Tools - 5"S" (Workplace Organization)

5S Workplace Organization

5S is the name of a workplace organization method that uses a list of five Japanese words: seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke. When transscribed into English, they all start with the letter "S". The method is normally applied to manufacturing workplaces but could just as well apply to a store, an office, or technical department where critical methods, hardware, and tools need to be closely monitored. The list describes how to organize a work space for efficiency and effectiveness by identifying and storing the items used, maintaining the area and items, and sustaining the new order. The decision-making process usually comes from a dialogue about standardization, which builds understanding among employees of how they should do the work.  5S is one of the foundation tools for Lean Manufacturing.

Sorting (Seiri)

Eliminate all unnecessary tools, parts, and instructions. Go through all tools, materials, and so forth in the plant and work area. Keep only essential items and eliminate what is not required, prioritizing things per requirements and keeping them in easily-accessible places. Everything else is stored or discarded.

Stabilizing or Straightening Out (Seiton)

There should be a place for everything and everything should be in its place. The place for each item should be clearly indicated.

Sweeping or Shining (Seiso)

Clean the workspace and all equipment, and keep it clean, tidy and organized. At the end of each shift, clean the work area and be sure everything is restored to its place. This makes it easy to know what goes where and ensures that everything is where it belongs. Spills, leaks, and other messes also then become a visual signal for equipment or process steps that need attention. A key point is that maintaining cleanliness should be part of the daily work – not an occasional activity initiated when things get too messy.

Standardizing (Seiketsu)

Work practices should be consistent and standardized. All work stations for a particular job should be identical. All employees doing the same job should be able to work in any station with the same tools that are in the same location in every station. Everyone should know exactly what his or her responsibilities are for adhering to the first 3 S's.

Sustaining the Practice (Shitsuke)

Maintain and review standards. Once the previous 4 S's have been established, they become the new way to operate. Maintain focus on this new way and do not allow a gradual decline back to the old ways. While thinking about the new way, also be thinking about yet better ways. When an issue arises such as a suggested improvement, a new way of working, a new tool or a new output requirement, review the first 4 S's and make changes as appropriate.It should be made as a habit and be continually improved.

There are many tools available in the marketplace to help you with these areas. The key to the implementation of 5S is employee understanding and buy-in.  Training is always a major component of success.  Do not overlook its importance.  5S is one of the foundations of Lean Manufacturing and must be in place before you can move into other areas.

Simplified: SORT - STRAIGHTEN - SHINE - STANDARDIZE - SUSTAIN

First Step: SORT - Clearly distingquish needed items from unneeded and elimate the latter

Second Step: STRAIGHTEN - Keep needed items in the correct place to allow for easy and immediate retrieval

Third Step: SHINE - Keep the workplace neat and clean

Fourth Step: STANDARDIZE - The method by which Sort, Straighten, and Shine are made habitual

Fifth Step: SUSTAIN - Maintain established procedures

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The 10 Customer Facing Characteristics of 21st Century Businesses

The 10 Customer Facing Characteristics of 21st Century Businesses*

1. Highly trained work force - focused on continuous learning to quickly respond to customer needs
2. Knowledgeable sales people who understand the customer's business
3. Lean manufacturing programs to produce high quality products at competitive prices
4. Leaders focused on leading, coaching, and praising to ensure a customer-centric business
5. Managers focused on ensuring the business goals are met so customer expectations can be met
6. Employees empowered to make informed decisions that lead to customer satisfaction
7. Vision, Mission, Objectives, and Goals aligned to meet customer requirements
8. An enlightened, diverse work environment with personnel representing all generations to better understand the wide variety of customer types and expectations.
9. Business principals based on sustainable qualities that meet all stakeholder expectations equally to ensure the business is there to serve it's customers, not the expectations of outside investors looking for short term gains.
10. Long term thinking led by senior management that maintains a close relationship with key customer personnel.

Throughout this blog are ideas and tools to help you become more competitive, cost effective, and focused. Please post your comments and ideas - and please subscribe to receive the latest posts and so that I will know there is interest in additional posts.  Thanks for your support.
* Trade Mark of Hibbard Associates LLC

Castles, Customers, & Leaders

Building castles and business leadership are similar!

Building castles in the middle ages was big business.  Seems like everyone had to have one! Designs and capabilities were constantly changing to meet new challenges.  At the time they protected your "business and customers" from "outsiders". (Your throne, peasants, merchants, subjects - users of your kingdom - from invading hordes.) Not much different than today.  Today your company is constantly being "bombarded" by competitors.  They move quickly, they scale the walls that you built up over the years with your customers through great customer relations, great products and services you thought could not be duplicated. You thought you had twenty meter thick walls around your customers. What happened?  The walls are breached and all your hard work is gone in the blink of an eye.

Unless your "troops" are ready and waiting to take corrective action your castle could be lost!  Maybe your competitors are utilizing some tools and processes that you need to acquire. Hopefully your customers are not unhappy with you - they just want to obtain the best return possible for each purchase they make.  They expect total quality, knowledge support, and a fair price. That is why you must be the one to supply them with these things and the solution to their problems or needs before they know they have a problem or need! You must deliver the highest quality product to exacting customer expectations.  You must be a lean, mean machine that is ever changing to meet the expectations of your customers in the shortest possible time at the most competitive price and at the highest quality. The only way to do this is to be flexible, understanding, motivated, lean, leading, competitive, cost aware, creative, trained, knowledgeable, quick to respond, and - by the way - very good at selling. You need an organization based on Lean Leadership principles.

Instead of stone walls 20 meters thick you need to build walls with The 10 Customer Facing Characteristics of 21st Century Businesses*:

1. Highly trained work force - focused on continuous learning to quickly respond to customer needs
2. Knowledgeable sales people who understand the customer's business
3. Lean manufacturing programs to produce high quality products at competitive prices 
4. Leaders focused on leading, coaching, and praising to ensure a customer-centric business
5. Managers focused on ensuring the business goals are met so customer expectations can be met
6. Employees empowered to make informed decisions that lead to customer satisfaction
7. Vision, Mission, Objectives, and Goals aligned to meet customer requirements
8. An enlightened, diverse work environment with personnel representing all generations to better understand the wide variety of customer types and expectations. 
9. Business principals based on sustainable qualities that meet all stakeholder expectations equally to ensure the business is there to serve it's customers, not the expectations of outside investors looking for short term gains.
10. Long term thinking led by senior management that maintains a close relationship with key customer personnel.

Once you put these walls in place they are going to be more difficult, if not impossible, to scale by outsiders.  Even if your competitors "lob a few" at you, you will be positioned to move quickly and counter attack! Throughout this blog are ideas and tools to help you become more competitive, cost effective, and focused.

* Trade Mark of Hibbard Associates LLC

Lean Leader Functions

Lean Leaders perform three functions: They Lead, They Coach, They Praise

LEAN LEADER FUNCTIONS

We will look at each of these areas in more detail in other posts.  This is a nice graphic to use as a reminder of how to be a good leader. Of course there are many characteristics that make up leadership. Some of these are shown on the post entitled: Leading vs. Managing.  Leaders also use a host of process management tools to achive their performance results. See future posts for outline of these tools and how to approach their use.  Many of these tools have been around since the 1960's.