Seeing is believing: creating a Visual Workplace starts with a war on waste

Paperboard Packaging,  Feb, 2004  by Scott Ellis

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The first step toward Lean manufacturing is the creation of a Visual Workplace where order rules and non-verbal signals and limits make it easy to do things right. The transition to a Lean production environment requires the reduction of any activity that does not add value in the eyes of the customer to the product or service. In short, it is a war on waste.

The crews stand on the front lines in the war on waste. If they are to believe in their ability to reduce waste then they must see leadership's commitment to improvement. The construction of a Visual Workplace demonstrates that commitment to progress and also seriously diminishes crew skepticism. It is a physical display of leadership because it removes many of the obstacles to doing things correctly.

To fully grasp the value of the Visual Workplace, put down this magazine and take a walk. Visit the machine center that produces the highest return per unit. From a vantage point that offers a view of the entire machine center, observe the flow of materials, information, and tooling. Watch the movement of the team members. Consider the gains that would be made if changeover times were decreased by 25 percent. Think about increasing the company's ability to attract and retain quality people, and to train new and temporary workers. Then resist the temptation to crack the whip: It may bring temporary satisfaction but the gains in speed will disappear as soon as you do. It is better to build a system that makes it easy to do things right, and difficult to do things wrong.

There are many tools in the Lean toolbox for the construction of the Visual Workplace. Most of them have confusing and foreign names. A partial list includes 5S, 7S, 4P, Kanban, FIFO, and Andon. This is likely due to the fact that consultants believe they will get paid more for initials and foreign names than they will for assisting manufacturers in "getting organized" or "getting it right the first time."

The cryptic words and initials represent helpful principles, which may be applied, once they are understood, under more common sense names. The extensive application of the principles to manufacturing may be novel but they are by no means new. Remember kindergarten? Though most students enter it under-socialized and illiterate, they are able to work, play and learn in order, comfort and safety. In each area, it is obvious what activity is to be done, how it is to be done, and where tools are to be stored when the task is complete. In manufacturing, the workers are more sophisticated and the work is more complex, but the principles apply equally.

Organizing for Success

The concepts behind 5S were developed by the authors of the Toyota Production System to improve the organization of the work place. The Japanese words for Organization, Neatness, Cleaning, Standardization, and Discipline have been Americanized by the publisher Productivity Press to read Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain. Recently, Toyota has added two more: Spirit and Safety.

7S is really just a set of standards that all co-workers agree to uphold so the work place will be organized for success. They are three ongoing activities, two agreements made by all participants, and two results.

Three Activities

First the crew and their supporters from management, maintenance, quality, and other departments Sort through the tools and supplies to make sure that all unneeded items are removed. The workers from other areas assist in the physical labor and bring a new perspective as they ask questions. They ask, "Do we need this here?" They challenge crew members to break with old habits. They push hard knowing that the crew members will return the favor when 7S comes to their work areas.

Second, the team begins to Set In Order each part of the work environment so hassles and wasted effort are eliminated. Most of the improvements made during this stage are low cost. Even those that do involve some investment will quickly pay for themselves as time and steps spent retrieving tools and materials are eliminated. More benefit will be gained when setup and changeover times are reduced.

Examples of these improvements include shadowed tool boards with color coding for the machine center, carts for cleaning supplies, limit lines for inventory, and locations for everything.

It is imperative that care be taken during this step to involve all the people who share a work area in the placement of tools and materials. If the goal is spring cleaning or preparation for an important customer visit, than by all means just set the standard and tell people where to put things. However, if the goal is to uphold the practices when no one is looking, and to be prepared for a plant tour without notice, then the people who must uphold the practices must take part in their design.

The placement of a pallet is an example of a simple change that will be best adopted if temporary materials are used until all of the people who share the work area agree the proposed change is for the better.