Lean

The 5S tool is used for improving organization of a physical or digital work space, the name comes from the five steps required to implement and the words (each starting with S) used to describe each step: sort, set in order, scrub, standardize, and sustain.

• Sort: Eliminate whatever is not needed by separating needed tools, parts, and instructions from unneeded materials.
• Set in order: Organize whatever remains by neatly arranging and identifying parts and tools for ease of use. Use visual management to make the organization clear to new comers and seasoned professionals alike. Labels (like the ones in the example photos below) are especially useful. 
• Scrub: Clean the work area (especially if working with a physical work area).
• Standardize: standardize the workflow and conduct trainings as necessary to get everyone on the same page. Make adjustments as necessary. 
• Sustain: Schedule regular cleaning and maintenance. Discuss as a team how regular this should be. 

Completion of a 5S event results in the following benefits:

• Reduced costs
  • Not ordering supplies and items that you already have
  • Increased longevity of equipment, supplies and tools
• Better tracking and visibility of project and task completions
• Increased productivity
  • less clutter to sift through
  • Easier to find items (tools, documents, supplies, information, etc)
  • Reduced time to switch from task to task (setup time)
  • Employee morale (initial excitement after seeing the improvements)
• Sets the stage for future improvements (more open to change)
• Reduced floor space (less room needed to store unneeded items)
• Less training time for new employees (labels and organization make it easy to follow how the processes work)
• Makes waste and problems more visible (stand out from the rest)
• Reduced chance of injuries (slips, trips, falls, collisions, damage, etc)

 

 

 

The affinity diagram works by helping the team organize large numbers of ideas, usually as the result of a brainstorming session. The process allows team members to organize the ideas by category and look at the problem or issues from a new perspective of relationships and patterns.

You can use affinity diagrams to:

• Organize the results of a brainstorming session.
• Improve processes.
• Mediate professional conflict.
• Develop innovative solutions.
• Drive group consensus by having every team member contribute. 

The six steps to an affinity diagram are: 

• State the problem
• Brainstorm ideas
• Record ideas (often brainstorm and record happen simultaneously)
• Sort ideas
• Identify common themes or categories
• Create the diagram based on ideas and categories

In the example below the problem is listed as: what are the glitches in our content creation process. The 3 different images show the step of brainstorming ideas, then the step of recording and sorting those ideas, then the step of identifying common themes or categories combined with creating the diagram based on ideas and categories. 

 

 

 

 

STEP 1:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STEP 2: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STEP 3:

A prioritization/ decision making tool. ICE is an acronym for the three factors that should be considered whenever priorities are set: impact, cost and effort. For some decisions the top priorities are different, ICE can still be used by changing from impact, cost, and effort to whatever is more appropriate. 

As a team decide on the different ideas/solutions for the problem (in this case where to go on vacation). Then discuss how you will determine the impact, control, and ease of each idea/solution. In some cases it may be necessary to change impact, control, and ease, to other factors affecting your decision. The attached form is editable, so you or your team can download and edit it however you see fit. 

As you may have noticed, the same example was used with the PACE Tool, with slightly different results. ICE and PACE are both useful when you are trying to decide between different options as a team or an individual. It's really a matter of preference when deciding when to use one or the other. 

The PACE Prioritization Tool is used to prioritize a list of countermeasures or ways to solve a problem. PACE stands for: Priority, Action, Consider, Eliminate. These four categories reflect the order in which countermeasures (or solutions you're deciding between) should be implemented and/or eliminated from consideration.

The PACE Prioritization Tool consists of 5 steps: 

1) Number all the ideas and determine as a team what your definition for “high” and “low” implementation effort will be. Similarly, determine as a team what your definitions for “high” and “low” anticipated benefits will be.     

2) Use the provided grid or draw the PACE matrix on a white board

3) Take each improvement idea and as a team decide what level of effort it would be and how much of a benefit to the organization / customer   based on the previously decided criteria. Plot each idea on the chart. 

4) Draw the PACE lines. Evenly space the lines along the top of the chart and draw a freehand arc and add PACE letters on top. Refer to the competed PACE matrix below as an example. 

5) Using the criteria below move forward with the projects as per the matrix.   Now your team can sort the ideas based on the following:

• P = priority  These ideas have the highest anticipated benefit and are the easiest to implement. These ideas/solutions should be implemented first.  
• A = action  These ideas have slightly lower benefit but are still relatively easy to implement. These ideas should occur as a follow‐up after the P items have been implemented.  
• C = consider After P and A ideas have been implemented review the ideas that were in the Consideration area. The team can decide as to whether the difficulty encountered with implementation is worth the benefit.  
• E = eliminate These ideas should be eliminated because their low benefit is not worth the high cost in effort 

 

A spaghetti diagram is defined as a visual representation of the path of an item or activity through a process. As a process analysis tool, the tracing of a path enables one to identify redundancies in the work flow and opportunities to improve.  

 How to Make a Spaghetti Diagram

• Identify the process that needs to be improved
• Collect required resources (like floor plan, color pencils or markers, stopwatch, team, operators, flip charts, measuring tape etc.,)
• Draw the layout of the process on a paper scaling down to match the distance between each work point include all the equipment, walls, machinery, bins etc.,
• Draw path of the process from starting to ending, follow the moment of each employee continuously from beginning to end of the process
• Each moment between two locations draw with a continuous line and also use different line for each moment
• Use different color pencil or markers to capture different employees moment or material moment
• Measure the time or distance of the each path, number of hand-offs, shifts, operator and other related information.
• Create a new diagram showing the ideal state of the process that reduce the walking time or eliminate the non value added activities.

   How to use Spaghetti Diagram to improve the process or layout

• Spaghetti diagram only provides the outlook of current state process, team has to review and optimize the total distance and time for the process
• While mapping the process identify the intersections, waiting points, bottlenecks etc.,
• Make sure to measure the time and also the distance of each path
• Collect the ideas from the team especially those who regularly work on the shop floor and rearrange the layout
• Identify the longest path or longest wait time in the process and then try to reduce the distance
• Once the new process is in-place share the results 

 

 

A swimlane diagram is a type of flowchart that delineates who does what in a process.  Using the metaphor of lanes in a pool, a swimlane diagram provides clarity and accountability by placing process steps within the horizontal or vertical “swimlanes” of a particular employee, work group or department. It shows connections, communication and handoffs between these lanes, and it can serve to highlight waste, redundancy and inefficiency in a process. 

Swimlanes can be used in the initial stages of project management to map which departments/individuals will be responsible for what steps and on what timeline. This type of swimlane will look similar to the first example below.

Swimlanes can also be used slightly similarly to the Spaghetti diagram where a process is being mapped out with the end goal of improving that process as seen with the second example of the pizza place.