Lean Day Toolkit › Free lean posters › Value or Waste
Value or Waste poster
The customer pays for minutes, not hours.
List the steps. Mark the ones the customer would actually pay for. Divide that by the whole lead time and you get process cycle efficiency - and the first honest answer is usually under ten percent.
Download the Value or Waste poster · PDF · 174 KB
Free to download, print and use in your own workplace. Please don't resell them or strip the credit. © 2026 Plapl Games.
The four steps on the poster
- List the stepsEverything between order and door
- Mark the valueWould the customer pay for this?
- The ratioValue time over lead time
- Attack the gapThe waiting is the prize
Also on the poster
- Be harshMoving it, checking it, storing it - the customer pays for none of it.
- Expect a small numberFive percent is normal. It is not an insult; it is a map.
- Shrink the waitsThe value minutes rarely need to get faster. The gaps between them do.
- Measure againPCE is a trend, not a trophy. Re-walk it after every change.
The line to remember
Ninety-five percent of lead time is waiting. Start there.
In the app
The poster comes from Lean Day Toolkit, where it opens from Tools → VA / PCE, next to the tool it describes. Get the app: App Store · Google Play · Amazon Appstore for Fire tablets.