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5S

Race Trailer 5S

August 26, 2022 by stevebeeler

5S is not just for manufacturing.  Here’s an example from motorsports: race trailer 5S.  With a little organization, everything needed for a weekend of club racing can be squeezed into a small trailer.

As you might expect from its name, 5S is a five-step process with roots in lean thinking and the Toyota Production System.  5S is a pathway to a clean, uncluttered, organized workplace reducing waste and improving productivity:

1) Sort                             Get rid of what is not needed…declutter!
2) Set In Order              Organize by neatly arranging and labeling
3) Shine                          Clean
4) Standardize               Schedule regular cleaning, organizing, and ordering
5) Sustain                       Make the first four steps a habit

My Lola T-540 Formula Ford filled up the floor of my old 12-1/2 x 6 trailer.  Packed in around the car were an auxiliary battery, an air bottle, a fire extinguisher, a folding table, fuel jugs, tool boxes, chassis stands, and ramp extensions.

The trick to making such a small trailer work was to fully utilize the space above and below the car.  Above you would find mounted tires, spare parts totes, noses, a nose frame, a quick jack, a battery charger, drain pans, funnels, lawn chairs, and a big duffel bag with shelter panels.  Below were the poles for the shelter.

New race trailer at Indy

While a beautiful example of 5S, the many loading and unloading sequence constraints were getting old.  So after 20+ years of faithful service, I retired my minimalist trailer for a new 16 x 7 aluminum V-nose from R&R Trailers …but not it’s race trailer 5S methods.

Race Trailer 5S

With a little more floor space, my new trailer is much more efficient to load and unload.  As before, the space above the car is fully utilized.  Spare parts tote capacity has been doubled.  Nothing is located on the floor around the car, a huge plus.  Loading and unloading sequence constraints are a thing of the past.

Race Trailer 5S

The shelter poles are now carried in a tray above the car, a welcome ergonomic improvement.  Spare tires are again carried in a rack across the back of the trailer.  The E-track also secures flat items like tables against the walls of the trailer.

trailer shelves

I built a small workbench and two shelves into the nose of trailer.  The workbench is drilled for a vise and a small arbor press, a significant functional upgrade.  A helmet shelf organizes my driving gear between sessions.

Race trailer door flap and extension

To eliminate the need for long, heavy ramp extensions, I ordered the trailer with a beavertail and designed a custom ramp door flap.  These short structural foam blocks from Race Ramps weigh only two pounds each!  What a joy to just roll the car on and off the trailer.

Just as before, everything still has a place.  Without the sequence constraints, I can load and unload in just over an hour.  When something is needed at the track, I know exactly where it is.

The so what of race trailer 5S?  Less is still more but sometimes a little more goes a long way.  My old trailer, while loved and admired, was just a little too small.

There are many parallels between motorsports and manufacturing.  While there is much good to be said about a small factory footprint, just don’t get too carried away.  People and materials need a little room to move around.

For more on race trailers, click HERE for my blog on trailer and tow vehicles.

Filed Under: Motorsports Tagged With: 5S, Formula Ford, Lean Thinking, motorsports

5S

February 10, 2020 by stevebeeler

Lean thinking is not just for factories. 5S is an easy to implement process to organize any workplace. With a little pro bono coaching, my new friends at Holland Physical Therapy have completed their first 5S project. Here’s how we did it:

5S

We started out with this quick one-page lesson in 5S, the seven wastes, and Plan-Do-Check-Act. As you might expect from its name, 5S is a five-step process. It is a pathway to a clean, uncluttered, organized workplace reducing waste and improving productivity:

1) Sort
2) Set In Order
3) Shine
4) Standardize
5) Sustain

Introducing the seven wastes (defects, overproduction, transportation, waiting, inventory, motion, and over processing) sharpened the focus on waste reduction. Introducing the Plan-Do-Check-Act continuous improvement cycle reinforced 5S as on on-going, every day commitment, not a one-time event.

Next, with a shared understanding of terminology and principles, we did a quick walk through of the clinic. Five of the seven wastes seemed to apply the clinic’s lack of organization…we could not find examples of overproduction and over processing. Cleanliness was not an issue. However, the Holland Physical Therapy team was greatly concerned about not finding something when needed and the time wasted looking for it.

The cable column was selected as the initial application area.

We first sorted through the area and set aside what was not needed. Then we organized and labeled everything used at the cable column. Masking tape was used to temporarily identify parking spots for the many accessories. The team agreed to sustain the cable column 5S through an end of day tidy up: anything out of place would be put back to where it belongs. After a day or so, the team assessed the area, made improvements, and moved onto the next 5S application area. P-D-C-A.

5S Group Photo

Through 5S, the team at Holland Physical Therapy is on their way to better utilize their space and easily find what they need when they need it.

Filed Under: Operations Engineering Tagged With: 5S, Lean Thinking, Plan-Do-Check-Act, Seven Wastes

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