Lean 5S for Custodial – The Waste of Overproduction
OK – so you have had time to think about the eight different wastes that we might find in our processes and anywhere in our professional or personal lives. Today lets specifically talk about overproduction which is definied as producing more than needed or faster than needed. So how might that happen in a custodial/cleaning situation? Excess inventory. When is the last time you looked in your custodial closets and really gave them a good cleaning and sorting? Are you working with an automated system that tells you when and how much to replenish? If so, when is the last time you reviewed the usage and if that system works on a min/max replenishment – have you reviewed those lately. If you are still working with a manual system, excess inventory may be caused from “just in case logic”.
Another example may be waste in your material handling processes. What does the flow of product going through your department look like? Is it being handled too many times? Is this process causing excess inventory? Are you stocking the same materials in multiple locations in large quantities. Is your storage area organized so that things can be found easily so that over ordering doesn’t occur? In a few days we will dig into the 5S process and step one (sort) will help you address this.
A few other examples: over using resources (water, energy) and an unbalanced workload may cause overproduction also.
So spend some time thinking and observing your department and identify any possible wastes related to overproduction. Tomorrow I will address the waste of motion!
