

Mura, Muri, Muda in the Kitchen
by Emmanuel JallasAlthough I've sensed for more than 40 years that it's been difficult for me to separate egg yolks from white...
- it's hard to break the egg at the first hit
- shell parts mix with egg white or yolk
- the variation that happens tossing the yolk back and forth from one shell half to the other
- the variation that happens with spots of egg yolk in egg white
... it wasn't until recently that I acknowledged how these variations (mura) and overburden (muri) had wasted eggs, not to mention my time (muda).
What does all of this have to do with Lean? Here's the teaching.
We must be prepared to deal with these three evils (variation, overburden, and waste) and how they interact with each other in every area of our lives, 24/7/365. We must acknowledge variations in results and time spent and know that there's overburden associated with this variation. And we must identify waste and find ways to lower it.
If you're curious, here's the "how-to" on separating egg whites from yolks.
Now, let's think of this problem in terms of an opportunity/challenge. Next time you break an egg:
- acknowledge the mura you're dealing with (mura = parts of shell in white or yolk)
- acknowledge the overburden when it happens (muri = what a challenge it is to break an egg shell in only two parts, doing this right the first time, every time)
- try to get rid of waste/muda (muda = time you spend removing shell parts in egg yolk or egg white)
Have any ideas for breaking an egg shell in exactly two half parts, without mixing yolk and white, doing it right the first time, every time? How are you dealing with mura, muri, and muda in your work?
Ernie Richardson & Tracey Richardson
Sammy Obara
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Great article. Even better way of seperating egg whites. Thanks.
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The method looks great, well worth a try. But the time study bears scrutiny. For the method being propmoted the tester is hustling. For the tradiional method, there's a notable lack of hustle as well as unfamiliarity with the technique.
Egg whites are available commerically, how's tis done in mass production
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Thank you for your comments.
This article is not about separating eggs yolk from white, but about the 3 evils, Muri, Mura, Muda.
Until you'll have aknowledged there's mura in your results, you won't be able to fight muri and get rid of muda.
You've got to understand this before trying to become lean.
That's what has done this guy. Akcknowledged Mura. Then he fought muri (with the bottle trick), and got rid of muda : his time, eggs, cakes wasted
Muri = overburden
Mura = results variation
Muda = pure waste
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Ernie Richardson & Tracey Richardson
Sammy Obara
Here is an optimzed workflow, no mura, muri nor muda: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAp8pEaWB1Y
And the outcome can be pulled, whatever the next step needs: the yolk or the egg. ;-)
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