Interesting comparison...

[Lounge]

I attended a presentation at work a few days ago regarding cleanliness in the workplace based around the Japanese 5S principle...

During one of the slides all I could think about was application to martial arts technique, training and practice... below is what got me thinking (the italics are how I interpreted them):

The 5S's

Seiri - Put things in order (remove what is not needed and keep what is needed) - self explanatory

Seiton - Proper Arrangement (Place things in such a way that they can be easily reached whenever they are needed) - keep in mind all that you have learnt in previous practice.

Seiso - Clean (Keep things clean and polished; no trash or dirt in the workplace) - do not clutter your mind with unnecessary things, I also added later in my mind, when practicing Kendo do not think about Iai technique, when practicing iai do not think about Kenjutsu technique.

Seiketsu - Purity (Maintain cleanliness after cleaning - perpetual cleaning) - constantly question yourself and your technique, make yourself aware of the corrections you require in order to be able to continue your improvement.

Shitsuke - Commitment (Keep an attitude towards any undertaking to inspire pride and adherence to standards established for the four components) - self explanatory

I thought it was interesting, all comments welcome, it would be good to know I've not just lost my mind!!! lol... :D

[Awooga Guy]

You forgot:

Smut :D






That is all.

[Shazzanzzz]

what the... i got a company email saying exactly the same thing. must be something new.

[Kenzan]

You forgot:

Smut :D






That is all.
The 6th "S"
Sukebe: Constantly place sexual pressure on your female workmates, and molest them during weekly Enkai parties.
Sadly, this is pretty much a par for the course in Japanese work enviornments.

:spchless:

[skaffenAmtiskaw]

feel like "I am dragging everything down in the whole world here man" by being slightly serious.

I like that 5S (5 is my lucky number so always partial to anything that has a 5 in it). Been looking up some things on the internet to simplify and de-clutter my life and those 5S's might be as good a place as any to start........ saw something similar before - think it was the 5 reflections - have I given my best today; have I been truthful today etc. etc.

[totortueto]

The 6th "S"
Sukebe: Constantly place sexual pressure on your female workmates, and molest them during weekly Enkai parties.
Sadly, this is pretty much a par for the course in Japanese work enviornments.

:spchless:

That's a bit disturbing... Even if you think that, don't say it.

Regarding the original topic, my friends who don't practice kendo think it's a stupid martial art because all you do according to him is shuffle around funny and hit people over the head with a fake sword. These 5Ss just prove how relevant and useful martial arts training can really be.

[Kenzan]

Just to be clear, I'm not condoning it, because clearly it's wrong.
I just included it to show that while Japanese business practices can have a positive side (and I see a trend which many companies are starting to adopt them more or at least are looking at them.)
There is a dark side which is quite sexist, elitist, and anti-family to say the least.
Sorry, didn't mean to highjack the thread.

[Lounge]

feel like "I am dragging everything down in the whole world here man" by being slightly serious.
No worries, it's what I intended from my original post :D

You forgot:

Smut
It is now the 6S's :D

[ReKru]

The 5S's

And when you're done with the 5 to 7 S's, you spent half of your day and still haven't produced anything of value other then making your cleaning lady (who get's 1/5 of your salary) unemployed. :P

Hmmm.. I think in general some (or many) of 'asian' principles and philosophies are great as ideal and 'do' -- way, but need some severe reality check to work over here in the west.
Devoting your life to seek perfection in the cleanness of your working environment (or your mind) is about as counterproductive as having an unmanageable mess - and the first bacterie you encounter outside of your perfect universe is destined to kill you (see Michael Jackson :P ).

As of now, the 20-80 principle works best for me - 20% of the work for 80% of the results - if stacked properly, you can get up to 400% of the results compared to those who seek perfection.

[bobdonny]

Actually 5s has been around for a long time, its an extension of lean manufacturing, which originated post wwii via toyota.

Currently 5s is a methodology of lean as much as kaizan is (or gemba kaizan) and is a direct parrell to six sigma and other contuinous improvement philosophies.

the english versions are
set in order
sort
shine
standardize
sustain

i work in manufacturing and hate all these initiatives... the latest is the acronym TIM WOODS as 8 forms of manufacturing waste.

transport
inventory
movement

waiting
over production
over processing
defects
scrap

grrrrrrrrrrrrrr ;)

PS rek the pareto principle, but that is only good when you want quick results.... i.e. 80% accuracy
i think six sigma is about 3.4 defects per million, but different orgs need different levels.

[Lounge]

It is indeed the Toyota 5S system. We currently have Kaizan, 5S, safe launch and lean man'f on the shop floor but now we're introducing 5S and lean managment into the office environment!!

Boooooo!!! :silly:

[ReKru]

There's nothing 'lean' about our management here .. neither their wages, nor their 'wagons' nor their waistlines.
(The 3W's of management)

Curse you, euphemisms! Curse you "Plan C".

[Omnis]

I laughed at commitment being shitsuke. Immature-- I know, but tell me you didn't at least grin.

[Kenzan]

I laughed at commitment being shitsuke. Immature-- I know, but tell me you didn't at least grin.

Then Shiitake mushrooms should be hysterical.

Query: Is it a noun, or is it a verb?

:D

[Nukitsuke]

I like the comparison you've made. I had a pretty good discussion with a few of my English students about this topic as well. Some people felt 5S was very important in the office, especially in the factory. Most people said that they didn't really take that same philosophy home with them as far as cleaning their own homes.

I just found it funny to think about how much emphasis is placed on this concept to "save time" while working and make the workplace efficient, when half of the OL staff are just trying to "look busy" until 5:15 when they can go home!

But you did make a good comparison relating to budo, and it gives us something to think about in our own training regimine.

[Nochi-no-tsuki]

but now we're introducing 5S and lean managment into the office environment!!

Boooooo!!! :silly:

i'm praying to the cubicle gods so my bosses don't bring that here, unfortunately they require a daily sacrifice and i'm running out of young virgins and puppies. :disapp:

[Lounge]

i'm praying to the cubicle gods so my bosses don't bring that here, unfortunately they require a daily sacrifice and i'm running out of young virgins and puppies. :disapp:
Thankfully we don't go with the whole trapped in a cubicle thing here, got a pretty open plan office, I can stream banter over at someone 15m away and the only obstruction is the look of discust from the old guard!!! ;)

I understand why it's useful, but it's the same as our KPI studies, they want us to spend time logging all the work we do against which program etc... so someone asks 'how do we log the time spent filling in the KPI sheets?' awesome!

[Nochi-no-tsuki]

I understand why it's useful, but it's the same as our KPI studies, they want us to spend time logging all the work we do against which program etc... so someone asks 'how do we log the time spent filling in the KPI sheets?' awesome!

is that like TPS reports?