HERE'S HOW LEAN CAN SAVE YOU MONEY

• Published in: Automotive Body Repair News 2011-11, Vol.50 (11), p.60
• Main Author: Shoemaker, John
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Automotive repair services; Best practice; Cost control; Philosophy; Profitability; Total quality
• ISSN: 2166-0751; 2166-2533

The 5S Kaizen philosophy is based on five Japanese words that begin with S: Seiri - Sort, Seiton - Set in order, Seiso - Shine, Seitetsu - Standardize, and Shitsuke - Sustain. By progressing through the 53 steps you will develop habits that wilt streamline your operation, remove waste and ultimately save money. The next step is to make things Shine. This is more than just sweeping the floor and cleaning up an area, it also means checking out your equipment and making sure it's functional. Take a look at your welder, what do the nozzles look like? Some that I have seen are pitted and corroded causing the welding spool to stick. When the welding spool sticks the technician has to stop working, check out the problem, try to find a new tip or chase down another welder. A Shine action would be to assign the welder to a technician, put his name on it, and have him take ownership of the welder's condition. He would do the periodic maintenance, ensure it is always in working order and save you the lost productive labor caused by the welder breaking down. I have just scratched the surface in this quick review of the 5S Kaizen philosophy. Look around your shop for areas where you can make a difference and where you can achieve savings. That's the great thing about lean and the 5S Kaizen philosophy, you can start anywhere and at whatever level you want and still realize a benefit.