Category: Problem Solving
Regardless of where you are in your lean journey, it’s likely you’ve heard of 5S, the set of five words that serves as a methodology for organizing the workplace. In English, they’re Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize and Sustain. That’s derived from the Japanese origin of Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu and Shitsuke.
I recently had to take a friend to an urgent care facility in town after she broke out in hives and itchy skin, likely an allergic reaction to a food item. After making it into the exam room, the medical technician very efficiently completed the vitals and reconciled medication and past illness history. Next in was a physician’s assistant, who performed a quick assessment and confirmed our suspicions about the food allergy.
Fair warning: This is one of those articles you read that makes you think twice about checking into an emergency room.
I wish you a very happy 2012 as you make progress in your journey of operational excellence.
Even if many of the speakers who come before COE members have lean-transformation success stories to share, all of those tales have to start with some gory details about problems at their organizations. In the spirit of quid pro quo, I’d like to share one of ours and fill you in on what we’re doing to make it better. Think of it as the Fisher College version of US Weekly’s “Stars: They’re Just Like Us!”