Can the Lean wastes be reduced to only 3?

The Lean wastes got famous to a point they somewhat define and embody Lean’s principles. They have been taught, explained, kept being taught and to some people may be seen as almost as sacred as the 10 commandments to Christians. Their original list counts 7 Wastes but as Lean got somewhat more people-centric an eighth …

Lockdown boosted 5S at home, or not?

Depending on each country, the lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic started on different dates and lasted for different durations. Yet the lockdown citizens experienced more or less the same in their homes. Especially in big cities where real estate prices are high and apartments cramped, being confined a longer time in cluttered spaces gives …

Will the fight against COVID-19 bring back 5S?

In April 2019 I posted an article titled Will 5S resist 4.0 tech? sincerely thinking 5S were doomed as 4.0 tech spread. Roughly one year later, May 2020, most countries of the northern hemisphere try to get back to a new normal after being locked down in order to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Lisez-moi en …

5S: How a mundane shadow board can avoid a catastrophe

Shadow boards are a common in 5S. They are used to nudge users to return shared tools to their storage place and ease the visual and from a distance recognition if the needed tool is available on the board or elsewhere. In aeronautical MRO, the equivalent cut out foam shadow board in drawers is one …

Will 5S resist 4.0 tech?

April 2019, in the corridors of our offices I picked a statement made by a young consultant about one of his clients: "It's a real mess in their warehouse, they do not manage storage and have no defined storage locations. They lose an incredible amount of time searching for goods. Introducing RFID tags would allow …

Lean = 5S, again.

It happened again, I have met one more Lean Manager explaining that he/she was appointed to this position to manage a Lean program rollout, and this Lean program is essentially reinvigorating 5S. There has been a real inflation of Lean Managers in France lately. With so many of them flowing into the companies, France’s world …

The tablet syndrom

This post is not about drugs nor pharmaceutical industry, the mentioned tablet is the electronic one, you know, the bigger version of a smartphone. The tablet syndrom is about the tablet as a symbol for being trendy, going digital, sometimes even believing to lead a digital transformation when handing out a load of these devices. …

Are the 5S the first steps to SMED?

This is a classical debate among Lean newbees and even among specialists: are the 5S the first steps to SMED or not? As so often there is more than just a binary choice. If you are not now familiar with 5S, you may get a primer reading my posts series: The Quick Beginner’s Guide to …

5 things to remember about 5S

I assume readers are aware about 5S. The 5S are a methodology when beginners discover them through a structured way of teaching. They hopefully turn into an approach for organizing the workplace, and eventually a philosophy for those embracing the 5S principles for guiding their personal behaviors. Read more about Approach, philosophy or methodology Here …

Doing wrong things much better

I sincerely believe that experimenting with Lean tools was key to spread Lean awareness, ease the principles and tools acceptance and contribute to the Lean popularity. This was particularly okay in the “tools age”, when Lean was understood as a nice and handy toolbox. Yet limited and non sustainable successes were hints that Lean could …