The Time for Lean Office 5S

AGILEAN’s Agile & Lean Glossary defines the Five S’s as five terms beginning with "S" used to create a clutter free workspace:

• Sort - Separate needed items for those not needed.
• Straighten - Arrange an appropriate location for all items.
• Shine - Clean the work area.
• Standardize - Establish a standard process for maintaining a clean uncluttered work area.
• Systemize - Maintain a consistent standardized approach.

Because 5S was developed by Toyota, the original Five S’s were all Japanese words. That’s why there are several different English translations that use different “S” words, but the intent is basically the same.

In Manufacturing Lean, a 5S program is typically the first Lean technique applied to a new environment. The targeted area is literally swept out, clearing the decks for future improvements. After 5S then other Lean techniques such as pull scheduling, workload balancing, and waste reduction are applied to cut total cycle time and increase customer value creation.

In Office Lean a 5S implementation can sometimes be too big a pill for information workers to take all at once. Many of today’s office environments are built on the premise of worker independence. Setting a standard of how employees should maintain their workspace could be considered by some a violation of their rights and lead to a loss of morale; even though it may help performance. Given this, why start a new Lean Office project with a full 5S implementation? There is probably not a more difficult place to start.

As an alternative, consider beginning with only one of the Five S’s: Systemize! Because of the sense independence that can lead employees to perform tasks “their way,” there is typically a lot of process variation; leading to high cycle times, costs, and defect rates. A systemize initiative looks at all the ways a process is currently performed and picks one, or builds a best composite, from the many.

Systemizing makes an easier a first implementation because the “new” process is probably already in use in somewhere. Therefore the organizational change management implications are reduced making it an easier early win. It also establishes the baseline for future improvements. When future process modifications are made after a process systemization, the people impacted by the change all start the journey from the same place.

After systemization takes hold, then other Lean techniques can be applied to continue to build on the early success and solidify the overall return on investment. Once the organization fully understands how to wield the power of Lean, then is the time to determine when and how to (judiciously) apply the other four of the 5S’s.

Updated August 11, 2010; first published January 30, 2007