When it comes to labeling some people over do it some under do it especially in Step 2 of 5S, Straightening. Use smart label system. The ideas have always been why do you need to label, what is the main purpose of the label? Coming back to our question, why do we label? If we go back to basic, the main reason for labelling is to identify certain parts. In a kindergarten, we label the children to memorize and understand what they are. But, why do when it come to office, some of us still label everything. You do not need to label PC a PC, stapler a stapler and scissors a scissor. Are we trying to teach other the name or to show where the intended location is.
Intended function
That is the question? The intended function!
As an adult, we don’t simply put label to show us what it is, except when it is in supermarket. Why? Because. we need them. We need to know a Coke to a Pepsi, a Kellogg to a Nestle, Oreo to Tesco and so forth. The idea there is differentiation. But, there is also the idea of signage. We can see this clearly – bread, milk, frozen food, ice cream and so on on top of the aisle. These two suits different purpose.
Outline strategy
In addition, with the current Covid-19 pandemic, there is an additional outline marking labelled being added to the floor. You could see a social distancing mark. Other techniques that could be found here. As could be seen from the picture below, a box is being outlined on the floor. This is to make every customer in McDonald’s to practice social distancing. This action is needed to break the Covid-19 pandemic chain. This is part of the 1-meter social distancing need as proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Think about some smart label system if needed.
So, in the end, sign boarding, labeling, marking, outlining or its equivalent is important when we are implementing 5S. However, what is more important is we need to strategize on the need for each type of signage and label. We need to know their purpose.
If the purpose is to show where things are, there you could mark around them or below them. I would suggest below them since it is more obvious if it is missing. Marking around them is possible. But, this defeats the Step 1, sort. As the mark around them become an unnecessary item and needs to be removed. I would suggest that the 5S is read on its entirety rather than a single snapshot, which makes the story to be bits and pieces everywhere.
Take a look in the introduction and have a browse through and I hope it does help you. If you need some help on the labeling your items in the home or office, check out my customized list below that you could shop from Amazon. That is a smart label system. I hope you would find something that would solve your problem.