LEAN JOURNEYS
by Jim Lewis
usti@wmis.net
Lean begins with me
Lean workplace
organization can’t happen
if you don’t first apply lean
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Before lean workplace organization
this cubicle, below, was a confused and
inefficient mess.
tools and techniques to
yourself.
I am deviating a little bit from the direction
this series was taking in order to address
a pressing issue that is systemic among
managers and leaders. The consensus
seems to be that, “The tools and tech-
niques of lean are appropriate for every-
one else, but they don’t apply to me.”
In the 20-plus years that I have
been facilitating the lean transformation
process, I have yet to encounter a plant,
department, or organizational role that
is immune to the benefits of lean tools
and techniques. Unfortunately, there are
those who can see a need for improve-
ment in other areas while they are blind
to opportunities around themselves.
Sorting your office
Whenever a company executive offers a semi-permanent location for me to
work at a site, I immediately determine
how to lay out the area for maximum
efficiency and effectiveness. If there is
clutter in the office, I ask for assistance
in sorting through it and making disposition so the necessary stuff finds an
appropriate home and the unnecessary
is discarded.
In case you haven’t identified that
step, it’s called Sorting, the first of the
5S steps in the foundation-laying lean
tool of workplace organization. Yes, lean
begins with me. I can’t expect others to
follow me if I can’t demonstrate some
benefits of the journey in my own area of
control, and, as a manager or leader, you
shouldn’t either.
Lean labeling
Next I determine what resources I will
be using and where they should be placed
so I can access them easily. Labeling is
a big thing with me because many of my
resources, especially reference materials,
become community property over time.
I label the location and the item so
others know what it is and who it belongs to. Labeling is important because
items need to be able to be located
quickly and put away properly so waste
is avoided in unnecessary searches.
The boss’s office
I recently visited a custom shop where
I observed this kind of waste first hand.
The boss was away, so the plant manager
provided a desk for me in the boss’s office
while I conducted a lean assessment. I don’t
have any pictures to share, but suffice to say
I have encountered few offices in a greater
state of disarray.
The office was about 400 square feet
and almost every inch was occupied. On
three occasions people came into the
office to try to find something, only to
leave empty handed and frustrated after
exhaustive searches. Not only was the
person conducting the search frustrated, the customer who was calling for
information was frustrated as well.
I talked to the plant manager about
my observation and he shared that it was
embarrassing and frustrating for him also.
He said there had been many conversations with the boss about better organizing his work space, but the boss couldn’t
see the benefit. After all, he knew where
everything was, so what’s the big deal?
What’s the big deal?
Is that how you see your office or work
area? Since it’s your space – what’s the
big deal if it’s organized or not? The real
work doesn’t happen in your office any-
