5S is no longer a new concept in many workspaces, yet many still struggle with the implementation. Before I settle down into my 5S training sessions I like to first take the temperature of the class, “What do you know about 5S?” Sometimes people can rattle off the 5S’s: Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, & Sustain. Most often I get a general reduction to housekeeping activities like sorting and cleaning. This is as good an opportunity as any to highlight what the takeaway of the training should be. If you remember anything at all, the objective of 5S is not just housekeeping but to establish and then elevate the baseline to which work is performed. Its simplicity is culpable of its misrepresentation. 5S sounds a lot like housekeeping but its full benefits can only be reaped if you are critical of the process and not just going through the motions.
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Deciding on the appropriate level of response for a Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) is not always straight forward. The most idealistic solutions are often not the most realistic. There are always other factors that come into play such as capital constraints, insufficient labor, or geographical barriers to name a few. Furthermore, as many CAPAs require cross-functional support, it brings the complexities of priority conflicts, corporate communications, and general office diplomacy.
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Finding the true root cause is imperative to correctly identifying deficiencies and subsequently developing effective solutions. No matter the Root Cause Analysis technique employed while conducting Kaizen Events, there should always be a conscious effort to challenge the initial root cause hypothesis. What makes this task difficult is that often Project Leaders or Investigators are not Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). Therefore, every great investigator should have some additional interrogation skills in their toolbox to help ensure that they cull the right information.
The key to finding true root cause is to realize that every testimonial implicates someone or something that has an owner. Therefore, sometimes SMEs may protect their own interest if the true root cause does not favor them or their process.
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