Upholding high standards for operations is greatly assisted
by thorough organization. In Japan, an integral part of the early stage of
setting up a business is establishing design for completely organized
operations; business owners hire experts in interior design and ergonomics to
determine the best ways of making sure that everything is in place and that there
is a place for everything. This is no big surprise, really, for Japan is the
home of 5S which stands for Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke.
The values of 5S are easy enough to understand because all of
them really promote a brand of organization that emphasizes cleanliness,
increasing function, proper disposal of items that are no longer useful,
labeling, and consistency. However, the issue that most business operations
come across is on how to get started. A lot of times, their ideas are too “all
over the place” or one value gets compromised as focus is directed on another –
basically, achieving balance for all the important variables of 5S can be a tad
tricky.
Fortunately, though, companies that manufacture 5S products
have recognized that there are companies that need all the help they can get to
effectively stay on top of their operations. Therefore, aside from providing
them useful organizational materials, they have thrown in comprehensive
tutorial videos (which can be purchased) and step-by-step guides (in the form
of articles and videos) that all types of businesses can use to put 5S into
action.
Tutorial videos are particularly effective because they can
be used as training videos for new employees that have yet to learn the basics
of 5S. The video already demonstrates how every aspect of the process ought to
be done so those who are watching will not have different interpretations of the
instructions provided — all of them will observe the same way of carrying out
the tasks. This provision just makes training so much easier and more
economical; because the process is not expected to change anytime soon, it can
be used for a long time to come. Plus, there’s no need to hire special trainers
to orient new employees about the process. As for 5S tools, there’s a wide
range to choose from which includes tags, different types of organizers,
pegboards, and many others.
All these great provisions can benefit business operations
incredibly, from keeping costs low, streamlining
processes, and making sure that business headquarters promote health and
optimum productivity. So for those enterprises that still have to put 5S into
action, these are the important considerations in accomplishing that goal.
Do you have have any questions or suggestions? Write in comment section.