Another Point for Labels!

As it turns out, labels are pretty helpful.

While brushing up on some reading about dry chemical safety (isn't that what everyone peruses in their spare time?), I came across an article about the importance of visual communication in the inspection process of dry chemical fire extinguishers. How about that! Apart from properly functioning valves and pressure gauges, the first thing to consider when inspecting a dry chemical fire extinguisher (and good old regular fire extinguishers, too, I imagine) is the labeling. First, a proper fire extinguisher should indicate the class of fire for which it is meant, and a rating number indicating its extinguishing capabilities. This information should be coupled with a rundown of required chemical levels and weight, suitable temperatures for storage and operation, and some hydrostatic test stickers. It sounds like someone over at the dry chemical fire extinguisher factory has 5S on the brain.

Visual communication as a means to organize, streamline operations, and ultimately deliver pertinent information at the exact point it is needed has become key in any business or operation. Its function to inform, warn, and assist has become seemingly commonplace, yet surprisingly few facilities seem to really embrace its benefits. A simple label or sign can diffuse confusion and enhance understanding. Just as you wouldn't want to pick up that fire extinguisher and pull the pin without knowing proper instructions and whether it was even appropriate for the job, you wouldn't approach a lighting panelboard without knowing which circuits are separated by which breakers. This information is generally communicated via color coding and labeling, two useful tools for making anything -- from panelboards to fire extinguishers -- more user-friendly. (And OSHA-friendly!)

At a loss for how to implement some lean-induced visual communication? Start with the basics. Take a visual tour of your facility or workspace, focusing first on safety (what hazards or warnings ought to be marked? what requires PPE?), and then on organization and function (should the inventory shelving be marked? could that bundle of cords be color-coded?). Then get to the fun part: creating the signs and labels. Try out the DuraLabel PRO , a leading industrial-grade label printer that can generate everything from the tiniest wire wrap to reflective parking lot signs. Working alongside your own PC, this handy printer can produce pipe markers, warehouse labels, NFPA diamonds, and OSHA-compliant safety signs, and more using its own templates or your Microsoft docs.

To take a page from the lean book, check out www.labelprinter.com.

Look, Don't Touch: Using TPS Effectively

Let's talk Toyota. Not the cars (though I hear they have stellar crash-test ratings), but the methodology employed on the industrial and business fronts.

Since the rise of the TPS (Toyota Production System) regime, businesses everywhere have gone lean. Lean is good. Lean is efficient, productive, and waste-free. The main goals of TPS are to design out overburden, inconsistency, and eliminate waste. Seeing the obvious advantages, managers shake their heads while chuckling, “Those Toyota guys! What will they come up with next?”

So what's the problem? Revering TPS and all things appertaining to it to the point of complete dependence on it. When a business is confronted with a challenge, rather than examining its company-specific needs and roadblocks to find a creative solution, it asks, What would Toyota do? It’s a fair enough inquiry; after all, Toyota's name is in the title of the philosophy. But that's just it – TPS is meant to be a business philosophy, not a panacea for all things challenging on the workfront.

Using different lean concepts championed by TPS, businesses in need of a little direction should reevaluate their use of kanban, kaizen, and 5S techniques. Don't make a blanket comparison between your company and another – each is intrinsically different and will require solutions catered to their respective dynamics.

The following is an analogy from Gembutsu Consulting:

“Imagine that we are given the task of winning a bicycle race. Unfortunately, we are not bicycle experts and do not know what type of equipment to purchase for this race. Luckily, we are very good friends with an expert. In fact, he is a Tour de France champ! We call upon this individual for his recommendations with the mindset that his knowledge and experience can surely help us prepare for and win a race. With great excitement and passion, our friend runs through his preferred bicycle brands, models, and training methods. Satisfied with this information, we go to the local bike shop and make a purchase based on our friend's recommendations. On race day, we are terribly disappointed to find that this ‘expert’ recommended bikes made for competition on a flat, paved road, while we will be racing on dirt trails in rough, mountainous terrain.”

Every business is different, from warehouse to office space. There are differences in end product, in production, company size, equipment, building makeup, company hierarchy and culture, needs, etc. It is illogical, then, to expect that exact replication of business practices would translate well in any workplace. While a general system or model for improvement and success ought to be implemented, relying on the exact play-by-play of another business (even one as esteemed as Toyota) will fall short of your company’s needs, abilities, and goals.

“When we copy specific tools (“I need a bicycle”) without understanding why, even with the best intentions, we run a great risk of implementing the wrong solution,” according to Gembutsu. While one modification may have worked for the “benchmark company,” it may not be appropriate for your company based on all the factors.

The moral of the story? Don’t be lazy and expect Toyota to fix everything for you. I hear they've got a pretty demanding automobile schedule. If your business needs a little nudge in the right direction or a complete overhaul, examine the specific reasons that need exists in the first place. Evaluate the company dynamic, from equipment usage to personnel issues, and, armed with TPS philosophy, start making decisions that will result in a leaner, meaner business. You know what TPS' ultimate goal is; now use your brilliant business to get your company there.

For a little extra help on streamlining your business Toyota-style, check out Graphic Products, Inc., a lean manufacturer and supplier of premier industrial labeling and printing supplies sure to get any business shaped up with 5S aplomb.

Lean Manufacturing meet the Lean Web

Perhaps I missed the boat on this one, but I had no idea internet giants like Ebay had dedicated lean departments.

Ahem. "Process Improvement for Customer Service" departments.

I find this out through the news that Peter Abilla, author of the shmula blog and a fellow U of C graduate, will be speaking at the Lean Six Sigma Summit.

A quick glance through the speakers gives a powerful testament to the advantages of adapting lean - Ebay, United Airlines, Walt Disney World Resort, Wells Fargo.

Companies from all walks of business are dedicated to lean - to the point that they have in house experts ready and willing to spread the word. Lean is coming, it can save you money.
Just ask Xerox, or Johnson & Johnson, or Countrywide Financial, or Tyco International, or ...

The visual organization of space, the implementation of kaizen, the use of a kanban system - these tools are used by some of the biggest and best companies in the world, why not yours?

New 5S Web Site & 5S Quiz

Our 5S web site is now available.

Serving as an introduction to 5S, this web site provides a concise overview of 5S and its benefits.

What's unique about this web site is that it offers a free, online 5S quiz. The 5S quiz is a fun way to test your 5S knowledge and compare yourself with others who have taken the quiz.

We also offer two printed 5S guides. Our "Introduction To 5S" is a 12 page booklet that provides a complete overview of the basic information about 5S. The "5S Standard Color Code Guide" is a laminated chart that shows the code code scheme that has become the defacto standard for 5S color coding. Both guides are available free and may be requested using a form on our new 5S web site.