Lean Illusion ?

“You could eat off the walkways.”

That’s what someone once told me about Toyota and they weren’t exaggerating.

Toyota didn’t just “do” 5S. They lived it. The floors, the walkways, the production lines… it was all spotless. Not because they had a cleaning crew working overtime, but because everyone owned it. Every team member, every leader, every shift.

5S wasn’t a program. It was a discipline.

A mindset.

A way to show respect for people, for work, and for the customer.

Clean, organized environments weren’t just about visual management. They send a message:

“We care. About our work. About each other. About getting it right.”

That kind of discipline doesn’t come from a checklist.

It comes from culture.

And when people walk into your facility, they should feel it the same way.

That’s just how serious it was… and still is.

This Reflection is actually an Illusion and a darn good one. Typical Toyota in many times what you see is not the actual methodology it comes from a deeper psychological program. It is this lack of deeper understanding why Lean fails in many organizations.

Now let us look at the Illusion from a different perspective. To help you get into a different frame of mind the following experience will provide context.

While absorbing my training in Japan I was dispatched to a CNC machine shop to study a process. As I entered the shop I was warmly greeted by the General Manager. While speaking with him I witnessed Team Members perched on top of machines diligently cleaning.

These machines stood at least 7 feet tall and the building had no mezzanine so seeing dust and debris on top of the machines Cleaning the top of the machines I would not think was a high priority.

The General Manager noticed my puzzled look. He then went on to explain the following:

"Here we clean to inspect. My mandate is that every square inch of machine and facility is touched by a human hand. During this process the human hand should also be engaged in cleaning. Also, the human hand is still one of the most sensitive instruments. So as our Team Members Clean using their hands they will detect any slight imperfection ... those slight imperfections can be an early indicator of a major potential breakdown. This way we can fix it early to prevent that."

WOW !!! That response was packed with a ton of information and knowledge.

"Clean to Inspect", means you will get, have and maintain a very clean plant especially when you include the facility like storage cabinets and shelves.

"Human Hand is a Sensitive Instrument", how true is that. All of us that have hand washed our vehicles know that while washing even with a wash mitt we will detect to nasty stone chips or other imperfections during the wash.

"Early Detection", prevents future failures. During my training months in Japan seldom did I hear of production not being met due to unscheduled downtime of a machine.

Indeed people are WOW after seeing how clean a Toyota Plant is. They literally will run back to their facility and launch a 5S program in order to replicate that Toyota look, but ultimately it just becomes a Housekeeping exercise.

Instead, if you instruct your team to "Clean to Inspect" supported with your TPM and Kamabashi Cards not only will you get and sustain a very clean and organized facility you will identify and rectify and potential problems early.

At McDonalds one of the first rules told to employees is "If you have time to Lean you have time to Clean".

I prefer creating muscle memory in the Team with a combination of Standard Work and my TPM, because I love the look of a very clean and organized work environment, but better yet having the comfortable feeling that everything is in good shape and I will not be in for an unexpected surprise.

As "Clean to Inspect" becomes your organizational mantra a clean organization will be your culture.