The Very Best of 5S – Benchmarking Report – Introduction
February 1, 2012
In the upcoming posts I plan to give some concise information related to our newly published eBook “The Very Best of 5S” which is based off of our comprehensive 5S Benchmarking Survey conducted in 2011.
For a complimentary copy please click here>> “The Very Best of 5S” Benchmarking report
Let’s start off with the Executive Summary
This manuscript is an in-depth report on 5S Workplace Organization and Standardization. It sheds light on how organizations have successfully created a 5S system or the obstacles and solutions they used to overcome them. Of those surveyed, the overall rank of the effectiveness of their 5S system is a 3 on a scale of 1-5 (1=low, 5=high). This is a clear indication that there is much room for improvement. There are many suggestions and comments presented here to help coach and guide organizations as they improve their 5S systems. The level of cooperation for 5S initiatives is initially low but increases with time with the most resistance coming from the supervisor level. Contrary to this is that upper management is generally supportive of a 5S system, but the top reasons for obstacles for implementation are “lack of management support” and “not enough time.” Another finding is that the amount of training spent on 5S training is relatively low (typically two hours or less). It seems that organizations have a hard time quantifying benefits from 5S (other than 5S Audits). Companies that did calculate the financial benefits proved that the return on investment far exceeds the cost of training, supplies and manpower. The lack of reward & recognition and the ability to engrain 5S into the organization’s culture is another impediment that must be overcome. Over 50 “best practices” are shared and many suggestions on how to properly create a 5S system or improve your current one are included.
So check out the report, share it with your colleagues and friends, have discussions and give us feedback on what you see. – Tony
Information you need, where you need it with visual Display Stands!
January 11, 2012
I’m not a big fan of a lot of excess documentation, but I do believe in standardized work, a visual workplace, checklists and other forms that help people do their jobs better and more efficiently. One of the worst things you can do is to have people searching for the correct paperwork (a non-value added activity) instead of doing their actual work (the value-added activity). 5S is a cornerstone of having the right things in the right place (point-of-use) and at the right time.
When it comes to documentation, information and inspections I have found that using display stands is a tremendous help with tons of benefits.
For example, let’s just say that one employee spends ten minutes a day searching for paperwork (we all know this is probably on the low side). At ten minutes a day, five days a week and 50 weeks a year that adds up to 2,500 minutes or 41 hours and 40 minutes. Is it worth a week’s pay in a year’s time just to have an employee searching for the correct document? Of course not. Now multiply that times the number of people that use that paperwork. The cost could be staggering.
Now here’s is a simple solution – display stands. 5S Supply carries eight different styles of documentation, information and inspections stands in a variety of sizes to fit most everyone’s needs.
- Kaizen Event Stand – perfect for holding information related to your kaizen event. Comes with Kaizen Planning Charts and has wheels to make it mobile from one kaizen event to another.
- Document Stand – Six models and16 styles to choose from. Wall mount, bench munt, wheels – we have it all covered. From small paperwork to large and from basic models to deluxe.
- Information Stand – These models have a deep 4” 3-ring binder on top and an angled writing surface.
- Inspection Stand – Need the ability to move your inspections stands to where you need them? This is your answer. Four different models to choose from.
- Blueprint Display Stand – Finding it difficult to have a convenient place to put your blueprints or other large documents that’s not in your way? Our Blueprint Stands go from Basic to Deluxe and have wheels to get them where you need them.
- Message Board – Not only a great document stand, but this model includes an 18” x 24” dry erase message board so that you can keep the communication flowing.
- Catalog Display Stand – need a lot of room for binders? This stand can hold up to 12 one inch binders for convenient access. No binders disappearing form the work area.
- Mobile Parts Caddy – Need an easy way to move light parts from one area to another? Consider this Mobile Parts Caddy.
The return on investment for these stands is great. Reducing the amount of time searching for documentation, not having to search for documents to get them updated, making sure the correct revision is available at point-of-use are all benefits of using these stands. From the example above, you would probably recoup your investment in less than a year with just one employee and definitely a shorter period of time if you have more than one employee using these stands.
There a many ways to make sure the information you need is visual, convenient and at point-of-use; these stands are the perfect solution. For more information, please visit us at www.5Ssupply.com.
5S That Actually Works
December 5, 2011
Six month ago we did a quick, one-day kaizen event focused on Visual Workplace in two areas of an office – the fax/printing area and the marketing shipping area. The team did a great job of getting things organized and visual with signs, lines, and labels.
Fast forward six months – this time we were going to do a quick 5S training event in a production area. The operations director was doing the training (his first time and he did a great job!) and he had the team go look at the office areas that we did six months earlier because they were close to the training room. I tagged along and couldn’t believe my eyes. The areas were not just as good as six months ago they were even better!
Before Visuals
End of Kaizen Event
Six months after
I asked a couple of the office workers how they did it. This is what they said:
- “There are about only six people that use this area so it’s easy to keep an eye on it.”
- “Once we got it organized and labeled, it just maintains itself.”
- “You just make sure you don’t leave anything in the area.”
- “It’s easier because we know where everything is and where it belongs.”
- “We hold each other accountable if anything is out of place.”
One of the customer service reps mentioned that she needed to laminate something and she never used the laminator before. She said it was simple and easy because they posted a “One-Point Lesson” right on the wall by the laminator.
There was some resistance when we first did the labeling – “Everyone knows what that is.” But now, it is self-evident when things are in their right place or not. This has helped tremendously to sustaining and improving the gains achieved!
So see, there may be hope for your 5S system after all!
