Hospital - Maintenance
The results have been astounding. In an afternoon, they managed to free up over 600 square feet or about 75% of the room.
Hospital Maintenance
As with most support groups in an organization, the feeling you get, at times, is that you are a disciple and not necessarily recognized at the same level of importance as other groups. With this positioning, it can be difficult to be recognized as a leader to other groups and as an example for them to follow.
One maintenance department in a hospital was able to achieve this goal of being a leader when they successfully applied 5S.
The maintenance group was located in the basement of the hospital and by default they became the dumping ground for used or old equipment, damaged equipment and equipment that didn't have a home. As well, their location was the basement - it was out of site and it was considered less clean and maybe it didn't need to be as clean. And this type of thinking by the staff seemed to lead to the acceptance that it was OK to pile 'stuff' into any area that was open. Adding to this situation, was the fact that supervisors and employees in maintenance came and went, through natural attrition and organizational changes, which meant that material accumulated and nobody knew where to find things. It soon became a frustrating and an unpleasant task, just to find items when they were needed. When, and if, the items were eventually found, it usually meant moving material around to get to the item they wanted. It was not unusual to spend a half day or more searching and moving.
In this area, there was also equipment that was designated good but no longer required and was to be donated. The problem encountered, in this situation, was that the donation equipment was sent by the truckload. But because the items were so scattered, no one really knew when there was a truckload ready.
The area the employees worked in became an area for storage of material and work in process. Tools were hung up using shadow boards and looked very organized. However, many employees had difficulty reaching over workbenches to get them. They felt they were running out of space and they were feeling no one noticed or that it just didn't matter.
The challenge facing the maintenance team was to clean up the areas, make them visual, put a system in place to prevent the area from becoming cluttered again and to convince everyone to sustain the results.
With the help of Lean Healthcare Inc., the maintenance team was introduced to 5S. The 5S's are
- 1S. Sort
- 2S. Set in order
- 3S. Sweep
- 4S. Standardize
- 5S. Sustain
One of the most difficult undertakings in a 5S event is to identify an area that the "red tagged" items will go. These red tag items are items not required to get the work completed by that particular area of the department.
The team's first priority was to clear out a room that was approximately 20 feet by 40 feet with about 60 square feet of open floor available. The remaining area was cluttered and to get from one end to another you had to climb over material.
Important to note - prior to starting the 5S initiative, maintenance was one of the areas with the highest injury-on-duty. The clutter, they contended with, was certainly a contributing factor. For this reason, they decided it would be the first area to be 5S'd.
The results have been astounding. In an afternoon, they completed their sorting and freed up over 600 square feet or about 75% of the room. The next day the concrete floors were painted. Racking was set up and labeling completed. Any new items going into the area require a red tag that includes when the item will have a disposition.
They didn't stop there. They continued through the entire basement level, cleaning and sorting. With the new freed up space, they were able to keep equipment, being repaired but waiting for a part, out of the main work area. They moved workbenches away from the wall so they could work around items on the bench rather than twisting the item and themselves around. They even had the option (which they didn't before) of having two employees work on the same item at the same time. Now that the benches were away from the walls, stretching and reaching was eliminated. The employees could now walk right up to where the tools were stored to retrieve them properly and safely.
Another benefit from the 5S exercise was they freed up enough space to layout an area the size of a semi trailer where they place the material to be donated. When the area is full they know (it is visible to all staff) that they should order a truck and have it taken away.
The group also discovered many tools and parts that they never knew they had. In fact, they found there were things they kept ordering and the reality was they already had the parts and material in stock.
This 5S event has made the maintenance group a leader in their organization and they have gained and earned much respect along with self pride in their jobs - departments are asking them for their help to implement 5S in other areas. They also have gone over 120 days without an injury!
Congratulations to this group! They are now able to independently apply 5S without the need for outside consultants. That is what we at Lean Healthcare Inc. call 'success'.