Where do you use quality and process improvement tools in everyday life?

This week, we were viewing the American Society of Quality video “Quality for Life: Lean is everywhere”. In the video Frank Murdock talked about how waste can be identified everywhere and lean principles can be used from organizing your garage to greeting people at church.

What things are you doing around your house that adds steps, adds waste, and adds no value? Can you “Lean” out some waste?

Here are three big places you can start:

  • Garage – Do you use your garage just for your cars or is it the storage place for the entire house?
  • Laundry – Is your laundry room organized for efficiency?
  • Kitchen Pantry – Can you find what you are looking for in your pantry?

Here is a lean tool that you can use to get started:

5S – Japanese principles for organizing your environment into a quality workspace.
You can find various translations for the 5S principles, but see the simplified version below:

  • Sorting: Separate what you need from what you don’t need and eliminate the unnecessary
  • Straighten: Organize all the necessary items and put them in the right place
  • Shining: Keeping the area clean
  • Standard: Setup a routine to keep the area clean and organized
  • Sustain: Maintain the process of sorting, straightening, shining, and standardization over time.

Branner Consulting, LLC can help you at any stage along your journey from process documentation to implementing process improvement projects. We also provide coaching and training in Six Sigma and Lean methodologies.