Asking your operation to deliver more in 2027? Start with a stable foundation.
Talk with Incito about stabilityMy recommendation: Create stability before you try to increase capability. Before you push your operation to go faster or cost less, organize the workplace with 5S and standardize the work. Without that foundation, improvements wash out, people get frustrated, and retention gets harder.
You have to create stability before increasing capability. It is just that simple.
So many organizations are trying to improve their capability: go faster, be more effective, be more efficient, do it for fewer dollars and cents. It is near impossible if you are not stable, if you are not organized, and certainly if you do not have any standards to follow.
I learned this principle during my time working with Toyota, and I see it every time a growing company asks its operation for more. If you are adding shifts, people or product lines in 2027, the foundation comes first.
What does stability before capability mean?
Stability means the work happens the same way, under the same conditions, every time. Capability means what the operation can deliver: more output, faster flow, lower cost. You cannot reliably build the second on a process that changes from shift to shift.
When a process is unstable, every improvement you make gets washed out by the next disruption. When it is stable, you can see the effect of a change and keep what works.
Why does an unstable operation drive people away?
Instability is probably one of the main reasons folks get frustrated. They come in to do good work and spend the shift searching for tools, working around missing information and fixing yesterday’s problems. You start to lose people. Employee retention becomes a very, very difficult number to attain.
For a growing plant, that matters twice. Every new hire learns the process as it actually runs. If it runs differently every day, they learn confusion. I have written about the link between strategic clarity and retention; stable daily work is the other half of it.
Where do you start: 5S or standardized work?
Start with both. Create organization, standardize your processes through 5S workplace organization, and standardize the work. That is so paramount.
5S is a workplace organization method named for five Japanese words: seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu and shitsuke. In English they are usually translated as sort, straighten, shine, standardize and sustain (Lean Enterprise Institute). It makes abnormal conditions visible, so problems show up before they reach the customer. It is much more than housekeeping.
Standardized work defines the current best way to do a job: the sequence, the timing and the materials needed to support flow. It gives your team a baseline, and a baseline is what makes improvement possible.
- Sort what is needed from what is not in one work area.
- Give every needed item a visible home.
- Write down the current best method with the people who do the work, then train to it.
If you want the detail behind each step, start with the 5S principles.
Stability first. Then build capability on top of it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between stability and capability?
Stability is doing the work the same way, under the same conditions, every time. Capability is how much the operation can deliver. You need the first to grow the second.
Is 5S just housekeeping?
No. 5S organizes the workplace so problems are visible and standards can hold. Cleaning is one part of it, not the point of it.
How does stability affect employee retention?
When the work is disorganized and has no standard, people spend the day fighting the process. That frustration is one reason people leave. A stable process gives them a fair chance to succeed.
Sources
Build a stable base before you push for more
If your 2027 plan asks your operation to go faster or do more, let’s look at whether the workplace and the work are stable enough to support it.
Talk with Incito about 5S and standard work