Angie Stegall

Executive Wayfinder

by

Tip #29 – Five S’s for Office Efficiency

5S (Lean Manufacturing) methodology was developed by Toyota to keep workplaces organized and clean.

5S specifically references a list of five Japanese words which ’start’ with S. The list is a mnemonic for a methodology involves:

Seiri: tidiness, organization. Sort all items, keep only the essentials. Discardt he rest.

Seiton: orderliness. Arrange a workspace for maximum efficiency.

Seiso: systemized cleanliness. Keep workspaces neat and clean — this is a daily activity in Japan.

Seiketsu: standards. Systematize your business by writing down step by step instructions for each and every process that runs the business. Start with an organizational chart. Move to job descriptions. Finish with flow charts, step-by-step directions, and checklists. Update quarterly.

Shitsuke: sustain discipline. Keep a strict focus on the first four S’s. Review and update quarterly. Maintain the first four S’s as a matter of discipline, practice, and quality.

MBS, Inc. embraces this methodology for even the smallest of businesses.  If you’re ready to implement 5S in your business, we have four options to help you do it. Check out our Services page for all the details!

 

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Comments

  1. Seiso: keep workspaces neat each day! That reminds me of the “clean desk policy” enacted in my corporate office years ago. I protested about having to clean up my stacks of papers and the admin manager asked me why I couldn’t do this when I could keep my house tidy. I laughed and told him that my house looked just as crazy with stacks of paper. Those Japanese have it right, though. When I take the time to clean up my messy desk (weekly, monthly, or whenever it starts to get annoying) my mind is clearer and I am a lot more productive.

  2. Amy – I love the clean desk policy! I encourage my clients to not only clean their desks at the end of the day, but to clean up between projects and clients as well. The messy desk only provides distraction – and lord knows we don’t need MORE distraction in our already busy, multi-tasking, sensory-overloaded lives, right?!?!?

    Thanks for your comments! 🙂