Sounds obvious doesn’t it? 

Everyone wants to save money. Most people realise that organised work saves money.

The point is – “How do I get to be organised?”

Two things can help.

The first is PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT

The second is 5 Stages to Workplace Organisation.

Here, we’re going to have a look at PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT.

(See my separate blog for 5 Stages to Workplace Organisation) http://www.resultsresults.co.uk/blog/

Plan-Do-Check-Act is a simple, straightforward and easy to use system.

Its purpose is to make sure that your actions achieve what you want them to achieve. And very importantly, that we learn from the way we do things.

Consider going out to get some milk.

You don’t leave the house without a purpose, or a target in mind. You don’t suddenly decide one day “You know what; I’m going to leave the house, drive round for a while and see what comes up.” That would be silly – wouldn’t  it?

You know that you’re going out for milk. You know where you’re going to go to get it. You also have a plan of what route you are going to take. That’s your PLAN.

So you set out – you start on your DO. But hey! There’s a “No Entry” sign on roadworks, so you have to go through a detour. But that’s Ok, you can change the plan a little so you use a different route, but the final goal is the same – get some milk.

So you get to the shop. You pick up some milk. While you’re there your partner texts you on your mobile. “Pick up some bread as well”. So you get some bread. Your plan has changed again, but the core objective is the same – get some milk.

So you drive home. Your DO is complete. Some minor changes to the plan were needed, but the core objective was the same.

So you do a little CHECK.  “I got the milk, but then I had to get bread as well, and I had to use a different route”.

So now you ACT – you learn a lesson “Maybe I could think a bit more about what I need before I go to the shops. I’m going to do that from now on. I’m going to use a different route until I know the roadworks are clear”.

This all seems reasonable here in our “personal life”. We try to do things without wasting time and effort. That’s what we do in real life. But sometimes, that’s not what we do in business.

So we need to apply that same common sense from “Real Life” to business.

• Plan what it is you want to achieve, and how you are going to achieve it.

• Do carry out the plan and allow for modifications to the plan.

• Check whether the plan is working and decide what lessons can be learned.

• Act on the check by applying the lessons.

Notice that we’ve spent a lot of time on the plan. That’s because the old rule of “fail to prepare, prepare to fail” is actually true. If you do what you planned, and act on the checks on how well it works, your success rates will improve. If you don’t plan, you won’t know what you’re trying to achieve or whether you need to change your approach. If you don’t plan, you won’t really have a concrete objective – so how will you know if you are achieving it?

Be very careful though! Only change the Plan during the Do if it is absolutely necessary, and cannot be avoided. And make sure you learn the lessons from the need to change the Plan. That should make your next Plan more robust.

Planning what to do saves time and unnecessary expense.

Doing what we planned, and allowing for necessary modifications saves us time, effort and money.

Checking what worked and what didn’t allows us to learn from success and failure.

Acting on our lessons learned allows us to stop wasting time on things that don’t work, and to concentrate on things that do.

This all saves time, effort, expense.

Sounds obvious doesn’t it? Everyone wants to save money. Most people realise that organised work saves money. The point is – “How do I get to be organised?”

Two things can help: The first is 5 Stages to Workplace Organisation; The second is PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT.

 Here, we’re going to have a look at 5 Stages to Workplace Organisation. (See my separate blog for PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT) 

5 Stages to Workplace Organisation is a simple, straightforward and easy to use system. 

Its purpose is to make sure that the workplace that you operate in is fit for purpose. In short, it means that the workplace is helping you to do the jobs you need to do, instead of hindering you.

Think of it this way. Would you rather have the area you work in as your enemy or your friend?

Consider making a cup of coffee at home. If you drink tea, it’s the same thing, only the names have changed to protect the innocent!

Picture yourself at home, in the kitchen.

• Where is the kettle?
• Where are the mugs?
• Where is the spoon?
• Where is the coffee, the sugar, the milk?

Everything you need is close to hand, isn’t it?

Now ask yourself. “Is my workplace like that?”  If you answer no, then why not? If you say yes, is it really? Can you get it to be any better?

The answer to improving the area you work in is called the 5 Stages of Workplace Organisation. Usually, the people who use the system call it 5S.

It’s a very simple system, and that’s the beauty of it.

Sort, Set, Shine, Standardise, Sustain.

Each stage builds on the previous ones. It is of no value at all to jump in to one of the middle stages. If you don’t get each stage right, all of the work in the next stages are going to actually make things worse, not better.

Sort - make sure that only the things we need are present, and everything that we need day to day is present.

Set –make sure that it’s obvious where things should go. Make sure that it’s very easy to locate and return items to the right place.

Shine –make sure that the hard work that you’ve out into getting Sort and Set in place doesn’t have to be done again and again and again. Keep the area clear, organised and clean.

Standardise –make sure that there are Standard Operating procedures for the key tasks performed in the area. This makes sure that we always do things the right way, in order to improve quality of product and service. Make sure that the knowledge and experience gained so far in organising this area are spread out into other areas.

Sustain – This is often the hardest thing to do, and the part of 5S that is often missed. The key is to constantly strive for Continuous Improvement of the area. So you should make sure that you regularly review the area, to see if any other things need improving. If you find something that needs improving, then improve it!

Simple, common sense stuff.

All we are saying here is to apply what you do in the kitchen at home to your workplace.

The 5 Stages to Workplace organisation is a simple, easy to use, common sense based system that should help you. It’s not there for its own purpose. Everything you do in the 5 Stages should save you time and make your job easier in the long term, even if it might take some time to do at the start.

So how have we saved money?

Every time you can’t find something, you’ve wasted time – and time is money.

Having everything that you need, where you need it, kept that way, always that way and improved when needed.

This all saves time, effort, expense.

It doesn't matter if you're a factory, small business or an office. Wasted time is wasted money.

Being organised saves money!