A water spider or ”_mizusumashi”_ in Japanese is a person who has a prescribed set of tasks to keep materials in stock at the point of use in production areas and reduce [[Buffer Time]] of regular production activities.

A water spider's purpose is to handle the replenishment tasks so the production-oriented personnel can focus on revenue-generating activities.

They should make their rounds the same way and perform replenishment tasks identically each and every time. They take finished goods from the work area, drop [[kanban cards]], refill bins from central locations, and remove waste materials. All of these tasks keep the operators in their work areas and keep production flowing.

## Warnings about using water spiders

- A water spider might not perform their role full-time, but it's critical for them to make their rounds at regular, expected intervals.
- Water spiders move between different areas with different leadership, making standardization much more important. Visual guides and nomenclature must be standardized for water spiders to function well. For example, [[5S lists]] should be standard in each area the water spider will operate.
- During their rounds a water spider should only do their prescribed tasks. There is a tendency for managers to think of water spiders as secondary to production, which can tempt managers to assign water spiders additional tasks. Don't treat a water spider as an excess person or a floater.

## General tasks of a water spider at LDR
A water spider should circulate the whole production floor on a set interval, stopping in each key production area to handle any replenishment needs. In between intervals, the water spider should be focused on [[STOW]].

The water spider is expected to circulate the production floor on a regular basis and resolve the following issues at each production area:

- Make note of low supplies or consumables, such as tape, packing materials, printer paper, etc. and replenish low supplies.
- Monitor the central distribution point of supplies for low quantities and report them to the [[Quality Manager]].
- Break down boxes and remove trash.
- Replace spent racks/bins with new ones.