever developing ability to see waste where it was not perceived before. Many have sought to develop this ability by 'trips to Japan' to visit Toyota to see the difference between their operation and one that has been under continuous improvement for thirty years under the TPS. The following "seven wastes" identify resources which are commonly wasted. They were identified by Toyota's Chief Engineer, Taiichi Ohno as part of the Toyota Production System:〔Toyota Production System, Ohno, Taiichi, 1988, Productivity Press〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Muda (Japanese term)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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