Warehouse operations optimization with 5S Kaizen

Situation

A medical device manufacturer warehouse operations were facing inefficiencies due to insufficient space, leading to additional material movements and risk of non-compliance with FDA requirements. The lack of space also caused safety issues, with 27 recorded incidents in previous year. The Kaizen event aimed to address these problems by implementing the 5S methodology to improve accessibility, organization, and safety in the warehouse.

Approach

The Kaizen event was conducted over four days, involving various activities:

• Day 1: Introduction to the Kaizen and 5S training, prework review, Gemba walk, and prioritization of actions.

• Day 2-3: Subgroup work on specific tasks such as material markings and solution storage, with regular reporting and management touchpoints.

• Day 4: Final testing of improvements, creation of sustainment processes, and preparation for the final report out.

Key deliverables included removing unnecessary items, creating designated areas for rejected materials, updating warehouse SOPs, and implementing new Kanban procedures for material flow management.

Results

The Kaizen event led to significant improvements:

• Accessibility to items in the warehouse: Improved from 67% to 93%.

• Safety: Reduction in safety observations from 2.25 per month to 1.6 per month.

• Compliance and quality: No nonconformities found in three external audits post-Kaizen.

• Sustainability: Processes were put in place to ensure the sustainment of 5S practices, with follow-up meetings and a sustainability tracker.

Overall, the Kaizen event successfully addressed the warehouse inefficiencies, improved safety, and ensured compliance with regulatory requirements.