flow. As you can see, the walking time is two-thirds as long as the work time,
and the picture shows a nonlinear work pattern with significant distances, back-
tracking, and crisscrossing paths.
Remember, the first step is to thoroughly understand the current situation. Only
then should you start to identify an optimal condition (reduced walking time) and
then work toward how to create it. There are many options and techniques, but the
basic idea is to have the work “flow” in a continuous fashion with no moving back
over tracks already made. (See Chapter 6 for more on the use of standardized work,
including examples of the documents used.) During the stability phase the process
is used primarily to identify the waste rather than to establish “standardized work,”
which is not possible until a certain degree of stability is established.
5S and Workplace Organization
We group 5S (Figure 4-2) and workplace organization together, and some would
argue they are in fact one and the same, being primary methods for clearing the
first layer of “clouds” by physically removing the clutter in a work area. Many
people mistakenly believe that 5S is merely a clean-up initiative, perhaps because
a clean work area is one outcome. The primary purpose of the first S in 5S is to
clear the clouds, which involves eliminating the waste of motion from moving
things and the waste of looking for tools and materials. However, other compo-
nents of the 5S process—Straighten or Set in order, and Standardize—develop
disciplined work habits that are crucial in later phases of lean implementation.
64 THETOYOTAWAYFIELDBOOK
TRAP
Making 5S a Stand-alone Program
Doing 5S is fun. Doing 5S is liberating. Anyone who has experi-
enced the joy of cleaning the basement or garage in the spring
after a year of garbage has accumulated knows the feeling. But
5S is just one tool that enables stability that enables flow. We
have seen too many companies make 5S into a stand-alone pro-
gram with fanfare and rewards and signs everywhere. Stand in
one place too long and you are apt to get a circle drawn around
where you are standing. There is nothing wrong with being dili-
gent about 5S. But well-organized and sparkling clean waste is
still waste. You need to move on down the spiral and get to true
leveled flow. Getting bogged down in 5S can be an avoidance
pattern—avoiding the hard work of thinking about how to create
flow and solve the real root cause problems inhibiting flow.