5S At Home September 20, 2012
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management, lean, work-life balance.Tags: 5S, 5S & Visual Management, lean, work-life balance
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Tim McMahon, writing at A Lean Journey, shares a video by Paul Akers of applying lean at home. The video highlights, among other things, Aker’s home office and bathroom. He revamps his top desk drawer by using carved-out foam to standardize the locations of his commonly-used tools and writing instruments. David Allway, writing at The Common Sensei, recalls his childhood foundations of 5S, helping to organize his father’s workshop. Allway organized important steps of his life –as a college student, a coach, an athlete, and as a business professional.
Check out McMahon’s thoughts and the nifty video here, and Allway’s excellent post here.
Scrunchie Lean March 29, 2012
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management, Creativity & Innovation, Lean Tools & Techniques.Tags: 5S & Visual Management, Creativity & Innovation, Lean Tools & Techniques
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The applications of lean visual management tools are often surprising. Mark Hamel, at Gemba Tales, relates one simple but highly effective visual control using scrunchies – a simple elastic hair tie. Mark’s friend and lean convert Lisa uses a green scrunchie to identify her laptop power cord among others when it is plugged in, and uses the scrunchie to fold up and store her wire on the go.
For photos and Mark’s post, head here.
Value Stream Wrapping January 30, 2012
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management, A3, Lean Tools & Techniques.Tags: 5S, 5S & Visual Management, Lean Tools & Techniques
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The Old Lean Dude recalls a lesson from a science professor who related to him that observation without sharing has no value. Value stream mapping doesn’t have to be a work of art, but it has to be legible, and it should focus on the subject, not making the map look good.
Read the Old Lean Dude’s post here.
Value Stream Wrapping January 30, 2012
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management, A3, Lean Tools & Techniques.Tags: 5S, 5S & Visual Management, Lean Tools & Techniques
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The Old Lean Dude recalls a lesson from a science professor who related to him that observation without sharing has no value. Value stream mapping doesn’t have to be a work of art, but it has to be legible, and it should focus on the subject, not making the map look good.
Read the Old Lean Dude’s post here.
Kaizen for Kids December 18, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management, kaizen.Tags: 5S & Visual Management, kaizen
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In a lighthearted post that also makes a point, Mark Graban talks about kaizen in schools. Taking the initiative to make small improvements in your life can have an overall powerful, positive change. Mark also provides a video about visual improvement being implemented in a simple school classroom.
Watch the video and read Mark’s thoughts here.
Kaizen for Kids December 18, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management, kaizen.Tags: 5S & Visual Management, kaizen
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In a lighthearted post that also makes a point, Mark Graban talks about kaizen in schools. Taking the initiative to make small improvements in your life can have an overall powerful, positive change. Mark also provides a video about visual improvement being implemented in a simple school classroom.
Watch the video and read Mark’s thoughts here.
Ambiguous Visual Controls: Airport Hotel Edition December 18, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management.Tags: 5S & Visual Management
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Jon Miller provides a lighthearted yet pointed photo essay over at Gemba Panta Rei, about ambiguous visuals at an airport hotel. Among the ambiguous visuals are a line that says “stop discretion” and a dark information station.
Check out the intriguing photo essay here.
Ambiguous Visual Controls: Airport Hotel Edition December 18, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management.Tags: 5S & Visual Management
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Jon Miller provides a lighthearted yet pointed photo essay over at Gemba Panta Rei, about ambiguous visuals at an airport hotel. Among the ambiguous visuals are a line that says “stop discretion” and a dark information station.
Check out the intriguing photo essay here.
Mise-en-Place, 5S, and Why Tape Outlines on the Desk are Stupid November 17, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management, Lean Tools & Techniques.Tags: 5S, 5S & Visual Management, Lean Tools & Techniques
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Dan at TimeBack Management writes about the confusion that can come with implementing 5S. He believes this occurs because emphasis is placed on the visibility of the tool, rather than actually understanding the tool. The issue for offices isn’t where staplers are positioned, but how information is managed.
Read his insightful post on TimeBack Management here.
Mise-en-Place, 5S, and Why Tape Outlines on the Desk are Stupid November 17, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management, Lean Tools & Techniques.Tags: 5S, 5S & Visual Management, Lean Tools & Techniques
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Dan at TimeBack Management writes about the confusion that can come with implementing 5S. He believes this occurs because emphasis is placed on the visibility of the tool, rather than actually understanding the tool. The issue for offices isn’t where staplers are positioned, but how information is managed.
Read his insightful post on TimeBack Management here.
Ambiguous Visual Controls: Too Much Information November 17, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management.Tags: 5S & Visual Management
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Despite the tempting idea of visual controls, sometimes there is simply too much information presented at once. Jon Miller of Gemba Panta Rei recounts a recent experience he had with visual excess at a hotel, where four images clustered closely together present a confusing array of information.
For anyone using visual controls, this post shares a great example that the method can be misused and overused.
Check out Mr. Miller’s post – and a photo of the visual excess – here.
Ambiguous Visual Controls: Too Much Information November 17, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management.Tags: 5S & Visual Management
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Despite the tempting idea of visual controls, sometimes there is simply too much information presented at once. Jon Miller of Gemba Panta Rei recounts a recent experience he had with visual excess at a hotel, where four images clustered closely together present a confusing array of information.
For anyone using visual controls, this post shares a great example that the method can be misused and overused.
Check out Mr. Miller’s post – and a photo of the visual excess – here.
Management at a Glance January 22, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management, leadership, Lean Tools & Techniques.Tags: 5S & Visual Management, leadership
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Rooting out the causes of defects in production, removing them, and continually improving upon the process is essential in lean. Continuous improvement manager of boat manufacturer Boston Whaler explains that communication means never having to talk –i.e., visual management. From simple lines made of tape placed on the floor designating where to stand or put equipment, to color coded storage systems, to boards for employees to write out problems for managers to see, visual management means better efficiency with fewer problems. Combined with managers on the ground floor overseeing and participating, visual management is highly effective.
Check out the IndustryWeek article here.
Management at a Glance January 22, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management, leadership, Lean Tools & Techniques.Tags: 5S & Visual Management, leadership
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Rooting out the causes of defects in production, removing them, and continually improving upon the process is essential in lean. Continuous improvement manager of boat manufacturer Boston Whaler explains that communication means never having to talk –i.e., visual management. From simple lines made of tape placed on the floor designating where to stand or put equipment, to color coded storage systems, to boards for employees to write out problems for managers to see, visual management means better efficiency with fewer problems. Combined with managers on the ground floor overseeing and participating, visual management is highly effective.
Check out the IndustryWeek article here.
What is the Point of Standard Work if it is not Followed? December 1, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management, Lean Thinking, Standard Work.Tags: 5S & Visual Management, Lean Thinking, standard work
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Mark Graban over at Lean Blog has posted an entry about his trip to the Ontario Hospital Association ‘HealthAchieve’ meeting. In an interesting aside, he relates how sets of three standard waste receptacles – one for organics only, for paper/glass/metal only, and one for paper only –placed throughout the convention center did not do their intended jobs. He posed a question to readers, asking what lean ideas could be used to improve performance. Some answers including making the bins different colors and larger text on the bins themselves. How do Mark’s observations, perhaps, apply to some of your lean improvements?
Check it out here
What is the Point of Standard Work if it is not Followed? December 1, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management, Lean Thinking, Standard Work.Tags: 5S & Visual Management, Lean Thinking, standard work
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Mark Graban over at Lean Blog has posted an entry about his trip to the Ontario Hospital Association ‘HealthAchieve’ meeting. In an interesting aside, he relates how sets of three standard waste receptacles – one for organics only, for paper/glass/metal only, and one for paper only –placed throughout the convention center did not do their intended jobs. He posed a question to readers, asking what lean ideas could be used to improve performance. Some answers including making the bins different colors and larger text on the bins themselves. How do Mark’s observations, perhaps, apply to some of your lean improvements?
Check it out here
Reducing Interruptions and Improving Patient Safety November 18, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management, healthcare, Lean Thinking.Tags: 5S & Visual Management, healthcare, Lean Thinking
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Simple interruptions can be dangerous. The Lean Blog’s Dan Markovitz points to research done at the University of California at San Francisco that shows even minor interruptions cost money –and lives. The study included nine San Francisco Bay Area hospitals and focused on the administering of drugs based on the reduction of interruptions.
Markovitz notes that “the Institute of Medicine estimates that errors in administering medication cause about 400,000 preventable injuries in hospitals and about $3.5 billion in extra medical costs each year.” Over 36 months, there was an 88% drop in errors when employees worked to reduce interruptions. The innovative ways in which nurses alerted others that they were administering drugs included visual indicators such as green vests and sashes, as well as a simple announcement that medications were being administered.
Read the article here.
Reducing Interruptions and Improving Patient Safety November 18, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management, healthcare, Lean Thinking.Tags: 5S & Visual Management, healthcare, Lean Thinking
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Simple interruptions can be dangerous. The Lean Blog’s Dan Markovitz points to research done at the University of California at San Francisco that shows even minor interruptions cost money –and lives. The study included nine San Francisco Bay Area hospitals and focused on the administering of drugs based on the reduction of interruptions.
Markovitz notes that “the Institute of Medicine estimates that errors in administering medication cause about 400,000 preventable injuries in hospitals and about $3.5 billion in extra medical costs each year.” Over 36 months, there was an 88% drop in errors when employees worked to reduce interruptions. The innovative ways in which nurses alerted others that they were administering drugs included visual indicators such as green vests and sashes, as well as a simple announcement that medications were being administered.
Read the article here.
FAA to Airline Pilots: Turn Cell Phones Off March 10, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management.Tags: 5S & Visual Management
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The US FAA has issued an alert to airlines following an inspector’s report that a first officer’s cell phone began ringing at a critical phase of a takeoff recently, an incident the agency says was “a potentially serious hazard”.According to the FAA air safety inspector who was riding along on an unnamed airline’s flight from the jump seat, just prior to reaching V1, the speed after which pilots generally are committed to taking off rather than aborting on the runway, a rather loud “warbling” sound was “detected” by both crewmembers.
It was later determined that the sound came from the first officer’s cellular phone, which had been left in the ON position.
As a result the ring tone caused a distraction between the crewmembers during the takeoff phase and could have led the to crew to initiate an unnecessary rejected takeoff.
We should all find it disturbing that the FAA actually needed to print a rule like this. This “audio clutter” is a clear violation of good “audio 5S”. Just as we sort out a work area to help create a visual management system where signals are as free as possible from distracting noise, so is it also true that a workplace needs to be free from audio clutter, which can create a cluttered, confusing, ambiguous environment, particularly in highly critical processes.
How would you feel if you were wheeled into surgery to find your surgeon listening to electronic dance music cranked up to 11 so he couldn’t hear the beeps of your heart monitor?
Read some of the details of the air incident here.
FAA to Airline Pilots: Turn Cell Phones Off March 10, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management.Tags: 5S & Visual Management
add a comment
The US FAA has issued an alert to airlines following an inspector’s report that a first officer’s cell phone began ringing at a critical phase of a takeoff recently, an incident the agency says was “a potentially serious hazard”.According to the FAA air safety inspector who was riding along on an unnamed airline’s flight from the jump seat, just prior to reaching V1, the speed after which pilots generally are committed to taking off rather than aborting on the runway, a rather loud “warbling” sound was “detected” by both crewmembers.
It was later determined that the sound came from the first officer’s cellular phone, which had been left in the ON position.
As a result the ring tone caused a distraction between the crewmembers during the takeoff phase and could have led the to crew to initiate an unnecessary rejected takeoff.
We should all find it disturbing that the FAA actually needed to print a rule like this. This “audio clutter” is a clear violation of good “audio 5S”. Just as we sort out a work area to help create a visual management system where signals are as free as possible from distracting noise, so is it also true that a workplace needs to be free from audio clutter, which can create a cluttered, confusing, ambiguous environment, particularly in highly critical processes.
How would you feel if you were wheeled into surgery to find your surgeon listening to electronic dance music cranked up to 11 so he couldn’t hear the beeps of your heart monitor?
Read some of the details of the air incident here.
LeanBlog Podcast: Dan Markovitz on Office Lean November 7, 2008
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in lean office.Tags: 5S & Visual Management, lean office, Lean Thinking
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In this podcast episode, Dan Markovitz, founder and President of TimeBack Management, discusses the application of lean principles to the office. He focuses, in particular, on the benefits of 5S techniques.
Key points raised in this podcast include:
- How to address situations where the work activity adds no value to customers or clients
- Identifying and removing waste from business processes
- Lean in a legal/law firm setting
- Office 5S and Visual Management
- Bad Office 5S example from the UK
- Tips for managing email
Hear the podcast at: http://www.leanblog.org/2008/11/leanblog-podcast-52-dan-markovitz.html
LeanBlog Podcast: Dan Markovitz on Office Lean November 7, 2008
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in lean office.Tags: 5S & Visual Management, lean office, Lean Thinking
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In this podcast episode, Dan Markovitz, founder and President of TimeBack Management, discusses the application of lean principles to the office. He focuses, in particular, on the benefits of 5S techniques.
Key points raised in this podcast include:
- How to address situations where the work activity adds no value to customers or clients
- Identifying and removing waste from business processes
- Lean in a legal/law firm setting
- Office 5S and Visual Management
- Bad Office 5S example from the UK
- Tips for managing email
Hear the podcast at: http://www.leanblog.org/2008/11/leanblog-podcast-52-dan-markovitz.html
