Some time ago, while speaking at a conference in the land down under, I was taken to task by a participant for suggesting, “5S is usually the first improvement” in lean implementation. I had carelessly adopted this posture because, as a consultant, I had found that workplace organization was usually the most palatable way to demonstrate improvement on the shop floor.

I’m not sure of this, but I think the sixth S–safety—was added at U.S. manufacturers during the 1980s because improved safety was the only thing management and labor adversaries could agree on.

“That may or may not be so,” my friendly heckler responded. “But just because 5S is easy, should that make it first?”

“What do you suggest as a first step to improvement?” I asked.

“Kanban,” he replied. “A pull system is the thread that holds everything else together.”

“Pull systems are a tough place to begin,” I offered. “Maybe it would better for a company to get its feet wet on something less conceptually challenging.”

“No,” he shot back. “The pull system is where my company started, and it’s worked very well, end to end.”

 …