The lean tool known as 5S was conceived and developed in a manufacturing environment. It is a very effective tool at eliminating some of the most senseless and aggravating sources of wasted time and energy. Most commonly, it stops the wasted effort of searching for stuff that we need right now.

It only makes sense that we would all make the next logical leap and attempt to put the same practice to work in our office environment. In my experience, there is more to be gained from 5S in the office than on the manufacturing floor. However, most attempts tried to follow exactly the same practice we learned on the manufacturing floor, and we quickly realized how futile that was.

 …