CabinetMaker+FDM - May 2011

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a central location and then hold a mock auction. Hold up each item and ask a series of questions – What is this? – Where is it used? – Who uses it? – How often is it used? – and – How many of them are needed? Responses to those questions will define if the item is needed or not, where it should be located, how close it should be to the person using it, and how many of them should be in the area. Items that are not claimed or deemed necessary are set aside for further disposition.

what is needed in the area and having all of those items easily distinguishable eliminates the waste of looking for a tool, fixture, instruction, or anything else used in the process. The less time a person wastes looking for something means more time for that person to perform the tasks s/he is paid for.

I’ll touch on the first two steps again next time before going into the most widely misunderstood S – Shine. The first two steps should keep you busy for a while. Don’t rush through them. Don’t worry about getting it perfect the first time, you will be revisiting the 5Ss on a periodic basis. ❮

Set-in-Order

Arrange the necessary items so they can be easily obtained and put away. The question – Where is it used? – determines an approximate location for the item in the work area. The question – How often is it used? – defines where the item should be placed. The more often something is used, the closer it should be to the point of use. Locations for each item should be labeled so the item always has a home and everyone knows where home is. It is also helpful to label the item so that it can be distinguished from other similar items. For instance, labeling the handle of a ¼-inch wrench makes it easy to discern from a 3/16-inch wrench from a distance.

Why is this important? Having only

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Jim Lewis has worked in the furniture industry for more than 30 years with a special emphasis on facilitating the transformation to the Lean Business Philosophy. He is an independent lean business consultant, author, and writer. Jim’s most recent book, “Story of a Lean Journey,” chronicles the journey of one company through the lean transformation process. The book is available through the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME. org), and amazon.com