5S with a Twist – Implementation in Preschool (Kent State CDC)

[tweetmeme source=”leanisgood” service=”ow.ly” only_single=false]Many years ago my wife began her career as a lead teacher in a preschool classroom on the campus of Kent State University. A few weeks before school was to begin she was shown her room. I received a phone call and through her tears I realized she needed help in cleaning up and getting ready to start her own classroom. I figured I will take a few days off and we will knock this out. As usual I was wrong. The room was great. A relatively new building, air conditioned

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Lean – Keep it Simple

Image Source - Wikimedia Commons

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How many times have you walked on the site floor with banners about lean and banishing waste and then trip over a pallet or had to pick-up trash on the floor? Have you ever had someone talk to you about OEE and TPM while you look over and see employees without the correct tools or standard work or a clean work area?

I am not a fan of new acronyms or catch phrases but when I see a situation like this,

Hansei and Building

Click to enlarge

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It’s the end of the year and a time when many businesses and people reflect on the previous year or years.  This reflection or hansei as known in the lean world is critical to walking down the path of success.  I inadvertently did some hansei last weekend as I was building some shelves in our basement closets.

My wife and I planned the layout we wanted to organize all our kids games which were becoming a huge mess.  I dare to call it 5S but learned a long time ago not to apply, at least fully, the tools from work in the home.  I recommend against putting together a performance plan and review for your spouse!

Recent Poll Results – 5S, When to Pull

[tweetmeme source="leanisgood" service="ow.ly"]Just wanted to post about the results of a couple polls that readers took the time to take.

A few weeks ago I a wrote a post entreating people to pull early in their implementations.  I asked the question the question n  few linkedin groups and people took  ‘early’ to mean first.  I wouldn’t recommend doing pull ‘first’ necessarily.  The intention of the post was to challenge the belief that pull has to wait for a long time (like years) for a high level of stability to be achieved. 

5S – Shadows Boards Are Bad and Reflection is Good

Photo by dabdiputs under Creative Common Attribution

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I’m doing a gemba walk and I find a tool setting on a piece of equipment.  I look at the shadow board for the area which is about 12 feet away.  What should I do?

1. Pick the tool up and put it in its place.
2. Deduct one point on the 5S audit form.
3. Stand in an imaginary 30″ circle and watch what happens to the tool.
4. Ask the operator why the tool is where it currently is.
5. Blame the operator and take the appropriate disciplinary action in accordance with the collective bargained agreement or the employee handbook whichever applies.
6. Some other distractor that I can’t come up with right now.