Here is One Easy New Year’s Resolution for Your Company – Implement 5S- Workplace Organization
Every December 31 at precisely midnight, the big glittery sphere drops in Times Square heralding the beginning of a new year while we announce our firm decision to absolutely uphold our resolutions this time. Especially the one about dealing with our messy, disorganized work space. Hmmm, any of these photos below look like your workspace?
But as most of us discover within a very short time, (66% by end of Jan – 44% in six months) our good intentions wane — and we are back to the disorganization that leads to waste. The causes of disorganization that leads to DOWNTIME.
Making resolutions is the first step to changing behaviors and habits, but experts say that to really implement change of what we do and how we do it, a well-structured plan or in this case, a “process” is needed –which is where 5S System for Workplace Organization comes in.
5S system is one of many tools utilized in implementing lean-continuous improvement. 5S focuses on the five S’s – Sort, Set In Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain. The purpose of implementing 5S is to provide a “safe, clean, neat, arrangement of the workplace which provides a specific location for everything, eliminates anything not required, and visually highlights normal vs. abnormal conditions.”
In fact, we often begin with 5S when working with our clients, whether in manufacturing or service industries. If a company cannot get a basic tool like 5S down, generally they often have trouble with other lean tools.
So if you have made a new year’s resolution to deal with the disorganization on your production floor, in your office area, or warehouse and eliminate the waste occurring due to this lack of organization, 5S – Visual Factory is
Is Demand for Six Sigma Increasing?
posted: April 25, 2013 UPDATED: January 31, 2014
Yes, we are seeing an increase in demand for Six Sigma Green & Black Belt certification training this year here at UAH CMER.
And we apparently are not the only ones to notice the trend…
An overview of a talent study done by The Avery Point Group on the demand for hiring Six Sigma talent was published in Industry Week recently.
The two top takeaways from the ninth annual survey done by the executive search firm were:
1. Companies’ demand for lean skills continues to exceed that for Six Sigma expertise in a robust market for continuous improvement talent.
2. Nevertheless, demand for Six Sigma skills may be staging a comeback – noting that for the first time in the study’s history, a noticeable improvement in year-over-year demand for Six Sigma talent.
Six Sigma – Lean Demand Infographic
Where does your company fit in regarding demand for more Six Sigma talent?
If your company is interested in Six Sigma training – UAH CMER has a Green Belt Certification course scheduled for Feb 24-28 with follow-on Black Belt course – set for April 17-11, May 12-16, June 9-13 (all three weeks required for Black Belt certification).
Register for Feb 24-28, 2014 Green Belt Class Learn More
Register for April-June, 2014 Black Belt for Qualified Green Belts ClassLean is Not Just the Production Line
posted: January 6, 2013
Imagine walking into an office environment where you could literally see and feel the buzz of positive productivity –where you could immediately witness the dynamic information flow of customer value from the instant an order is taken right up to the point it reaches the hands of the skilled workers making the product in the facility. Imagine an atmosphere where the proverbial and literal walls of communication are toppled by the united force of a value-focused organization.
I encountered this phenomenal scenario a few years ago as I stood back and observed quietly while visiting a client well on their way to successfully implementing the principles of Lean Enterprise in their office area.
This organization had applied these same Lean principles in their manufacturing processes for years. Realizing their main obstacle to rapid customer response no longer resided in how fast they could make product, management decided it was time the company learned to flow information through their office processes as quickly as they’d learned to flow material through their production processes.
As I stood in this lively office and listened to the testimonials of this team of salesmen, buyers, engineers, schedulers, and accountants describe how they reduced order processing time to the shop floor from 8 days to 6 hours, I immediately realized the mountain of office waste that has been overlooked by so many organizations.
Since this eye-opening visit, we’ve trained hundreds of office and administrative professionals in the principles of Lean Office and assisted dozens of progressive companies in implementing these principles in their organizations. Do any of these 3 situations describe your organization?
- Business is booming and you are interested in growing without substantial investment in expansion
- Business is slow and you need to operate more efficiently to stay afloat
- You are an organization that thrives on educating and empowering your workforce and staying on the cutting edge of modern business processes
If you identify with any of the above, you are ready to learn how to harness the power of eliminating office waste to achieve high levels of performance in our Lean Office 101 training course…I have a hunch it will open your eyes much the same way that visit years ago did mine!
Nic
Nicholas Loyd, Director
Alabama Technology Network
The University of Alabama in Huntsville
www.atnlean.com