Facility Efficiency

“Sustain” – The Long Game of Lean Culture

Sustain: Turning 5S from a Project into a Culture Anyone can clean up a workspace for a week. The challenge is keeping it that way. “Sustain” is the fifth and final step in 5S—but in many ways, it’s the most important. It’s where Lean becomes culture, not just a checklist. To sustain 5S, teams need routines, leadership support, and visual tools that reinforce accountability every day. Visual…

CSS Editorial Staff | September 2, 2025 | 5S, Lean | 5S, 5S In Action, Continuous Improvement, Facility Efficiency, Labeling

5S In Action: ‘Standardize’ – Locking in Good Habits

Make It Stick: How to Standardize 5S Visuals for Long-Term Success Without standardization, even the best 5S efforts eventually fade. After you’ve sorted, set in order, and shined your workspace, the next step is to make those gains repeatable and scalable. Standardization is what transforms short-term wins into long-term systems. And visual tools—signs, labels, floor markings, and more—are what make that standardization stick. From Training to Daily…

CSS Editorial Staff | August 19, 2025 | 5S, Lean | 5S, 5S In Action, Facility Efficiency, Facility Marking, Labeling, Lean

5S In Action: ‘Shine’ – Cleanliness That Promotes Safety

Shine Isn’t Just About Clean—It’s About Control In the 5S system, “Shine” isn’t just about making your facility look good—it’s about creating a culture of care, ownership, and constant improvement. Daily cleaning becomes daily inspection. And every sweep, wipe, and polish is a chance to spot issues before they become problems. A clean facility is a safe facility—and visual systems are key to keeping it that way.…

CSS Editorial Staff | August 5, 2025 | 5S, Lean | 5S, 5S In Action, Continuous Improvement, Facility Efficiency, Facility Marking, Labeling

Interview With 5S and Six Sigma Expert Brion Hurley

Creative Safety Supply was honored to have the opportunity to interview a Lean manufacturing expert. In this interview, Andrew McCall of Creative Safety Supply talks to Brion Hurley of Business Performance Improvement about the concept of 5S and its implementation in businesses. Brian discusses the eight wastes of Lean, emphasizing inventory as a commonly overlooked waste. He explains that while inventory is necessary for operations, it also…

CSS Editorial Staff | June 5, 2023 | 5S, Lean, Training | 5S, Facility Efficiency, Lean, Lean Culture, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma

Whiteboards: The Solution for the Disorganized

Creative Safety Supply has recently revealed a new product line all about whiteboards! Dry erase boards are an excellent tool for encouraging collaboration between departments and employees. However, one of the best attributes whiteboards hold is the fact that they are most often used as an organizational tool. When we say organization, it isn’t just putting objects back where they were taken from. Organization is standardization. Organization…

Mackenzie Busby | September 8, 2021 | Company Updates | 5S, Continuous Improvement, Facility Efficiency, Healthcare, Kaizen, Kanban, Lean Manufacturing

Top Tool Organization Strategies for the Workplace

You may not know it, but your facility could be losing hundreds of dollars every year in missing, misplaced, or stolen tools. By implementing a tool organization system in your facility, work is done more efficiently, a number of costs are saved, and you can be sure workers can easily find the tools they’re looking for. Before choosing a tool organization solution, you will want to sort…

Jesse Allred | January 16, 2020 | Lean, Safety Solutions | 5S, Facility Efficiency, Lean Manufacturing, Organized Workplace, Tool Organization

How is Gemba Lean?

Gemba walks are a Lean management tool that fits in with many other Lean manufacturing concepts. The focus of a Lean manufacturing system in general is on identifying waste in work processes and eliminating it. That way only things that add value for the customer are performed or included. While a gemba walk can focus on many aspects of processes, it is possible to look for specific types…

CSS Editorial Staff | June 4, 2019 | Gemba, Lean | 5S, Facility Efficiency, Facility Marking, Gemba, Kaizen, Lean, Lean Manufacturing

Managing Inventory with Rack Labels

With rows and rows of aisles and shelves, operating an efficient warehouse can be a difficult and complex task. There is a considerable amount of planning that takes place in the development of a warehouse management process, but rack labeling is a simple and cost-effective way to control inventory. Facilitating the flow of inventory, keeping products moving rather than sitting in between processes for extended periods of…

Jesse Allred | May 2, 2019 | Industry News, Lean, Safety Solutions | Barcoding, Facility Efficiency, Inventory Control, Labeling, Lean Manufacturing, Organized Workplace, Rack Labeling

Could You be Losing $500 in Tools Each Year?

For many businesses, it is not uncommon to spend thousands of dollars per year on the tools that are needed to get work done. Whether you run a mechanics garage, a construction company, a plumbing service, or any number of other things, the right tools are an absolutely essential part of doing business. Most people who own these types of businesses understand that it is sometimes necessary…

Tony Ferraro | April 24, 2017 | Product Spotlight | 5S, Facility Efficiency, Organized Workplace, Tool Organization

Wrong Ways to Use Floor Tape

Using floor tape is a great way to keep your facility better organized, safer, and in compliance with many regulations. Floor tape is an easy-to-use option that is fairly quick to install and can last for years without any significant problems. Floor tape is only a good solution, however, if it is used properly. There are some common mistakes people make when installing and maintaining their floor…

Tony Ferraro | April 20, 2017 | Safety Solutions | Facility Efficiency, Facility Marking, Floor Marking, Floor Tape, Organized Workplace, Regulations & Compliance, Safety

Kaikaku – What Is It?

Kaikaku is Japanese word that means ‘radical change.’ It is also a business concept that looks at the idea of making radical changes in order to achieve significant improvements. Some people compare it to the Kaizen system, but that is a mistake. While both are options for making changes to a business practice, Kaizen is focused on small, incremental changes. Compare that with Kaikaku, which is for…

Tony Ferraro | July 21, 2016 | Lean | Facility Efficiency, Kaikaku, Kaizen, Six Sigma

Kaizen – 3 ‘G’ Principles

Kaizen is a Japanese term for improvement, and is commonly uses as the basis for a methodology that is focused on continuous improvement for businesses. It is most commonly used in warehouse and manufacturing facilities where the goals of eliminating waste and improving efficiency are very important. While Kaizen as a whole is a very high level concept, there are many strategies that are used under the…

Tony Ferraro | June 10, 2016 | Kaizen | 3 G Prinicples, Facility Efficiency, Gemba, Kaizen

5 Tips to Improve the Elimination of Waste

Elimination of Waste Whether you are implementing a specific program like Lean or 5S to help improve efficiency or you are just looking for a way to eliminate waste in your facility, it is a good idea to look at what has worked for other companies in the past. Fortunately, there is a lot of data and stories from all sorts of companies that have been gathered…

Tony Ferraro | March 2, 2016 | 5S | 5S, Facility Efficiency, Facility Marking, Floor Marking, Forklift Safety, Lean Manufacturing, Organized Workplace, Regulations & Compliance, Safety Signs, Six Sigma, Valve Tags

3 Tips to Improve Visual Communication

Improve Safety and Efficiency with Visual Communication When looking for ways to improve the organization, safety and efficiency of a facility, few things can be as effective as visual communication. Visual communication strategies are almost always very inexpensive (or even free) and can provide immediate improvements that are measurable and long lasting. The following are some of the many types of benefits you can enjoy from implementing or…

Tony Ferraro | February 23, 2016 | Visual Safety | Emergency Evacuation, Facility Efficiency, Facility Marking, Floor Marking, Hazcom, Safety, Safety Signs

Triton Products Review

Organize Your Facility with Triton Products When it comes to organizing a facility, products by Triton are among the best on the market today. They don’t just manufacture high quality items, but they help to innovate and improve the things they make to help your workplace become leaner and more organized. Whether you’re just starting a lean or 5S strategy in your facility, or you’re looking to…

Tony Ferraro | January 17, 2016 | Product Spotlight | 5S, Facility Efficiency, Safety, Tool Organization