Hello, Ann, are you excited about our new office 5S program? I can hardly contain myself. This is
going to be much better than our office TQM initiative and the office Six Sigma program,
I'm sure. Whoo-hoo sign me up. I'm glad you are excited. Yes I'm sure you can hear the excitement
in my voice. Can I ask a question? Normally no, but just this once go ahead. Who told you to do 5S in
the office? Our consultant did. And what does the consultant specialize in? He teaches people how
to do 5S. Maybe you have heard this expression when all you have is a hammer then everything
looks like a nail? The consultant says you must mark where your hammer goes in your workspace.
It makes you more efficient. The best factories do this. Hello?? This is an office. I don't have
a hammer at my desk. See you would know the hammer is missing if you had a tape outline
showing where the hammer and your other tools go. No no no but I'm a marketing specialist. I create
marketing proposals. I do not have a hammer. Then you can put tape around your computer your monitor
your phone your stapler your coffee cup your purse your mouse the tape the staple remover
that book and those paper clips. Why would I have to put tape around my monitor? So it does not get
lost -- we will always know where the monitor is. You will not waste time looking for it. Our office
will be more efficient. Has anyone in our office ever have a monitor go missing? I don't know,
you must do this. It is on my goals and objectives to implement 5S. So I will open my desk drawer and
put tape around each of my pens and pencils? Ah the consultant says there will be a strict
limit of two pens per desk. Any more than two pens is waste. We must not waste money, we must
be lean. Do I have to put tape around my family photos? I'm glad you asked... you are no longer
allowed to personalize your workspace. We must be lean. How is this helping me do a better job? The
consultant says it will. Why? He was very adamant about it. Why? He yelled and screamed a lot in
Japanese. How do you know he is right? I'm sure he is right -- we paid him a lot of money. Look
it takes us six weeks to get a new proposal out to a client. Maybe we should work on fixing that,
you know, reducing the cycle time? Maybe we will get more clients -- we can grow the business? We
must do 5S. Do you even know what the 5Ss are? The 5Ses are five words that start with s. They
are straighten salami stopwatch sasquatch and Salmonella. That doesn't sound right. The words
are all Japanese -- we must learn them. We are a learning organization. Don't you want to learn?
I still don't understand how this will help. The consultant said this was very important we will
do the Five 5S or maybe even six. Will we make the organization more effective? Effectiveness
is not one of the five S. That starts with the letter E so it is not important right now. But
isn't the goal of 5S to improve effectiveness? Our lean consultant did not explain that to me.
I only know that a successful 5S program is the first step -- it is always the first step... always.
Yikes! I need a cup of coffee. You can find the coffee in the new 5S approved location... but
I'm afraid that you can no longer drink the coffee at your desk. That would be a 5S violation. Why?
Why you ask why a lot. I will sign you up for the five whys lean training. But this
is absurd. You must follow the Lean rules. Now I must go and fill out my 5S audit sheet -- goodbye!