TIMWOODS Waste #3: Motion – Unnecessary Movement of People

How much time do your teams spend moving instead of performing value-adding work?

In airline operations, people are constantly on the move—between aircraft, offices, gates, and systems. But not all movement creates value. Some of it is simply waste.

While transportation waste refers to the movement of materials or information, motion waste focuses on the unnecessary movement of people.

Motion waste occurs when staff move more than necessary to complete a task. While often less visible than other types of waste, it directly affects productivity, efficiency, and even safety.

In Lean, waste refers to any activity or resource that does not add value to the customer or the process. For an introduction to the TIMWOODS types of waste, see our previous article.

Understanding Motion Waste

Motion waste occurs when staff must move more than necessary to complete their tasks. These movements are often embedded in daily routines and go unnoticed because “that’s how things have always been done.”

Examples in aviation include:

• Mechanics moving repeatedly between aircraft due to poor allocation of tasks or resources

• Searching for tools or equipment in a hangar due to lack of organization or standardization

• Walking between offices or locations for meetings that could be avoided or conducted remotely

• Administrative staff required to be physically present for tasks that could be performed remotely

Each of these situations consumes time and energy without adding value to the operation. Over time, the impact becomes significant—not only in lost productivity but also in increased fatigue and reduced focus.

In practice, tools such as spaghetti diagrams can help visualize how people move during tasks, making unnecessary motion clearly visible and easier to eliminate.

Why Motion Waste Persists

Motion waste is often not the result of a single issue, but a combination of small inefficiencies built into the system. Common causes include:

• Poor workplace organization — tools, materials, or information are not located where they are needed

• Lack of standardized work — tasks are performed differently depending on the person, leading to inconsistent movement

• Inefficient layouts — hangars, offices, or operational areas not designed around actual workflows

• Unnecessary physical presence — tasks that could be performed remotely still require movement

Because these inefficiencies are part of daily routines, they are rarely questioned. Teams adapt to them instead of challenging them.

The Hidden Impact of Motion Waste

Motion waste is not just about time lost walking or searching. It has broader operational consequences:

• Reduced productivity — time spent moving is time not spent performing value-adding work

• Increased fatigue — unnecessary physical movement contributes to tiredness, especially in demanding environments such as maintenance

• Higher risk of errors — fatigue and interruptions reduce concentration

• Indirect delays — time lost in movement can affect task completion and overall operational flow

In many cases, motion waste also contributes to other inefficiencies. Excessive movement can lead to waiting times, as tasks are delayed, or even additional wear and tear on equipment when tools are frequently moved.

Lean Approaches to Reduce Motion Waste

Reducing motion waste is not about making people move faster—it is about eliminating unnecessary movement altogether.

Key approaches include:

• Standardizing work: Define clear, consistent ways of performing tasks so that movement is predictable and minimized

• Organizing the workplace (6S): Ensure tools, equipment, and materials are located at the point of use and easy to access

• Improving ergonomics: Design workstations and environments to reduce unnecessary physical effort and movement

• Optimizing layouts: Arrange hangars, offices, and operational areas based on real workflows, not assumptions

• Reducing distances: Bring people, tools, and information closer to where value is created

• Enabling remote work where appropriate: Avoid unnecessary physical presence for tasks that can be performed effectively from other locations

The objective is not only efficiency, but also creating a working environment that supports focus, safety, and performance.

Reflection

Consider one operational activity in your organization:

• How much movement is required to complete the task?

• How much of that movement is truly necessary?

• What would the process look like if it were designed from scratch today?

Motion waste is often hidden in plain sight. Observing how work is actually performed in real conditions (Gemba) makes these inefficiencies visible and actionable.

Learn how to identify and eliminate waste in airline operations with Lean principles →