AGILEAN’s LEAN Office Glossary defines the Five S’s as:
Five S's - Five terms beginning with "S" used to create a clutter free workspace.
- Sort - Separate needed items for those not needed.
- Straighten - Arrange an appropriate location for all items.
- Shine - Clean the work area.
- Standardize - Establish a standard process for maintaining a clean uncluttered work area.
- Systemize - Maintain a consistent standardized approach.
Because 5S was developed by Toyota, the original Five S’s were all Japanese words. That’s why there are several different English translations that use different “S” words, but the intent is basically the same.
In Manufacturing LEAN, a 5S program is typically the first LEAN technique applied to a new environment. The targeted area is literally swept out, clearing the decks for future improvements. After 5S then other LEAN techniques such as pull scheduling, workload balancing, and waste reduction are applied to cut service time and increase customer value creation.
In Office LEAN a 5S implementation can sometimes be too big a pill for knowledge workers to take all at once. Many of today’s office environments are built on the premise of worker independence. Telling the modern office worker how to maintain their personal space can be considered by some a violation of their constitutional rights; even though it may be the perfect thing to do. Given this, why initiate a LEAN Office project with a full 5S program? There is probably not a more difficult place to start.
As an alternative, consider beginning with only one of the Five S’s: Systemize! Because of the sense that everyone in the office can do-it-their-way; there is considerable process variation; leading to high service times, costs, and defect rates. A systemize initiative looks at all the ways a process is currently performed and picks one or builds a best case composite from the many.
Systemizing makes an easier a first implementation because the “new” process is already on use in some form or another. Therefore the organizational change management implications are reduced resulting in an easier early win. It also establishes the baseline for future improvements. When future process modifications are made after a process systemization, the people impacted by the change all start the change from the same place.
After systemization takes hold, then other LEAN techniques can be applied to continue to build on the early success and solidify the overall return on investment. Once the organization fully understands how to wield the power of LEAN, then is the time to determine when and how to (judiciously) apply the other four of the 5S’s.
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