A messy workplace is frustrating and demoralizing.
Superstar managers know this, and use a variety of tools and systems to eliminate wasted time and resources. Not only are mess and clutter categorically unsafe, but they drain productivity and morale. Study after study has reinforced this.
A great Lean solution for mess is called ‘5S’ – a staple in any Lean consultant’s toolbox. It was originally pioneered in Japan, then Toyota adopted the practice and brought it mainstream.
The 5S system is built around a 5 phase system, each phase starting with an ‘S’ word.
Great managers create work environments conducive to productivity.
Phase 1: Sort
Separate the things needed from the things that are not.
Superstar managers will always empower their workers to make their work areas clean. A big part of this is by removing the unnecessary items. What’s worked really well for me is a tactic called ‘Red Tagging’. The workers who own a specific work space identify unused, broken, or unnecessary equipment with a big red tag. Those red tagged items are then inspected, repaired, discarded, or relocated.
Phase 2: Straighten
Organize the way tools are kept so anyone can find them easily
Once the superfluous items have been removed, it’s important to clean up what does need to be there. Set up designated locations for what should be where; think ‘A place for everything, everything in its place’. Make the area as pristine as possible in order to expose where things are going wrong.
Phase 3: Sweep
Continuously keep the work environment free from clutter
A superstar manager makes sure to define daily cleaning routines, routine maintenance, and standards for maintaining the personal workspace. Without ongoing cleanliness, it’s only a matter of time until the workspace returns to its pre-intervention state.
Phase 4: Systems
Build systems that support first 3 S’s
Personally, this is MY favourite S. I find so many fascinating, creative systems: shadow boards, colour coding, labels to say what should be where. For example, perhaps you have a shelf full of user manuals. By fixing a graphic across the spines of the manuals, anyone can quickly identify when the manuals are out of order, or missing. So cool.
Phase 5: Sustain
Maintain new momentum.
Ah yes, maintenance: the hardest S of the 5. Unless we keep doing it, keep up our efforts, all of the fuss around the first 4 S’s are ultimately for naught. This is where workplace culture can be either a massive asset or a major challenge. A strong culture is one where breakdowns and lapses are quickly identified and fixed. As a superstar manager, company culture is in your hands. What are your values – and how are they communicated?
There are so many things about these 5 S’s that I love – but perhaps one of the reasons these resonate with me so well is because they are such an extention of my heart for business and the passion I carry in my work.
I am most excited, most jazzed, most alive when I am working with someone – small business owners, plant managers, non profits – to achieve real, tangible results. I have seen time and time again the momentum and growth that 5S can bring!
So I ask you:
What’s in your way?
How could 5S help bring you one step closer to the tangible results you’re looking for?