by Steven D. Johnson
Racine, Wisconsin
(Page 5 of 5)
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Follow-Up – 5S Your Workshop
5S Your Workshop for Efficiency, Comfort, Safety, & Fun
apparently motivated quite a few readers
to sort, clean, and straighten their workshops, and as a result, a lot of ideas poured forth.
Color-coding is a method often used in industrial 5S applications, and many of our woodworking
friends are color-coding cabinets, drawers, and even tool handles to help them get better organized.
One reader has sorted and stored tools by furniture type. In the blue cabinet are chair-building
tools. The red cabinet is for cabinet building, and the green cabinet is for tools used in both
types of work.
Another reader commented that providing proper storage for tools not only makes them easier and
quicker to find, but also helps protect those precious investments. This is an excellent point and
a widely recognized advantage of the 5S system among manufacturing and fabrication plants.
Protecting your tools may be justification enough for straightening up around the shop, as if we
needed more motivation!
The article only briefly covered the fifth "S" in the 5S methodology; that of sustaining shop
cleanliness and organization through a systematic approach. Our readers certainly did not gloss
over the significance of not only getting organized, but staying organized. Readers suggested
organizing workflow as one method of maintaining shop orderliness. Do all rough cutting and
surfacing first and make sure there is plenty of material for the project without returning to this
step. Group secondary stock preparation into discrete operations, i.e., cut to size, cut joinery,
surface preparation (planing or sanding), etc. Excellent tips.
One reader suggested, quite wisely, that we should all add a "rider" to our insurance to cover
our tool collections. He suggested taking a photographic inventory. The photographs should be
placed in three-ring binders with descriptions, serial numbers, receipts, and other pertinent
information. He correctly points out that making a photographic record is also a great way to get
organized, and stay organized.
Most of our readers implied that the key to staying organized is to clean up at the end of each
session. Return all tools to their home. Devise a ritual and stick to it. This definitely works.
My routine is pretty easy. I put away all tools, jigs clamps, etc., then clean up any scrap lumber.
I put project parts and pieces in a safe place. Then I apply
Camellia Oil (item 456460)
to planes
and chisels. I dust off my bench and machine work surfaces, and then I vacuum. Everyone knows that
I am finished for the day when they hear the shop vacuum running for an extended period of time.
Total time, most days, just ten minutes or less. The time saved, however, is incalculable.
Again, thank you for all the feedback and the great ideas. Next month's column will feature an article
on building your own custom shooting board, and also maybe cover a couple of unusual books that woodworkers will
enjoy. In the meantime, have
fun, be safe, and keep it down to earth!
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