Pottery Display Lattice

Lean Thinking Tip #8: Major or Minor Seiso?

Last winter I conducted an experiment in maintaining a more perfect, uncluttered workplace.  Following the principle of the five Ss, as explained in Lean Thinking by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones, I dedicated the first hour of each day to the middle S, which refers to seiso.  Seiso is Japanese for purity but in this context refers to a cleanup campaign conducted on a regular basis.  This experiment was a dismal failure due to the five Fs:   Focus on current project cleanup rather than general, Failure to define discrete, smaller, doable cleanup projects, Fear of the "great mess," Frittering away time quite creatively and Fattening oneself up on a snack and a hot drink.  Then last week I dedicated an entire day to shop seiso and produced a much happier and efficient workplace.  The numerous benefits gained immediately and positively affected production.  By the way, Lean Thinking is a must read for anybody who makes anything, and though it is more directed to large corporations the concepts apply equally well to the small shop.  Hopefully, by the way, you don't find yourself prone to the five Fs.