Cost reduction education
How to identify business process waste
Map the process step by step and mark every handoff, wait, approval, rework loop and duplicate data entry. Waste concentrates at the boundaries between people and systems, so count those first and time them.
Map the real process, not the intended one
Write the steps as the work actually happens, including the spreadsheet someone keeps on the side. The unofficial steps are where waste hides.
Mark the four usual suspects
In small-business operations, most waste falls into a short list.
- Duplicate entry — the same information typed into two or more systems.
- Waiting — work parked pending an approval, a file or a reply.
- Rework — corrections caused by missing or wrong information upstream.
- Chasing — time spent locating documents, statuses or people.
Quantify before you redesign
Attach frequency and minutes to each marked step. A step that annoys everyone but happens twice a month rarely justifies a project; a quiet step that happens forty times a week usually does.
Apply this to your business
The free Cost Leak Finder walks the same method and returns your Business Cost Leak Score. Hard-dollar savings, revenue recovery, capacity recovery and cost avoidance stay separate, and every figure is labelled ESTIMATED until measured.
Run my free cost leak scan