Have you ever finished a shift feeling like everyone was working hard, but the result wasn't good? The reason is almost always the same.
Have you ever finished a shift feeling like everyone was working hard, but the result wasn't good? The reason is almost always the same.
5S seems like the simplest Lean method. It has five steps, decades of history, and hundreds of descriptions online. Yet, 5S implementations return to the workshop agenda in the same plants year after year.
A machine breakdown in the middle of a production shift is one of those moments no one likes. The mechanic is busy elsewhere, the operator is idle, and the plan falls apart. And when the mechanic finally arrives and asks when the last time someone checked the oil level or cleaned the filter, the answer can be telling.
Employee turnover and seasonal hiring are among the biggest obstacles to maintaining standards on the shop floor today. Not because new hires are inferior, but because the induction they receive often doesn't give them the opportunity to understand and remember these standards.