5S for the Laboratory

"Who took my stapler?

Wheres the multi-channel pipettor gone?

Can't find the autoclave tape?

Wheres the auto-rep charger?

Why are we hoarding empty pipette tip boxes?

That machine has been used since 2011!

Where has the balance disappeared to this time?

Where is my mind????" 

Sound familiar??? This is a typical case for a 5S intervention! A clean, well organised, visual workspace is essential for structure and efficiency in any working environment. 5S is the first step towards creating a leaner, highly efficient and productive laboratory.

 5S for best lab practice

Sorting (Seiri) 

Seiri literally infers clear the work area and remove unnecessary items. Seiri means dump, discard, donate - clear the area of unnecessary items or items that are not used regularly. Get rid excess pipettes, tip containers, unused/excess inventory and out of date documents. Iif items are no longer needed, or are not being used regularly they should be cleared and not take up valuable lab space. If it doesn't belong to the lab then get rid of it. The Kanban system is a useful tool for this step of 5S. Use Kanban cards for uncertain items - red tagging is a visual management tool to designate the status of an item and help identify unnecessary items. Items are tagged for discarding, recycling, removal or relocation. Establish a red tag holding area for these items and create a clearance inspection schedule to sort held items on a regular basis. Kanban cards are useful for restocking and maintaining inventory. Sorting creates a more spacious ,purposeful workspace that saves time, energy and improves laboratory morale!

Set in order (Seiton) 

After sorting its time to organise the remaining items. Arrange and identify equipment, instruments etc. with visual aids. Give every item a designated area - use tape or paint as demarcators to outline areas and label the item and its designated area. Only the specified objects or instruments should be placed in their respective designated area. Colour coding is an excellent visual management aid that facilitate Seiton. In addition to the order and placement of items, specific storage areas for consumables should also be established. Optimize storage facilities and create more signage. Outline spaces on the floor, identify pathways, storage areas, waste location etc. and ensure there are no obstacles. Shadow boards are excellent for arranging tools and equipment. Set in order helps to arrange items so they can be found easily by anyone and returned to the rightful place by anyone. This is essential in shared work environments. It eliminates waste by duplication and time spent searching for items.

Materials, instruments and equipment set in place in QC labs 

Shining (Seiso) 

Most labs should be spotless, nevertheless it is important to make sure that all areas and all utilities are impeccably clean and kept that way! Shining will provide a more comfortable, pleasant workspace and instills a sense of pride. Shining enhances workplace safety and will also prevent equipment deterioration. Shining makes problems obvious and facilitates regular inspections for leaks, vibrations, breakages, and misalignments. Shining should be a daily routine and should also include inspection and routine maintenance.

Let it shine!!!

Standardizing (Seiketsu)

5S should be a daily routine with regular evaluation. Standardize entails a system of tasks and procedures to ensure continuous implementation of 5S. 5S consistency requires managing people, processes and equipment for effective implementation of 5S. Employees should be made aware of their responsibilities, facilitated by signage and visual awareness. Develop checklists and storage maps and assign tasks to individuals. Develop SOPs, this can improve training, helpful for new employees, saves time and improves efficiency. Allocate a specific time to conduct a 5S audit. Standardise taping, labelling, demarcation - make colour coordination and labelling consistent to minimize confusion.

Taping standards for 5S

Sustaining (Shitsuke)

Now that you have created a 5S workspace it is important to keep it that way! Create a 5S audit to ensure that areas are sorted, set in place and clean! Get everyone involved - motivation and commitment is essential for effective 5S implementation. Create a reward system to encourage people to maintain high standards of 5S - use 5S audit sheets as a scorecard for inter-lab competitions. Make 5S visible by displaying posters or newsletters and signage to create a constant reminder of 5S.

See the difference before and after 5S

Kanban

Kanban is a Japanese word that means “visual card”. Kanban is a system for organising workflow, task prioritisation and effective use of personnel and resources for just in time delivery (JIT). JIT sample analysis is enhanced by automation, efficient sample levelling and continuous operatioal flow.

1. Process visibility

In a Kanban system it is important to visualize the work flow. This may involve creating a Kanban board, dividing the work process in to smaller steps, each step is identified by a specific coloured card. The card contains the information about the process and the person responsible. The cards are placed on a workflow (Kanban) board outlining samples waiting for analysis, queued, work in progress (WIP), completion and release so that the process flow and progress is clearly visible.

2. Limited WIP (work in progress)

In the Kanban system, increasing the visibility of a process and task status makes it easy to identify backlogs, constraints, overburdened employees and bottlenecks. The system sets specific limits for how many items may be processed at any time. In this way tasks are completed just in time (JIT) to limit backlog.

3. Monitor lead time 

The Kanban system optimizes processes by predicting workflow and reducing the lead time - average amount of time it takes for a task to be processed from the specific start to the finish point. In laboratoty terms, this can relate to the amount of time it takes to process a batch from collection, sample analysis and data transfer. Kanban metrics can be used to analyze the time required to process samples to make improvements for an efficient continous flow operation.

4. Make Process and Policies Explicit

Processes need to be clearly defined, explicit and communicted effectively in order to be understood. Without clear ojectives and general consensus, people are less likely to engage in process improvement and and adopt changes.

5. Collaborative Improvement

The success of Kanban requires small incremental changes for continuous improvement and sustainment. Team engagement and a holistic approach to continuous improvment throughout the facility is essential.

Kanban Inventory 

Managing inventory is an important aspect of minimising waste in laboratories and it complements the 5S initiative. A Kanban system may be used for inventory maintenance, particularly restocking. Other inventory examples where Kanban is apparent include colour indictors for different samples according to urgency or batch, a common practice in clinical labs. 

Kanban Board

A Kanban board is an effective visual management tool that provides an excellent overview of a current work situation by making process flow, tasks and responsibilities clearly visible. It enables clear identification of backlogs, heavy workloads, overburdened resources and personnel. It is also an excellent way for employees to keep track of their own progress and work load management and it simplifies communication within a team to enhance productivity.

Kanban board

There are also numerous digital Kanban software programs which may be a good tool for integration with LIMS to enhance communication and collaborate analyses in real time.

    http://leankit.com/kanban

   https://kanbanize.com/

    

http://kanbantool.com/

https://kanbanflow.com/

Go To Gemba!

Observe, Engage, Improve

Gemba is a Japanese word which means “at the site”. In Lean, Gemba means observing a process in action. The first step in the Lean process is go to Gemba - go and see!

Identifying muda or waste in the lab is key to successful implementation of lean. In order to identify wastes and defects it is necessary to go to Gemba and observe, engage in the process. Gemba is essentially a waste walk or audit to get an understanding of a situation, process, purpose and people. Improvement can only occur if the situation is adequately understood. There is no point assessing a process from the desk, muda isn’t evident from remote assessment. During Gemba consider SIPOC: Supply Input Process, Output, Control.