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Why Every Call Center Needs to Learn About Sigma Five...      The rift between the West and the East. So often in North America we take the view that we know it all. The others learn from us. That we can do no wrong. Yet somehow things have changed in work places in North America and not all changes are for the better. What am I taking about? I'm talking about attitudes at all levels in virtually every business concerning one conduct and functioning at the place where we work. Take casual Fridays. Long gone are the days in the fifties where all males reported to work wearing a white shirt, dress pants and a tie. In come casual Fridays; that has evolved to casual 'golf shirt' weeks; that has evolved to no one being concerned about wearing clean or even pressed clothes. What happened? Is this a world-wide trend for humanity as a whole? The answer is no.      In Japan and now in China, a growing trend for a management technique was observed to be taking the Pacific Rim by storm. The trend is an adherence and promotion of the 'Sigma Five' principle of organization.      What is Sigma Five? The Sigma Five concept is based on the principle that having visual control of a workplace means that problems cannot be hidden. 5S Visual Management is a form of house-keeping derived in Japan in the 1960s. Today, it forms an integral part of any Lean deployment. Lean, of course, deals with waste reduction and the 5S process reduces waste and non-value activity by organizing the workplace, standardizing procedures, improving quality efficiency and creating a safe working environment. The name of the process simply refers to five words beginning with ‘S’ in Japanese that relate to the five stages required, namely: Seiri - roughly translated; organization Seiton - orderliness Seiso - cleanliness Seiketsu - standards Shitsuke - sustaining discipline      Hiroyuki Hirano, award-winning author of ‘5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace’, seen by many as the definitive guide to 5S, describes a factory or any business as a "living organism" and as such "if they don’t adapt to their changing environment, they perish".      Many are fooled by the simplicity of the system and are put off as a result, but although it can be implemented on its own, it is only usually as part of a broader organizational quality program - i.e. Lean - that it’s true value flourishes. It not only gives immediate results, but its successful implementation sets the foundations for a successful large-scale change.      ‘Seiri’ focuses on discarding any non-essential items from the work area and putting them into storage, or throwing them away as waste. This is to facilitate fewer hazards and less mess in and around the work area leading to increased productivity through greater visibility. A frequently used method at this step is ‘Red Tagging’ items suspected of being non-essential for inspection and removal.      'Seiton’ is the step where the essential work items are arranged and organized in such a way as to give efficient ease-of-use: ‘everything in its place’. It is at this stage that items are labeled, signs are put up and masking tape is used to delineate where things should be. Once this has been done, it must be maintained, which is where; ‘Seiso’ comes in.      'Seiso' is where regular cleaning of the work area ensures that visibility and ease-of-use is kept up, as well as affording the opportunity to inspect tools and machinery to check that everything is in order. It is not the janitor's job to empty the garbage; it is everyone's job.      ‘Seiketsu’ enshrines the responsibility for housekeeping standards into the roles of the individual and the organization, making them an integral part of work routines, and ensuring that best practice is standardized.      And finally; ‘Shitsuke’ ensures that the new practices are sustained and engrained, and a return to ‘the old ways’ is avoided through diligence and discipline in maintaining the new order.      There are many Western alternatives that are derived from 5S, such as CANDO (Cleanup, Arranging, Neatness, Discipline, and Ongoing improvement). Its benefits in workplaces are obvious, but as with Lean and Sigma Five, can also be applied in transactional service environments with great success.      As with all improvement systems, it is important to ensure that the system is being used for the right reasons and that the organization remains focused on them. Whilst the safety and environmental aspects of a clean, organized workplace are obvious and vital, 5S as a process enables problems to be spotted and dealt with quickly, and efficient production to be maintained as a result. Every manager in North America should awaken to the indisputable benefits of the Sigma Five ideal. We just need to put it into action! << PreviousNext >>

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