Visual Management

Benefits of LEAN and Visual Management program

... and continuos improvement

Have you ever walked into a place of business and been affected negatively by the lack of cleanliness and disorganization?  If the environment is in disarray the customer may decide not do business with you.  World Class manufacturers understand they have to reinforce their culture or brand with LEAN methods.  5S is a Just-inTime tool or LEAN tool that provides higher product quality, better productivity,  a more pleasant workplace, greater job satisfaction and the potential for improved quality of work. So what is 5S?

You can hire 5S or lean consultants, coaches & trainers to help increase efficiency in your company. Skilled Experts  charge $294 per hour on average, while an entry-level consultant goes for $175 per hour. 

I was in a classroom with an association of manufacturing excecutives learning 5S techniques.  "The Visual Workplace", Productivity through simplicity on the shopfloor, visual controls, visual Standards, Visual Order in 1997 knowing how much these consultants were making ....

....I thought to myself that I learned these visual management techniques from my Grandparents when I was 10 years old.  My Grandpa Olson had a pegboard for his tools and would ask me to go down the basement to find him a hammer or a saw.  He always knew if I put it back and he knew it was cleaned when the job was finished.  My Grandma Olson would ask me when I stayed overnight to get my own breakfast in the kitchen.  I would get a stool, climb up and open the cupboard to see Corn Flakes, Cheerios and Wheeties all in their place nice and neatly.  Everything was in order and easy enough for a 10 year old to find.  

The other Grand Parents showed me an environment in disarray.  You couldn't find any tools in the garage.  It was a mess and my other Grandmas cupboards would be a mess, not clean and just plain disorganized. 

What is Standard Work?

One of the first steps in improving any manufacturing operation is identifying the best way of performing tasks and operating machines and developing a standard work procedure for everyone to follow. A standard work procedure is the result of organizing tasks in the best sequence of steps to operate machines, make the best use of people, tooling and materials.  More about standard work procedures.

The core idea of standardized work is to determine the most efficient (as in: “muda-free”) work sequence and to repeat it exactly in the same way so that operators avoid unnecessary motion and wasted effort. Standardized work guarantees quality and precision, saves time, maintains safety and prevents equipment damage.