Lean practitioners love 2 things 1) White Boards and 2) Checklists. Given the space or a process, these items will magically appear within or close to a process. We also see huge benefits resulting from people implementing TPM especially around increasing Employee engagement through Emotional Attachment (but they need to be manually updated and completed.)
We have morphed TPM through the years evolving from being just a machine operator self-check to then also incorporating some minor maintenance and adjustments by the operator. Finally, because our template is so powerful we added ancillary items within the work area for the operator to check that is related to the area like 5S expectations.
Often, common or general area then become overlooked, ignored or treated like an orphan but to bring them into the family and spread responsibility consider adding the methodology of using Kamishibai cards.
Kamishibai or also know as “T” cards is a simple check card system that is used for systematically reviewing critical items within the workplace area. These items may relate to safety, quality, production or general 5S activities. In essence, a tool to help in Maintaining the Standard.
Incorporated within the Kamishibai cards can be regular general activities that can be randomly allocated to individuals to complete during the course of a shift. This is also a great tool to complement your daily 5 minute 5S activities.
The background colour of the cards are also colour coded to denote at what frequency activities need to be completed. for example;
• Blue for Daily Checks
• Yellow for Weekly Checks
• Orange for monthly checks
You pick a card at random from the box and then proceed to the process and complete your check.
If the checks are OK or the task has been successfully completed you replace the card in the board showing the GREEN SIDE.
When all of the activities have been completed and there are no more cards in the box, the cards are removed from the board and the process starts over again.
In summary ...
• It is easy and simple to install
• Easy to operate – system prompts checks to ensure 100% compliance
• Simple – minimal training required
• Displays clearly (visually) status of completion
• Can be applied to any area or process within your business
Remember to audit the checks and if the situation stabilizes either move the check to a less frequent requirement or just eliminate the check. This makes sense as the DNA of your organization evolves so will your relationship with your people from Parent-to-Child to Adult-to-Adult.
Want your own? Contact us for a custom design to suit your needs.
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