LEAN JOURNEYS
by Jim Lewis
usti@wmis.net
Moving by the numbers
After Sorting and Setting
in Order, it’s time to Shine
as we move through the
Extreme 5S system to put
workplace organization on
steroids.
I am composing this article in what is
supposed to be springtime. However,
our weather has been anything but
spring like. We only get three months
of summer in Michigan as it is, and if it
doesn’t get started soon we won’t even
get that much. One thing we are being
blessed with is long, green grass from all
of the rain. I have mowed twice already
dressed like the proverbial Eskimo. What
does this have to do with the business at
hand – writing an article about workplace organization?
If you have ever mowed in the cold I’m
sure you can empathize with my desire to
get in a nice warm house as soon as possible. Fortunately I rearranged my shed
last summer and now everything has a
designated location. Now I can drive the
mower into the shed (without having to
move a bunch of unnecessary stuff), park
it, close the door, and get out of the cold.
That was not always the case. Thanks to
my handy 5S Pocket Guide and my time
spent facilitating 5S events around the
country I won’t be mired in all of that unnecessary stuff again.
from those that are not necessary. That
may sound absurd because, after all, why
would anyone have things in the work
area that are not required to do the work
there? The reason is that we are packrats.
In the workplace, this is a bigger problem
than at home because the person performing the work probably inherited all of
the stuff that’s there when s/he moved in.
Since the stuff belongs to the company
rather than the person, s/he doesn’t feel
empowered to make disposition on what
is needed and what isn’t needed. Do you
feel comfortable making decisions about
things that belong to your spouse? I dare
say you don’t, so you should appreciate
the position all of your staff members
are in. Getting them to feel comfortable
organizing the workplace properly takes
time. That’s why Sorting is not a one-time
event.
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I won’t be mired
in all of that
unnecessary stuff again
Setting things in order is easier for
the person doing the job once all of the
clutter is out of the way. The person
owning the process is most familiar with
the sequence of activity and where tools,
equipment, gauges, instructions, etc.
need to be to perform the job in the most
productive manner. Make sure s/he feels
empowered to set the process up within
pre-established boundaries. If the work
area is common to more than one person
ensure all of the process owners participate in setting things in order.
when needed. Shine is not intended to
just be a clean-up campaign of all of the
items that are deemed necessary for
the process. Shine goes much deeper
than that. For instance, when I shined
my mower I checked the tires for leaks
and wear; checked the oil; changed the
oil filter, cleaned and washed the air
filter; scraped the mower deck; changed
mower blades; checked the belts for
wear; and charged the battery. I also
washed the mower to make it shine on
the outside, but the real objective was
to look for potential issues that could
render my mower unusable.
The same purposeful approach
should be taken when you and your staff
shine your work areas. Check for air and
fluid leaks, check for missing or loose
bolts and screws, repair bare wires or
loose connections, and clean the equipment and work area.
Sort and Set-in-Order
As I mentioned at the close of the last
article, I want to touch on the first two S’s
-- Sort and Set-in-Order -- again before
moving on to Shine. Sort is the simple and
fun process of separating all of the things
that are necessary to perform a process
The next S: Shine
I devoted the one nice day we had
so far this spring to Shine my mower
so it will perform to my expectations
Planning is important
Cleaning the work area requires
some planning to make sure everyone
is in agreement on what the expectations will be. Will you simply sweep the
floor or will you sweep the floor, wash
the benches, and clean the light fixtures.
Planning is especially important in a
shared work area. If everyone isn’t in
agreement on who is going to do what,
how it will be done, and how often it will
be done, the process will unravel very
quickly and old habits will take over. I
have seen more lean transformations
