Are the activities we are performing adding value to our product? Or are employees performing unnecessary tasks because of inadequate training, tradition, or inefficient work cell layout?

Is our throughput maximized and downtime minimized, or do our materials meet bottlenecks in processing that create limits on our ability to fulfill orders?

Can we find ways to improve quality so we do not need to spend excess time looking for and fixing defects?  Are processes understood and reproducible to minimize the occurrence of defects?

Is our supply chain optimized to reduce costs?  Is the movement of our product necessary or minimized to create the best cost to value received by the customer?

Is the equipment or tooling appropriately sized for the end product or production process? Are we spending too much to operate a machine that is underutilized or too complex? Is the product design unnecessarily complicated when a simpler design is all that is deemed necessary by the end user?

Is it necessary to produce the product or components in large batches, which results in a large investment in inventory and labor, or can the processes be performed as needed to meet the customer’s demand for the product? 

Is there more product or materials on hand than is needed for actual customer orders, creating excess work in process, increased handling and inefficient space utilization?