Page 69 - Lean six sigma demystified

48 Lean Six Sigma DemystifieD

3. Shine. Clean machines and work area to expose problems.
4. Standardize. Develop systems and procedures to monitor conformance to
the first three rules.
5. Sustain. Maintain the standard processes for sorting, straightening, and
shining.

I’ve worked in many hospital laboratories. If the lab has been around for
more than a few years, there’s usually a lot of inventory to 5S. It takes about
4 hours to 5S a 2000-sq-ft lab. Lab workers usually find one to two dumpsters
worth of stuff to throw away. It’s amazing how many chemicals are left over
from prior equipment. There can be three places for the same pipette at one
workstation instead of just one place. There were stashes of gloves all over the
lab, not in one place; this causes over ordering.
Using 5S, corporate offices discover tons of out of date forms, supplies, and
machinery. Any workspace can benefit from 5S.
Once you’ve thrown away all of the clutter and organized what remains, you
can more easily see the products flowing through your workspace.

Red Tagging

Of course, you might be afraid of throwing away something important. Just put
a red tag on it showing the date discarded and put it in a place designated as
the red tag room. That way, other shifts can find and retrieve needed items.
(This rarely happens.) At the end of 30 days, throw it away or donate it to some
cause.

Value Stream

Having just done the 5S’s on your factory, you’ll be in great shape to understand
the overall value stream. A key starting point for implementing Lean is the
concept of value and the value stream. Value is defined by the customer, not the
company, business unit, manager, or employee. When I worked in information
technologies, for example, programmers often focused on cool, new technology,
not on what was fast, proven, and effective for the customer. Craftsmen bear
allegiance to their craft, not to their customer.
Since most businesses have grouped work together into functional silos, each
silo often skews the definition of value. Although each silo attempts to optimize
its own operation, the company fails to optimize the overall flow of products
and services, which creates tremendous waste.