The Journey Begins with 5S

Why we always begin with the 5S’s…

We always begin our Lean journey with the 5S’s.  Why is this?  The question came about during a kaizen event brainstorming session I was facilitating.  I was at first completely thrown off track since it was not even remotely in line with the discussion.  I remember giving some generic non-committed answer but, afterwards really sat down and put my swim trunks on and took the dive into the cold, icy waters to find the answer below.  

I realized that for many people Lean is nerve-wrecking though not because it is difficult.  It was simply regarded as “common sense,” and why would we document common sense?”  I disagree, I don’t believe Lean to be common sense only because common sense is a subjective term.  The best example I can give is this: I’ve been to friends’ houses for, whatever, and have come to realize that just because someone knows how to clean, doesn’t mean they will always do so.  Cleaning, in my humble opinion, is common sense.  Not everyone views common sense the same way.  5S is a straight forward tool…not much to interpret, thus the difference.

Before I go too far, I’ll go into just what 5S is.  

5S is a short for (Sort, Set in order, Sanitize, Standardize & Sustain).  The great attribute about this tool is it can be used everywhere for anything.  My wife, up until I explained what I actually did to help pay for food, did this unconsciously all the time and I’m willing to bet many of you do too.  

I’ll tell a story to define the 5S tool…it is not nearly as dry…

This spring my wife and I open up the garage and looked at the train wreck that had been created over the past number of years.  We don’t park our cars in there because there isn’t any room too.  We had been putting this day off for a few years and really wasn’t looking forward to the next few days but, had come to a point where the pain of looking at the mess superseded cleaning it.

“Well,” my wife asked, “where do you want to begin?”

I knowing my wife’s preference not to discuss work on a weekend replied, “We start by 5S’ing.”

I got a sour look in response but, it was quickly followed by a bunch of questions to explain what I meant.  

We started by removing everything we could, organizing it into categories as we went (outdoors equipment, totes of personal items, tools, etc.,) Tool boxes, bikes, totes of miscellaneous stuff…everything.  Then we cleaned & cleaned & cleaned.  We swept the floors, wiped down benches, wiped down rafters and walls, we cleaned it all.  Next we went through our “categorized” piles and determined where we wanted to store what we had.  We also had a very large pile of “red tag” items we were going to have to discuss the future of.  Slowly and methodically we began to bring items back into the garage.  Every item had a purpose for being there.  If we could not come up with a viable purpose we “red tagged” the item.  

We then went through the “red tagged” items, most of which we got rid of in some way shape or form.  What we didn’t immediately throw away was put in a specific area that would eventually be removed.  We even set a date by which if we hadn’t followed through with finding alternative means of getting rid of the item we’d just throw it away.  

Then we labeled everything we felt needed labeling.  We established parking areas for the bikes and workspace for me to use my tools in and a large open area where we agreed to keep open.  

The entire process took two weekends and was a lot of work but, 1 year later we are enjoying having the doors to the garage open without embarrassment.

We start with 5S because it is one of the easiest tools to grasp, typically with have a large ROI, and quite honestly is a great excuse to clean.  When you are done you get that relieving sensation of accomplishment afterwards.  It’s always refreshing to work in a clean environment.  

Lean is a major change in culture for many organizations.  Starting in 5^th gear is not typically a sound decision when initiating this change.  Start the process slowly, gain inertia and then use that inertia to break free of the gravitational pull keeping the old culture in place.  I’ve never heard or read of Lean being an overnight success.  I have heard about it being an utter fail because of poor execution.  Change can be a difficult and painful process if taken on improperly.  

So, this is why 5S is a great introduction to Lean.  It is a tool everyone can comprehend and act upon quickly and without much misunderstanding.  It allows a simple start into the journey of Lean.  

Wrangling in Life

This blog is going to be about Lean, Toyota Production Systems and my interpretation of the mix.  I have been practicing Lean for nearly 10 years now and I am still drawn into it's web of practices.  For most of my life I have separated work and "life".  I am now realizing that they are intertwined.  We cannot realistically separate them.  Both aspects make up who we are.  I am learning to embrace this, finally.

Most recently I have been focusing all my attention on Lean, almost to the point of nausea.  That being said I started meditating on Lean and really putting a lot of thought into the concepts.  I began asking questions like, "is there more to Lean than just the tools?"  Or, "What will I find if I take a deeper dive into the theory within the Lean concepts?"  They are just a few but, for the sake for boredom I'm sure I made my point.

It is this philosophical look at Lean that I am going to focus on.  Almost every time I've seen Lean introduced or even many years into a company's journey on the Lean path there has been nothing but pushback.  The typical approach has been to introduce 5S and Value Stream Mapping followed by Standard Work and Quality Control Process Charts (QCPC) into the system.  The tools are the focus.  I have never seen cultural change through the use of the tools and too often companies focus on these damn tools.

The best example I can give is my kitchen, cooking example.  Almost everyone reading this has cooked a meal, I'm assuming.  And, I'm also assuming everyone has used a knife to cut food in preparation for a meal.  How efficient are you with a knife?

I enjoy watching the Food Network.  One of my all-time favorite chefs to watch is Martin Yan.  He is not only funny as hell but his skills with a knife are amazing.  I've seen him cut a 3-4" cucumber into 50+ pieces that were all paper thin in a matter of seconds.  Unless I'm using an electric slicer I've never been able to replicate this feat.

I've tried cutting vegetables quickly and never successfully.  The effect holds true with Lean.  The practitioner trains a group on 5S, demonstrates 5S and sends the group out into the world to 5S.  The results are often filled with a misunderstanding and the group only retaining a small fraction of what 5S really is.  Why, is that?

There is a disconnect between the practitioner and the group.  The group doesn't get the purpose and overall intent (bigger picture) what 5S is.  Just like chopping vegetables up into various sizes to cook won't cook evenly.  A lot of fidgeting around with the vegetables in the pan takes place when cooking so as to not burn the small pieces but at the same time make sure the larger pieces cook.  5S is no different.

Anyone can throw stuff away and mark-off areas to put stuff but, that does not mean 5S is taking place.  It is this type of scenario I wish to cover and explain.  Lean in layman's terms.  Lean is a part of my everyday life, professionally and personally.  Many people practice Lean in some way shape or form already, they are just not aware of it.  The tools are great but, the meaning behind the tools...that's where the true power of Lean lies.