Six parts just for planning and I feel like I hardly covered it!

The point is, of course, that good planning is essential for good execution.  But, eventually, you do have to execute so let's look at that for a few posts.

In my last couple of posts, I mentioned and discussed the value of an agile events calendar.  It  focused on 5S and Quick Change Workshops as two important types of events that should be on the calendar.   Let's start with the why and how of those two initiatives.

5S
I've talked about 5S before in my blog.  I was saying at a client the other day, if an organization told me it could only do one thing toward agility, my recommendation would be either working on the metrics or 5S.  (It's real tough to leave quick change out and I used to have it as one of my top two, but I've found that the work on the metrics does more in terms of creating and sustaining management energy.)

I like 5S because it hooks into much more than simply getting organized, as important as that is.  It impacts safety, quality, productivity, inventory control, consistent work practices.

5S is team oriented.  It gets folks involved and energized.  It's not "expert oriented".  In other words, it doesn't depend on "5S blackbelts" or any such.  You just teach participants what the five S's are and one or two other things and set them loose.

You don't have to 5S the whole operation before you get started on anything else.  In fact, it will probably take you at least a year or two to get everything 5S'd.  On the other hand, yYou should 5S a particular area, line, or machine before you start any other initiatives in the same area.

My basic 5S format is a half-day workshop.  I spend the first hour going over some of the basics, three (or so hours) actually "5S'ing" in a specific area, and another half hour developing some standard procedures and scheduling team meetings.

It's important to have the 5S team meet a few times to review the action list and to review how well the standard procedures are working.  (I'll put up another post with more detail about my format.)

Quick Change
As important as 5S is, Quick Change is the heart of agility.  (At that, I think Quick Change is actually a bit of a misnomer.  It's not really how quickly the tooling gets changed that's important.  It's how quickly the first part from the next run is product.)  Quick change requires a bit more commitment than 5S to show improvement but not a lot more.  (On the other hand, I think 5S is harder to sustain.)  Implementing Quick Change is similar to 5S: a bit of training then go to the shop floor to observe changeovers and make changes.

Again, it's important to have the team meet after a quick change workshop to follow-up on ideas and action items.   

Leadership has to be committed to the benefits of quick change. Improvements can involve changes to tooling and equipment. 

Again,  you don't have to reduce changeover times all over the shop before you get started on anything else.  But it is good to focus quick change on a few machines or work centers and get it firmly in place before moving on.

Shouldn't We Do Value Stream Mapping Before Doing 5S or Quick Change?
Unless you're certain that you're 5S and Changeover practices are very good, no.  Do 5S and Quick Change first.  Again, you don't have to get them both finished throughout the plant before starting Value Stream Maps but focus on getting them started early.  No need to spend a few weeks (or more)  Value Stream Mapping just to get folks to agree that your plant looks like a tornado just hit and changeovers take anywhere from 8 minutes to 8 days.