LSS practitioners have long used the Lean Six Sigma (LSS), tool 6S, to organize workspaces. It can also be very useful. Q: What’s the difference between value or worth? A: Value is what you get when someone exchanges something like money for a product or service. It is the intrinsic value of a product or project that isn’t affected by external factors like supply or demand. This concept is sometimes confused with “profitability”, but it focuses on the impact a project has on an entire organization. It is possible to make more efficient decisions and have a positive impact on the bottom line of an organization by considering customer and organizational needs. href=”https://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/value/”>value in organizing an area where many workers spend the majority of their work time – the electronic workspace.
6S Overview
- Sort: Removing items that people don’t need. This is the first step to cleaning up the workspace.
- Set: Choosing the right spot for a tool/item makes it simple to place the item every time.
- Shine: Clean your workplace to achieve optimal performance
- Standardize: Establishing common methods to ensure consistent performance. Standardization makes abnormal performance easier to spot and can be more easily corrected.
- Sustain: Cementing the realized gains and setting the stage for continuous improvement
- Safety: Ensuring that the practitioner creates an environment that is safe for the individual.
- Apply for the Electronic WorkspaceWhat are the benefits of applying 6S six sigma to an electronic workspace? Many of the same reasons we use 6S for our physical workspace. Cost is a top reason – electronic storage can be expensive. Electronic storage can come with some costs:
- Storage costs include physical hardware
- When server platforms are built, facilities costs are incurred
- Maintenance costs
- Redundancy costs
Employee time is one of the most significant and visible costs associated with electronic storage. The time spent searching for the one file or email that is missing. It’s there, but it isn’t easy to find. We are then forced to call someone to tell them we need it again. This increases the amount of time we spend searching.
Most people have hundreds, if not thousands of items in their inbox. This is because the inbox is used for many purposes. These are just a few of the many uses for email:
- To-do list
- File storage
- You must respond
- You need to read
- Do you want to see it?
- Schedule
- Call us if you have any questions
We want to use the exact same approach for our sort tools as we do for our physical workspace. You should use techniques that allow you to separate the unnecessary and the wasteful from those that are immediately useful.
File management
It is easier to manage files by focusing on one folder per file, than the entire server. Sort the folders and files you use the most. You can also establish guidelines for filenames and the length of a file. Finalized files such as spreadsheets and documents should be deleted from any drafts.
Employees love to keep paper but also accumulate emails. One can easily have more than a thousand emails in their inbox. This is quite a large number of documents. There are several steps you can take to reduce this number.
Sort by the sender: We know that some “From” addresses will not send us anything we won’t read or reread. Make the bold first step and delete all emails from these addresses. A valuable tool at the Sort stage is the creation of personal folders in email and calendar programs such as Microsoft Outlook.pst files.
The set stage is the place where we determine and maintain the right location for a tool, or item. We want to keep the workspace 6S six sigma principles in mind and apply them to file administration.
- Place the items you need in a convenient place.
- Arrange items to make it easy for anyone to find them.
- Locate the items you need
Common language names are best for organizing items. They should not be a mixture of characters and abbreviations. Consider this file structure. We should also be alerted of missing orphan documents. This is any document that is not in a folder. This is not a cause for concern and is a sign that your organization is losing its way. You can arrange email in a way that is similar to file management. You can create an organizational structure that is similar to your file management structure by using personalized folders.
Shine
It is essential to keep an open mind and be vigilant in order to shine on your electronic workspace. You can set a goal of never having more than 30 items in the inbox. These tools are key to achieving this goal. First, take 10 minutes each morning to use the sort and set tools you have previously created to delete any unwanted or unneeded emails that arrived overnight. Attachments and emails should be filed in the email folders and structured file folders that you have created and maintained. Unsubscribing is a key tool for accessing the electronic workspace in its shining stage. You can reduce unwanted, recurring emails by unsubscribing diligently. This takes only 30 seconds per email and significantly reduces the number of unread emails. Ask to be removed for items you don’t read or use. Create audit and review guidelines for electronic files. Regularly go through your folders to find duplicates and other unneeded files. Closed projects can have their work files deleted and the final project documents archived.
Standardize
Standardizing file systems can be done by using a standard file naming structure. For example, use the following format for files – ProjectDocumentNameCreationDate. Combining the file folder structure created during the set stage will allow a user to find the document they are looking for using a standard-driven, rational search approach.
Email standardization can be achieved by following the same approach for every email. Each email should be touched once by the user. Then, follow one of these actions.
The ongoing nature of 6S six sigma is what separates it from spring cleaning. You must be able to sustain 6S in an electronic workspace by making a habit out of following established procedures and working towards a continually improving process. This user has moved from managing via email to managing using tasks. To ensure accurate completion dates, these tasks need to be reviewed regularly. Daily planning is the best way to do this. You should set aside 10 to 15 minutes each day for review and planning.
Safety
The electronic workspace can be managed effectively to increase safety and satisfaction at work. The satisfaction of employees in terms of productivity and their ability to meet deadlines is generally a greater factor for management. Because expectations are met and the bar is raised, coworkers feel more comfortable working together.
Summary
It has been shown that 6s six sigma is a powerful tool in increasing productivity in workplaces across many industries. It can also be used to create an electronic workspace shared by almost all employees and employers.
