The road to learning continuous
improvement principals is constant and dynamic, picking up concepts and the
variations of interpretation. During my 30 plus years of studying and
practicing scientific management theories, I noticed how ideas get developed,
interpreted and communicated, accepted wisdom sounding important but lost in
translation, complexity within the details that may not be needed, long string
of words some not used in normal conversations.
Unlike other languages, English is full of innuendo. The normal blue
collar workforce with its own vernacular when asked to grasp these new concepts
struggle to implement them like fish out of water.
As an example to this, I’d like to share what I learned with the Lean concept
of 5 S. First I’ll provide my opinion of the English version, then I’ll
follow up with the Japanese version. Obviously, this is my account and
does not represent the how other companies pass this acumen to their work force,
but it’s important to illicit an argument that we as LSS practitioners are
targeted effete, contentious and ineffective.
When I learned the five words: Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardize and
Sustain I was not really convinced of the choice of words to convey the true
meaning of a lean practice.
1. Sort
2. Straighten
3. Shine
4. Standardize
5. Sustain
To illustrate some of the confusion, I copied the following from the internet
that provided definitions to these five simple words.
· SORT: sôrt/Submit (noun): a category
of things or people having some common feature; a type. "if only we
knew the sort of people she was mixing with”. synonyms: type, kind,
nature, manner, variety, class, category, style. Informal: a person
of a specified character or nature. "Frank was a genuinely friendly
sort.” synonyms: person, individual, soul, creature, human being.
Archaic: A manner or way. "in law also the judge is in a sort
superior to his king." COMPUTING: the arrangement of
data in a prescribed sequence. PRINTING: a letter or piece in a
font of type. Verb: verb: sort; third person present: sorts; past
tense: sorted; past participle: sorted; gerund or present participle:
sorting: Arrange systematically in groups; separate according to type,
class, etc. "she sorted out the clothes, some to be kept, some to be
thrown away.” Synonyms: Classify, class, categorize, catalog,
grade, group. Resolve, settle, solve, fix, work out, straighten out, deal
with, put right, set right, rectify, iron out; answer, explain, fathom,
unravel, clear up. Informal: sew up, hammer out, thrash out, patch up, figure
out look at (a group of things) one after another in order to classify them or
make a selection. "she sat down and sorted through her mail."
Resolve (a problem or difficulty). “The teacher helps the children to
sort out their problems." Synonyms: Resolve, settle, solve,
fix, work out, straighten out, deal with, put right, set right, rectify, iron
out.
· STRAIGHTEN: straight·en ˈstrātn/Submit: Verb:
Straighten; third person present: straightens; past tense: straightened; past
participle: straightened; gerund or present participle: straightening.
Make or become straight. "She helped him straighten his
tie." Synonyms: Make straight, adjust, arrange, rearrange,
(make) tidy, spruce up. Make tidy or put in order again. “He sat
down at his desk, straightening his things that Lee had moved." Synonyms:
Put/set right, sort out, clear up, settle, resolve, put in order, regularize,
rectify, remedy. Stand or sit erect after bending. “He straightened
up, using the bedside table for support." Synonyms: Stand up
(straight), stand upright, (of a vehicle, ship, or aircraft) stop turning
and move in a straight line.
· SHINE SHīn/Submit Verb shine; third person
present: shines; past tense: shone; past participle: shone; gerund or present
participle: shining; past tense: shined; past participle: shined. (of the
sun or another source of light) give out a bright light. "The sun
shone through the window." Synonyms: Emit light, beam,
radiate, gleam, glow, glint, glimmer, sparkle, twinkle, glitter, glisten,
shimmer, flash, flare, glare, fluoresce. Glow or be bright with reflected
light. "I could see his eyes shining in the light of the
fire." Synonyms: Gleaming, bright, brilliant, illuminated,
lustrous, glowing, glinting, sparkling, twinkling, glittering, glistening,
shimmering, dazzling, luminous, luminescent, incandescent. Direct (a
flashlight or other light) somewhere in order to see something in the
dark. “An usher shines his flashlight into the boys' faces."
(of a person's eyes) be bright with the expression of a particular
emotion. “His eyes shone with excitement." Synonyms:
Glowing, beaming, radiant, happy. Be very talented or perform very
well. “She shines at comedy." Synonyms: Excel, be
outstanding, be brilliant, be successful, stand out. Paragon, model,
epitome, archetype, ideal, exemplar, nonpareil, paradigm, quintessence, beau
ideal, acme, jewel, flower, treasure. Make (an object made of leather,
metal, or wood) bright by rubbing it; polish. “His shoes were shined to
perfection." Synonyms: Polish, burnish, buff, wax, gloss .
Noun: A quality of brightness, esp. from reflected light. “Use shoe
polish to try and get a shine.” Synonyms: Light, brightness, gleam, glow,
glint, glimmer, sparkle, twinkle, glitter, glisten, shimmer, beam, glare,
radiance, illumination, luminescence, luminosity, incandescence. An act
of rubbing something to give it a shiny surface. Plural noun:
shines. "Tom's shoes got a quick shine from a boy with a buffing
cloth." Offensive: A contemptuous term for a black or
dark-skinned person.
· STANDARDIZE: stand·ard·ize ˈstandərˌdīz/Submit
Verb: Third person present: standardizes; past tense: standardized; past
participle: standardized; gerund or present participle: standardizing; verb:
standardise; third person present: standardises; past tense: standardised; past
participle: standardised; gerund or present participle: standardizing:
Cause (something) to conform to a standard. "The editors failed to
standardize the spelling of geographic names." Synonyms:
Systematize, make consistent, make uniform, make comparable, regulate,
normalize, bring into line, equalize, homogenize, regiment . adopt (something)
as one's standard. “We could standardize on U.S. equipment."
Determine the properties of by comparison with a standard.
· SUSTAIN: sus·tain səˈstān/Submit Verb Third
person present: sustains; past tense: sustained; past participle: sustained;
gerund or present participle: sustaining. Strengthen or support
physically or mentally. “This thought had sustained him throughout the years."
Synonyms: Comfort, help, assist, encourage, succor, support, give strength to,
buoy up, carry, cheer up, hearten. Cause to continue or be prolonged for
an extended period or without interruption. “He cannot sustain a normal
conversation." Synonyms: Continue, carry on, keep up, keep alive,
maintain, preserve, conserve, perpetuate, retain. Antonyms:
Sporadic (of a performer) represent (a part or character) convincingly.
“He sustained the role with burly resilience." Bear (the weight of
an object) without breaking or falling. “He sagged against her so that
she could barely sustain his weight." Synonyms: Bear, support,
carry, stand, keep up, prop up, shore up, underpin. Undergo or
suffer (something unpleasant, esp. an injury). “He died after sustaining
severe head injuries." Synonyms: Undergo experience, suffer, and
endure. Uphold, affirm, or confirm the justice or validity of. "The
allegations of discrimination were sustained." Synonyms: Uphold,
validate, ratify, vindicate, confirm, endorse. Noun: MUSIC An
effect or facility on a keyboard or electronic instrument whereby a note can be
sustained after the key is released.
There’s no denying that the definitions to these words are correct and
comprehensive. As a normal person with some vocabulary, our minds
sometimes encounter a selection process to apply the correct meaning, sometimes
misinterpreting and thereby creating a wrong or misguided result. One
thing I can attest is that by attempting to simplify ideas, it oftentimes
generates complexity with a never ending barrage of information. One of
my co-workers complained, “If this is so lean, why is it so freaking
complicated and asked to LEAN the LEAN PROCESS!”
Good point. So in my studies of 5 S, I stumbled upon the Japanese version:
1. Seiri
2. Seiton
3. Seison
4. Seiketsu
5. Shitsuke
And this is what I found in defining them:
· Seiri. Tidiness
– Throw away junk, don’t keep what you don’t need. Rule of thumbs, if you
don’t miss trash it, or store it the hell away.
· Seiton. Orderly.
Organize for efficiency. Set things in proper places for quick retrieval
and storage.
· Seiso. Clean.
Everybody’s a janitor. If you see trash on the floor, pick it up,
and just don’t stop there, be clean at home, in public and at work!
· Seiketsu. Standardize
a routine that maintains the first three concepts (ala Karate Kid. Rule
number 1 "Karate for defense only." Rule number 2 "First
learn rule number one.")
· Shitsuke. Discipline.
Don’t be lazy. Do your job and do it well.
With that example,
compare English version of 5 S then the Japanese.
My vote is the
Japanese, simple to pass on to rank and file where concepts are easier to
remember and implement.
When asked why the
English version was used to substitute the Japanese version, I was told because
it was simple to remember. I argued back, then why do we continue to use
words like Kaizen, Kanban, Muda, Mura and Muri?
My goal in
implementing continuous improvement is results with the least amount of words
possible. Sometimes using a foreign language provides a clear story to
tell than English which I’ve learned so far can be quite complicated. I
think the 6 S that we need to implement is SIMPLICITY!!!
Hiyaaaa!
No comments:
Post a Comment