Holding costs include expenses associated with storing inventory. These typically comprise:
* Damaged goods: Losses due to items being stored improperly or deteriorating over time.
* Storage space: Costs of renting or maintaining warehouse space.
* Insurance: Fees for insuring stored items against potential risks.
These costs are integral to whole-life asset management, as they impact overall inventory and storage expenses.

Lean thinking aims to remove wastes from work processes. Before diving into the 8 wastes, it is important to understand what waste is. Waste is any action or step in a process that does not add value to the customer. In other words, waste is any process that the customer does not want to pay for.
The original seven wastes (Muda) was developed by Taiichi Ohno, the Chief Engineer at Toyota, as part of the Toyota Production System (TPS). The seven wastes are Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Overproduction, Overprocessing and Defects. They are often referred to by the acronym 'TIMWOOD'. The
8th waste of non-utilized talent or 'Skills' of workers was later introduced in the 1990s when the Toyota Production System was adopted in the Western world. As a result, the 8 wastes are commonly referred to as
'TIMWOODS'.
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Source: The lean way
Multiple approval levels for a small purchase request is an example of over-processing since this adds more unnecessary work to users and procurement professionals.

An exponential moving average (EMA) is a type of moving average (MA) that places a greater weight and significance on the most recent data points. The exponential moving average is also referred to as the exponentially weighted moving average. An exponentially weighted moving average reacts more significantly to recent price changes than a simple moving average (SMA), which applies an equal weight to all observations in the period.
Reference:
LO 2, AC 2.3

VACUUM LIFTER uses the vacuum pad which attaches itself to a product. The suction force al-lows the product to be lifted (and rotated and placed). Vacuum lifters are used for moving and positioning glass sheets, but are also seen lifting boxes, plastic sacks, sheets of building materials and pipework. Some models feature hydraulic arms which allow easy movement of the lifted load. The lifting system will have a number of sucker pads and vacuum capability which determines the maximum weights and largest items that can be lifted.

DOLLY consists of stack and sets of wheels (either casters or rollers) under the stack that allow the dolly and the heavy object on top of it to move easily and smoothly. For moving in a straight line, rollers is ideal. If you want to move manoeuvrability, dolly with sets of casters will let you swivel and turn.

SACK TRUCK (hand truck) is an L-shaped box-moving handcart. It comprises a small base plat-form with two wheels at the base and a larger vertical structure. A small ledge to set objects on flat against the floor when the sack truck is upright. When moving, the truck and object are then tilted backward based on the vertical structure until the weight is balanced over the large wheels, making otherwise bulky and heavy objects easier to move.

PALLET STACKER is designed to lift and stack pallets. This one is fully mobile so can move easily around the warehouse. An operator would typically sit or stand while driving like a counter-balanced, reach or straddle lift truck.

LO 1, AC 1.3

A conveyor system is an efficient and reliable method for transporting items within a warehouse. It reduces reliance on manual labor, lowering error rates and enhancing safety by minimizing the physical handling of goods. Conveyors can also be customized to transport various materials, improving productivity and ensuring consistent movement of goods. This aligns with whole-life asset management principles, which focus on efficiency, cost reduction, and risk mitigation across the asset's lifecycle.