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Author: Fults, Justin, E

Title: Application of 5S and Lean Principles to a Residents Hall Front Desk at

University of Wisconsin - Stout

The accompanying research report is submitted to the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Graduate School in partial

completion of the requirements for the

Graduate Degree/ Major: MS Technology Management

Research Adviser: James Keyes, Ph.D.

Submission Term/Year: Fall, 2012

Number of Pages: 54

Style Manual Used: American Psychological Association, 6th

edition

I understand that this research report must be officially approved by the Graduate School and

that an electronic copy of the approved version will be made available through the University

Library website

I attest that the research report is my original work (that any copyrightable materials have been

used with the permission of the original authors), and as such, it is automatically protected by the

laws, rules, and regulations of the U.S. Copyright Office.

My research adviser has approved the content and quality of this paper.

STUDENT’S NAME: Justin E. Fults

STUDENT’S SIGNATURE: ________________________________________________ DATE:

ADVISER’S NAME: James Keyes, Ph.D.

ADVISER’S SIGNATURE: __________________________________________________DATE:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----

This section to be completed by the Graduate School This final research report has been approved by the Graduate School.

___________________________________________________ ___________________________

(Director, Office of Graduate Studies) (Date)

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Fults, Justin, E. Application of 5S and Lean Principles to a Residents Hall Front Desk at the

University of Wisconsin – Stout.

Abstract

The objective of this research project was to improve inventory control, the

accessibility of check-out equipment, and ensure that desk attendants are returning the

equipment back to its original location. To achieve the goal, the current method of

equipment storage needs to be reworked. The project applied lean manufacturing and 5S

principles to improve organization, workplace cleanliness, waste elimination, increase

desk performance and efficiency. A comparison of the current state and future state desk

layouts lead to the reorganization of equipment locations, standardized equipment labels,

and the implementation of visual management systems. The project conclusion resulted

in the desk operation having a better organizational method, cost saving to the University

Housing Department, and increased customer satisfaction.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the following people for their encouragement and support during my

time in grad school.

My research advisor, Dr. James Keyes, for his support and dedicated time spent keeping

me on task while writing my paper.

To my RA and desk staff at the University of Wisconsin – Stout, thank you for your

patience and understanding while I reorganized your working environment.

To Jeff Pawelko, Cody Peterson, and Clayton Maricle, thank you for your assistance in

the implementation of my ideas.

To Mariah Marx and Meredith Johnson, Thank you for help with training and holding

the desk attendants accountable for the newly implemented processes.

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Table of Contents

…………………………………………………………………………………………………Page

Abstract………………………………………...………………………………………….…..…..2

List of Figures……………………………………...……………….………………………..……7

Chapter I: Introduction………………..…………………………….…………………..………..8

Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………………….9

Purpose of Study……………………………………………….………………………….9

Assumptions of the Study………………………………………………………………10

Definition of Terms……………………………………………………………………..10

Limitations of Study……………………………………………………………………..11

Methodology..………..…………………………………………………………………..11

Summary…………………………………………………………………………………12

Chapter II: Literature Review………………...………………………………………………….13

An Introduction to Lean………………………………………………………………….13

Basic Steps to the Application of Lean…………………………………………………..13

Lean Principles and Tools………………………………………………………………..15

Value Stream Mapping…………………………………………………………..15

5S Visual Management…………………………………………………………..17

Poka Yoke/Mistake Proofing…………………………………………………….18

Lean for Office and Service Organizations……………………………………………...19

Value Stream for the Office ……………………….…………………………….19

The 5S Office…………………………………….………………………………20

Summary…………………………………………………………………………………21

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Chapter III: Methodology……….…………………..…………………………………………...22

Examination of the South Hall Front Desk before the Project…………………………..22

Layout Evaluation………………………………………………………………………..23

Data Collection…………………………………………………………………………..24

5S………………………………………………………………………………………...25

Sort……………………………………………………………………………….25

Shine……………………………………………………………………………..26

Set In Place……………....………………………………………………………26

Standardize………………….……………………………………………………26

Sustain……………………………………………………………………………27

Inventory Checklist………………………………………………………………………27

Improvement Analysis…………………………………………………………………...27

Summary…………………………………………………………………………………28

Chapter IV: Results…………………...………………………………………………………….29

Changes to the Front Desk Layout……………………………………………………….29

Results from Layout Reorganization……………….……………………………………32

5S………………………………………………………………………...………………33

Sort, Set in Place, and Standardize………………………………………………34

Sustain……………………………………………………………………………36

Inventory Replacement Improvement………………...………………………………….37

Lean and 5S Principle Impact on Inventory Control…………………………………….38

Summary………………………………………………………………………………....40

Chapter V: Discussion…………………………………………………………………………...41

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Limitations……………………………………………………………………………….41

Conclusions………………………………………………………………………………42

Recommendations…………………………………………………………………….….42

Summary…………………………………………………………………………………44

References………………………………………………………………………………………..45

Appendix A: South Hall Front Desk Inventory before Lean Principle Application……………..46

Appendix B: South Hall Front Desk Inventory after Lean Principle Application……………….49

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List of Figures

Figure 1: Original desk layout blueprint………………...……………………………………….23

Figure 2: Example of distance traveled worksheet………………………………………………24

Figure 3: Spaghetti diagram of distances traveled by desk attendant – before…………………..30

Figure 4: Total distance traveled on a given path…………………………………………...…...31

Figure 5: Reorganized desk layout………………………………………………………….…...32

Figure 6: Spaghetti diagram of distances traveled by desk attendant – after…………………….33

Figure 7: Storage area 1 before and after………….……………………………………………..34

Figure 8: Current storage device with labeling……………………………………………...…...35

Figure 9: Storage area 4 before and after…………….……………………………………….….35

Figure 10: Shelf labeling system……………………………..……………………………….….36

Figure 11: Desk attendant daily task list…………………………….……………………….…..37

Figure 12: Equipment standardized price list……………………..……………………….…….39

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Chapter I: Introduction

The University Housing department at the University of Wisconsin – Stout is committed

to providing affordable, clean, well-maintained, comfortable living environments and enhancing

student learning through opportunities for academic success, personal growth, social

development, and diversity awareness. One way that the University Housing department tries to

create a comfortable living environment is by providing free rental equipment at all of the

residence hall front desk areas. Students, traditionally, come to college with the bare necessities.

They do not have the money or space to bring everything that they would need to live on their

own, so the University Housing department provides it for them in the form of check-out

equipment.

In order for the University Housing department to provide this service to it students, each

hall must have a front desk area with an adequate amount of storage space. Since each residence

hall is different, each front desk area is also different. Some residence hall desks make use of 500

square feet of space, while other residence halls must make do with as little as 200 square feet of

space. The differences between each hall make it difficult to have a standardized working

environment across campus.

Each front desk space is equipped with storage cabinets, storage closets, file cabinets,

cubby holes, and a vast array of drawers which all hold the residence hall’s check out equipment.

These various storage devices are rarely labeled and poorly organized. The lack of an

organizational method makes it hard for desk assistants to locate the equipment that customers

want to check out. Furthermore, when customers return items to the front desk, the lack of

organization makes it difficult for the desk attendant to return the equipment to the proper

location.

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Statement of the Problem

The employees at the front desks had problems with inventory control, the accessibility

of check-out equipment, and returning the equipment back to its original location once returned.

The front desk needed to re-organize its equipment and use different storage strategies to ensure

that equipment is returned to its original location.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to analyze the existing layout of the South Hall front desk,

apply the 5S and lean manufacturing principles to the desk operation, create a new organizational

system that will allow workers to quickly locate and retrieve check-out equipment for customer

and allow workers to return that equipment to its proper location when it is returned to the desk.

The objectives of the study were to:

Improve the equipment loss associated with inaccurate records.

Improve the desk organizational system so equipment is easily located and easily

returned.

Implement a visual management system to allow workers to do quick equipment

inventory.

Minimize customer wait time.

Improve the overall aesthetics of the front desk area.

Improve the desk assistant’s productivity.

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Assumptions of the Study

It is assumed that once the improvements techniques have been implemented to the front

desk area, student workers will return equipment to its proper location and will work hard to

keep their work area clean. Student workers must also work hard to meet customer needs and

provide fast service to their customers.

Definition of Terms

5S. A term derived from the Japanese words for five practices leading to a clean and

manageable work area; sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain. (Fabrisio & Tapping,

2006)

Lean. A manufacturing or management philosophy that shortens the lead time between

customer orders and shipment of the parts or service ordered through the elimination of all forms

of waste. (Alukal & Manos, 2006)

Visual Management. The application of any visual aid or device that promotes safer,

more efficient, and less wasteful processes. The goal in using visual management is to create

“status at a glance.” This means an operating environment where normal vs. abnormal operating

conditions can be detected easily and rapidly. (Womack & Jones, 2005)

Poka Yoke. A mistake-proofing device for the prevention of defects popularized by

Shigeo Shingo. He differentiated “mistakes” from “defects”. The former are inevitable, while the

latter result when a mistake reaches a customer. The focus of poka yoke is to design devices that

prevent mistakes from becoming defects. (Sarkar, 2006)

Value Stream Mapping. All the actions, both value added and non-value added required

to bring a product though the main flows essential to every product. (Rother & Shook, 2009)

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Spaghetti Diagram. A problem-solving tool used to trace and depict the paths and flow

of information, supplies, and resources (equipment and people) throughout a process with the

aim of identifying opportunities to optimize flow. (Aherne & Welton, 2010)

Limitations of the Study

The limitations of the study are as follows: This project focused on a single front desk

within the University Housing department. The project will not include any of the other eight

residence hall front desk operations on campus. The project only involves employees employed

by University Housing between January 21st 2012 and December 1

st 2012. No past or future

employees were included in the project implementation. The project did not include any

additional training to the current desk staff. The project included only equipment specified on the

University Housing’s standardized equipment list as of January 21st 2012. Any additional

equipment that was added to the front desk operation after that date will not be included in the

project. The footprint of the South Hall front desk at University of Wisconsin - Stout was not

altered. No efforts were made to increase or decrease the existing structure due to building

regulations and renovation guidelines.

Methodology

A literature review was used to determine opportunities to apply the organizational

methodology of 5S and lean manufacturing principles. The application of lean and 5S principles

helped eliminate the waste associated with poor storage area organization. Employee feedback

also aided in determining what changes needed to be made to the layout of the front desk area so

desk workers would have better access to the needed equipment. A panoramic view from a

centralized point at the desk was used to evaluate the organizational techniques and the ability of

the desk worker to see all the equipment without leaving their chair at the desk. A blueprint

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layout of the desk was also utilized to track the desk attendant’s movements as they filled the

customer’s check-out requests. The movement pattern was then analyzed and changes were

made to the layout to better suit the needs of the desk attendant. The application of poka yoke

mistake proofing and shadow boarding also helped the desk attendants put equipment back into

the proper location when customers return items to the desk attendant. The application of 5S

techniques, sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain, provided the framework for the

front desk organizational system. The standardization of equipment locations along with

standardization of equipment labels improved the performance of the desk attendant while

creating a clean and organized working environment. The implementation of a daily task

assignment made sure that workers were contributing to sustaining the 5S initiatives. It also

provided an opportunity for desk assistants to buy into the 5S philosophy. The implementation of

these techniques allowed the front desk attendant to provide a better service to customers.

Summary

Desk assistants at the South Hall front desk at the University of Wisconsin - Stout were

having problems finding equipment and returning that equipment to its proper location. Most

equipment did not have a proper location or label which caused desk assistants to constantly

misplace items. Employees were not able to locate things for customers, and in turn classified the

missing equipment as lost or damaged. Without reorganization and application of 5S principles,

the university would continue to waste money replacing equipment that was misplaced.

Customers looking to check out equipment from the desk would continue to be turned away

without the things they needed. The literature review in Chapter II has identified multiple areas

where lean principles and 5S practices can improve the desk organizational environment and aid

the desk assistants in their jobs.

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Chapter II: Literature Review

A review of literature included research on lean manufacturing concepts. It also included

research on lean tools, workplace organization, and visual management techniques that can be

applied to an office or service setting.

An Introduction to Lean

Lean manufacturing principles are based on the Japanese automaker Toyota’s production

system. In the 1960s, Toyota infused the previous two methods of car manufacturing, craft and

mass production, into a single manufacturing philosophy. Craft production was the process of

building customized automobiles in a one at a time fashion. To do this, companies using the craft

method needed to employ a highly skilled work force to produce each car to the customer’s

specifications. This led to high labor costs and low product production. In contrast, the mass

production companies developed ways to employ a semi-skilled work force and standardize the

work being done to create a high volume of production and a lower labor cost. Toyota devised a

culture which infused the customization of the craft production system with the high volume

yields of the mass production system. The result was a system that eliminated any waste in the

production process while still producing what the customer wanted, when they wanted it.

Toyota’s new system made the company more flexible and competitive in the global market.

This lean approach to manufacturing has increased Toyota’s global market share over the years,

primarily by decreasing the market share held by their competitors (Womack, Jones & Roos

1990).

Basic Steps to the Application of Lean

The four basic steps to the application of Lean for an office setting are defined by Locher

(2011):

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1. Stabilize: The objective of this step is to create predictable and repeatable outputs. In

an office and service environment the product is not as tangible as in a manufacturing

environment, so it can be difficult to ensure the quality of the output. The instability

of outputs is most often an inadequate understanding of customer needs or employees

no longer hearing the “voice of the customer”. In these situations, you can clearly

define the needs of the customer, document those needs, and provide training to

office or service personnel. Then work on achieving the objective of giving the

customer what they want, when they want it. Achieving that objective alone will

bring stability to your process.

2. Standardize: When organizations standardize, they develop practices that are

consistently followed by all people who perform the process and /or the activities

linked to the process. The primary focus of standardizing is to streamline or simplify

work. Simplified work will allow employees to do things as fast as possible. It also

helps employees adhere to the process if they know that the process is the best know,

simplest way to perform the work. Standardizing work also helps identify non-

standard conditions. If you don’t have a standardized working condition then it is

impossible to identify non-standard conditions when they arise. If someone cannot

identify a non-standard condition, then it is impossible to correct that condition.

3. Make Visible: A visible workplace is one that is easier to manage over time. With

work instructions and prioritization rules posted visibly, less time will be needed to

direct the most basic activities. With techniques that make performance more visible,

less time will be needed to identify problems and issues with performance. Visual

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Management makes it easier to drive continuous improvement, a key objective of

Lean implementation.

4. Continually Improve: Continuous improvement is what drives lean practices. It is

also the hardest of all the lean concepts to sustain. In most cases continuous

improvement needs to be ingrained in the culture of an organization. The organization

must be run by effective leaders who provide a learning environment that is safe for

employees to voice their ideas and experiment with their working environment. When

implementing lean principles a company will make great strides and change many

things about is operation, but after all the low hanging fruit is picked and all the

obvious areas corrected, those companies who engrain continuous improvement into

their workers and leaders will be the companies who continue to prosper under lean

practices.

Lean Principles and Tools

Value Stream Mapping. Value-stream mapping is the simple process of directly

observing the flow of information and materials as they now occur, summarizing them visually,

and then envisioning a future state with much better performance (Jones & Womack, 2002).

Value stream mapping starts with observing all the action that occurs to get the customer what

they require. Since this map is created before any lean principles or tools are applied to the

process it is called a current-state map. The current-state map gives the organization a visual

representation of the current process that the company is performing at the moment. It is

important to include all of the steps in the mapping process, both value-added and wasteful, to

get an accurate picture of the current process (Jones & Womack, 2002).

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Once the current-state map is complete, it can then be analyzed for any types of waste

that does not add value to the process. Taiichi Ohno identified seven types of waste that can

occur in the value stream. Those seven types of waste are as follows:

Overproduction – Making items upstream before anyone wants or needs them

downstream.

Defects – Errors in products, paperwork support products, or delivery method.

Unnecessary inventory – Products in excess of the amount needed to ensure

meeting customer needs.

Unnecessary production – Activities not adding value that could be eliminated,

such as a separate inspection step replaced by a self-monitoring machine with

auto-stop, or flash-removal after molding eliminated with higher mold tolerances

and better mold maintenance.

Unnecessary Transportation between work sites – Moving products between

facilities that could easily be consolidated.

Waiting – Usually production associates waiting for machines to cycle.

Unnecessary motion in the workplace – Associates moving out of their work

space to find materials, tools, work instructions, and help (Shingo 1981).

Once waste is identified in the current-state value stream map, a company can start working to

eliminate wasteful steps in the process and create a future-state map. Even after future state

models are achieved, areas for improvement can be identified within the future state model as it

progress closer to perfection in an Ideal State (Jones & Womack 2002). Jones and Womack are

very straight forward in their conclusions about value steam mapping, You’ll never actually

achieve your ideal state! It turns out that there is always more waste to remove and that value for

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the customer can always be further enhanced (Jones & Womack 2002). Most companies will be

able to trim waste from a process but will never make it to their ideal state. Thus the Value

Stream Mapping practice will always continue and new areas of improvement can be found.

5S Visual Management. 5S is a systematic approach to organizing, ordering, and

cleaning. Its original origins come from post World War II Japan around the mid 1950’s. At that

time, Japanese manufacturing companies were forced to produce with very few resources, so

they developed a shop floor method to make every scrap count while wasting nothing (Fabrizio

& Tapping, 2006). Originally, the Japanese system only had four active parts, all beginning with

the letter “S”. These activities were; Seiri – Cleaning up, Seiton – Organizing, Seiso – Cleaning,

and Seiketsu – (systematic cleanliness). A while later a fifth element, Shitsuke – Discipline,

was added to create the system that is now known as 5S.

As lean principles started to spread though the United States, it was clear that changes

needed to be made to the 5S system if it was going to survive in an American culture. Changes

were made to the words making up the 5S philosophy but the philosophy itself still held the same

general meanings. The American 5S system for an office setting is defined by Fabrizio and

Tapping (2006) are:

1. Sort. This step involves sorting thought the contents of an area and removing

unnecessary items. The real meaning of Sort is found in the saying, when in doubt,

move it out.

2. Set in Order. This step involves arranging necessary items for easy and efficient

access, and keeping them that way. The essence of Set in Order is found in the

saying, A place for everything, with everything in its place.

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3. Shine. This step involves cleaning everything, keeping it clean, and using cleaning

as a way to ensure that the area and equipment are maintained, as they should be. The

essence of Shine is found in the saying, Make it clean and keep it clean.

4. Standardize. This step involves creating guidelines for keeping the area organized,

orderly, clean, and making the standards visual and obvious. The essence of

Standardize is found in the saying, If you can’t see, you don’t know, and if you don’t

know, you can’t control.

5. Sustain. This step involves education and communication to ensure that everyone

follows the 5S standards. The essence of Sustain is found in saying, Maintain the gain

and forget the blame.

From modest beginnings as a housekeeping tool, the 5S system has evolved into a method for

establishing and maintaining a high performance office. 5S is a simple, yet powerful quality

practice that helps identify and eliminate waste in a workplace. It also forces an organization to

look at issues that are often overlooked (Sarkar, 2006).

Poka-Yoke/Mistake Proofing. Mistake Proofing requires people and organizations to

find creative ways to eliminate the possibility that errors can happen. Mistake proofing goes well

beyond the traditional approach to quality assurances, which typically consists simply of

inspection steps meant to catch defects. If defects persist, the common response is to add more

inspection steps. However, the root cause of the defects then goes unaddressed, perpetuating an

often vicious cycle. The process of inspection also adds an enormous amount of waste, weather

by creating the defect in the first place, looking for defects though inspection, or correcting the

problem which shouldn’t have been present in the first place (Locher, 2011).

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The idea is to design and control in such a way that there is no possible way an operator

or worker can make a mistake. By mistake proofing, a process is self managing and self

monitoring instead of placing the responsibility on the worker to perform the task correctly.

Workers do not intentionally make mistakes or create product defects. Defects occur for a variety

of reasons, including but not limited to inadequate training, interruption of the process, rushing

production or assembly, and poor instruction. Sometimes, even when designing a process using

mistake proofing methods, there is a potential for defects to persist. When defects arise, it is

everyone’s responsibility to identify what caused the error and work to revise the process so that

the error does not occur in the future.

Lean for the Office and Service Organizations

Value Stream for the Office. The literary review revealed that the Value Stream

Mapping technique usually used in an industrial production setting could be slightly modified

and implemented in an office setting. Each organization will have a varying approach to the

implementation of a value stream mapping process based on internal workings. Variation will

also occur based on management and employee commitment to the process of mapping the work

flow, identifying areas for improvement, and eliminating the areas of waste in the process.

Without a strong commitment to the process, success of the project will vary greatly (Fabrizio &

Tapping, 2006).

Tapping and Shuker (2003) provide a narrative of the value stream mapping process

followed by Premiere Manufacturing, Inc. Premiere’s customer survey indicated a two year

negative trend in customer satisfaction, specifically regarding the responsiveness of the customer

service department in handling orders. The company had seen great improvement in its

manufacturing operations after instituting the value stream mapping process in its production

areas and decided to institute the same technique in its customer service areas, hoping to improve

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the department’s performance. The first step for the team was to create a charter that incorporates

all the relevant information communicated within the department. Once the charter was created

the team decided that tackling it all at once would be impossible, so they focused their energy and

resources on determining which part of the value stream to improve on. Premiere decided to focus

attention on three main customers of the company. It also focused on four measurable metrics that

it could track to evaluate performance. Once they identified the focus of the project they

proceeded to create a map of the current-state. After the creation of the current-state map the team

focused energy on identifying waste. Once those areas were identified, Premiere set out to

change the operation to eliminate as much waste as it could. In doing so they were able to create a

future-state map and start implementing some of the changes the company had identified. After a

six month period of time, Premiere saw a decrease in order cycle time, a decrease in order lead

time, a decrease in defective parts per million, and a dramatic increase in on-time delivery.

Premiere then moved on to create a continuous improvement chart that the company could follow

to ensure that the process did not stop with their first future-state map and continued to improve

the process and add value to its customers. (p. 26)

The 5S Office. Locher, (2011) details an account of a woman in the accounting

department who was the only hold-out in the company to not embrace the 5S office practices.

Her work space was visibly disorganized, but she argued that it was organized the best way for

her. The company needed to demonstrate the amount of time and energy that she was losing each

day due to her lack of organization. She agreed to be observed for an entire day. The observer

noted that 20% of her day was spent on non-value added activities associated with her lack of

organization. The two worked for two days to better organize the woman’s work environment.

Some of the revisions included organizing hard copy and electronic documents, setting up clearly

identified drop boxes for the various information that people dropped off at her desk, better

organization of in process work, and creating basic standard work. After the re-organization was

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finished the observer took another day to re-collect the data and found that 15% of the woman’s

time had been freed up because of the changes that were made (Locher 2011).

The employee was very surprised by the time savings. What was even more surprising

was the improvement in the woman’s emotional state. With the improved workplace

organization, the woman no longer had to work long days. She no longer went home exhausted

from the stresses of work. The improved mood and improved performance the employee

received from 5S was a testament to the effectiveness of the process (Locher 2011).

Summary

The literary review confirmed that implementation of lean principles and tools provide an

increase in workplace production. It also confirmed that regardless of the industry, lean

principles and tools can be applied to any workplace to improve its current processes. The only

limiting factor is the willingness of management and employees to implement, asses, and

continually improve on the success achieved by lean principles. In chapter III, the methods used

to apply the lean tools to the South Hall front desk at the University of Wisconsin-Stout will be

explained.

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Chapter III: Methodology

The student employees that staff the front desk operation at each residence hall were

having problems controlling the inventory of items, finding the correct equipment that the

customers wanted, and returning the equipment back to its intended location once the items were

returned.

The objective of this study was to analyze the existing practices of the South Hall front

desk at the University of Wisconsin-Stout for areas of improvement. Once improvement areas

were identified, implement a visual management system so desk assistants could easily

determine what equipment was available at a glance. Organize equipment locations so that

workers could not put a piece of equipment back in an improper location. Implement 5S and lean

principles to address work area organization and inefficiency.

This chapter discusses how 5S and lean principles, covered in the literature review, were

applied to identify opportunities for improvement. This chapter will also discuss the

improvements made in the layout of the South Hall front desk, as well as the efforts made to

mistake proof the operation for the desk employees.

Examination of the South Hall Front Desk before the Project

The objective of this project was implementation of 5S and lean principles to the existing

equipment storage areas used by the South Hall front desk operation. At the beginning of the

project, the front desk utilized large cabinet systems to store all the equipment needed to run the

front desk operation. The cabinets held all the equipment, but it was difficult to know what items

were in which cabinet and what items were already checked out by another customer. The desk

attendants staffing the front desks would have to search each cabinet for the specific item, often

wasting time searching for something that was already checked out or missing entirely. To

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complicate matters further, the desk attendant who checked the item out to the customer was not

the same desk attendant who re-shelved the item when it was later returned. Those desk

attendants who were responsible for re-shelving returned items had no idea where the item was

kept originally and just found a suitable place inside whichever cabinet had an open space.

Layout Evaluation

The layout of the South Hall front desk at the University of Wisconsin-Stout was

developed by taking the buildings existing structural blueprints from the University Housing

website, measuring and adding in the various storage devices that were currently being utilized

by University Housing, and measuring the existing space. Then a blue print was created of the

current desk layout to allow the researcher to evaluate the current locations of the five storage

cabinets in relation to the desk attendant. In Figure 1, the five storage cabinet locations are

labeled 1 – 5. Also in Figure 1, the desk attendant is denoted with a star.

Figure 1. Original desk layout blueprint

The creation of a desk layout blueprint was needed to create a spaghetti diagram. A spaghetti

diagram is a problem-solving tool used to trace and depict the paths and flow of resources

2 3

4

1

5

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(equipment and people) throughout a process with the aim of identifying opportunities to

optimize the flow of the process (Aherne & Welton, 2010). The spaghetti diagram will be used to

collect the distances traveled by the desk attendant when they are retrieving a piece of equipment

that was requested by a customer. The analysis of the spaghetti diagram will indentify waste in

the current process that will be corrected in the implementation of the new process. In the current

layout, when the desk attendant needed a piece of equipment, they would have to guess which

cabinet the piece of equipment was in. If the desk attendant guesses incorrectly as to which

cabinet it was in, they then would have wasted the time and distance of travel from one storage

cabinet to the next.

Data Collection

The data collected in the project consisted of the analysis of desk attendant movements

during the check-out of equipment to a customer. The data was captured and recorded into a

chart based on the desk attendant’s observed paths to the storage cabinets, refer to Figure 2.

Path Traveled Total

Distance

Path Traveled Total

Distance

C to 1 to C C to 2 to 3 to C

C to 1 to 2 to C C to 2 to 3 to 4 to C

C to 1 to 2 to 3 to C C to 2 to 3 to 4 to 5 to C

C to 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 to C C to 3 to C

C to 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 to 5 to C C to 3 to 4 to C

C to 2 to C C to 3 to 4 to 5 to C

C to 4 to C C to 4 to 5 to C

C to 5 to C C to 2 to 3 to 4 to 5 to 1 to C

Figure 2. Example of distance traveled worksheet.

25

5S

The 5S organizational philosophy is a systematic approach to organizing, ordering, and

cleaning a specific environment. The five different principles in the system are: Sort, Set in

Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain (Fabrizi and Tapping 2006). In this project, the researcher

implemented five principles of the 5S philosophy to improve the front desk operation. Sort will

be applied to the check-out equipment to make the desk area more organized. The equipment

will be sorted into five distinct categories. After the equipment is removed from the desk for

sorting, the entire desk area will be cleaned as specified in the shine principle. Once the

equipment is sorted, it can then be set in order, or assigned a physical location. After the

equipment has been assigned a specific location, standardized labels will be applied to the

equipment so employees can return it to its specified location. To sustain the process, a list of

specific tasks will be created to insure that desk attendants can maintain the current state.

Sort. The desk equipment needed to be reorganized. Before the project, there was no

specific location for anything. Desk workers would return equipment to any open space in any

cabinet. They would also waste time looking for a specific piece of equipment because they

never really knew where it would be. Since the storage cabinets were so spread out, it created a

great opportunity to organize the equipment into five groups. The first step in organization the

equipment was to break everything into five categories. Equipment was organized as follows:

1. Sporting Equipment: basketballs, footballs, soccer balls, volleyballs, tennis rackets,

tennis balls, racquetball rackets, racquet balls, billiard cues, billiard balls, billiard

triangles, ping pong paddles, ping pong balls, and latter golf set.

2. Dinning and Cooking accessories: plates, bowls, glasses, silverware, serving pieces,

knives, tongs, serving spoons, flippers, spatulas, blender, and crockpot.

26

3. Cooking Equipment: pots, sheet pans, cookie sheets, frying pans, Pyrex dishes, sauce

pans, baking pans, pizza pans, broiling pans, and pop corn popper.

4. Entertainment: various board games, card games, puzzles, DVD players, VCR, DVD

cleaning kit and VGA cables.

5. Tools and First Aid Supplies: wrenches, socket sets, hammer, saw, screwdrivers,

pliers, rubber mallets, allen wrenches, band aids, cold packs, gauze pads, eye wash,

elastic wraps, fluid clean up kit, and butterfly bandages.

Shine. While the sort process was taking place and all the equipment was removed from

the storage cabinets, the desk will undergo a thorough cleaning. The equipment itself would be

thoroughly cleaned. Any items that cannot be cleaned to a satisfactory level will be discarded

and replaced with a new item.

Set in Place. Once the equipment was sorted into the five categories it would give a

physical location in one of the five cabinets. Each cabinet will house all the equipment from a

given category. The cabinets will be selected based on the storage needs of the equipment

category. Equipment will be assigned a location that makes it easy to view the items and

determine what items are checked out at a glance.

Standardize. A standardized labeling system will be implemented in each of the storage

cabinets. Likewise, each piece of equipment will be labeled with a standardized name that

corresponds with the standardized label on its assigned location. Labels may vary from storage

unit to storage unit based on the specific needs of the equipment and the needs of the storage

device.

27

Sustain. To sustain the implementation of the 5S system, a daily task list was created so

that during each hour of operation, a desk attendant would have one task to complete to ensure

that the 5S system is being maintained. Tasks include cleaning, organizing, taking inventory, and

perform preventative maintenance on equipment that needs it. A standardized price list was also

created to insure that items that need to be replaced the customer will be charged the appropriate

cost. The standardized price list will also give the person purchasing the equipment a rough

estimate of what should be spent to replace the item. By doing so, the equipment can be replaced

in a more timely and efficient manner.

Inventory Checklist

The implementation of 5S principles at the South Hall front desk at the University of

Wisconsin - Stout will render the current inventory checklist provided by University Housing

obsolete. Once the equipment was better organized a new inventory checklist was created to

account for the changes made to the equipment locations.

Improvement Analysis

The prior operation produced 80 customer complaints pertaining to improper late fee and

replacement fee assessment. These errors led to the University Housing department having to

spend $500.00 dollars to replace equipment that did not need replacing. Those mistakes were

also responsible for an unnecessary increase in inventory at the front desk. The mistakes also

waste the time of University Housing staff that is responsible for completing the unnecessary

paperwork associated with billing the customer, purchasing the replacement equipment, and

putting the equipment into service.

28

Summary

The lack of organization and standardization at the South Hall front desk led to problems

with inventory control, finding the correct equipment, and returning the equipment to its proper

location. The application of 5S and visual management techniques were used in the completion

of the study to reduce time and cost associated with the current practices. The application of

these principles and the effect they had are presented in Chapter IV.

29

Chapter IV: Results

The student employees that staff the front desk operation at each residence hall were

having problems controlling the inventory of items, finding the correct equipment that the

customers wanted, and returning the equipment back to its intended location once the items were

returned.

The objective of this study was to analyze the existing practices of the South Hall front

desk at the University of Wisconsin-Stout for areas of improvement. Once improvement areas

were identified, implement a visual management system so desk attendants could easily

determine what equipment was available at a glance. Organize equipment locations so that

workers could not put a piece of equipment back in an improper location. Implement 5S and lean

principles to address work area organization and inefficiency.

A comparison of the current state and future state of the front desk area indicated that the

wasted time and money was caused by an inefficiently organized and maintained storage area.

The application of lean, 5S and visual management principles were implemented to improve

storage area organization and efficiency.

This chapter will review the results of applying lean, 5S and visual management

principles to create a greater efficiency in storage, check-in and check-out procedures, retrieving

and replacing the equipment at the front desk.

Changed to the Front Desk Layout

A spaghetti diagram was created using the front desk blueprint to show all the possible

paths that the desk attendant could travel to retrieve equipment for a customer. Once the desk

attendant paths were identified, measurements were taken with a tape measure to obtain the

30

distances the desk attendant traveled on the various paths the desk attendant takes to the storage

cabinets, refer to Figure 3.

Figure 3. Spaghetti diagram of distances traveled by desk attendant – before

Once the travel distances were measured, the desk attendants paths were analyzed and

recorded in the table shown in Figure 4. The table in Figure 4 illistates all the possible

movements associated with aquiring a piece of equipment. Reducing the movement of the desk

attendant would save the desk attendant and the customer time. An anaysis of the spaghetti

diagram indicated that the total distance traveled in a worst case scenario is 56 feet on a path

from cabinet to cabinet.

Since the layout of the desk area was limited in size and storage capacity, only minor

changes to the layout were possible. For the desk attendant to be able to see all the equipment,

the storage cabinets were re-arranged to give the desk attendant a view of each cabinet.

1

2 3

4

5 C

31

Path Traveled Total

Distance

Path Traveled Total

Distance

C to 1 to C 20’ C to 2 to 3 to C 26’

C to 1 to 2 to C 25’ C to 2 to 3 to 4 to C 34’

C to 1 to 2 to 3 to C 37’ C to 2 to 3 to 4 to 5 to C 36’

C to 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 to C 43’ C to 3 to C 14’

C to 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 to 5 to C 47’ C to 3 to 4 to C 22’

C to 2 to C 14’ C to 3 to 4 to 5 to C 24’

C to 4 to C 18’ C to 4 to 5 to C 20’

C to 5 to C 8’ C to 2 to 3 to 4 to 5 to 1 to C 56’

Figure 4. Total distance traveled on a given path

Cabinet 2 and 3 were rotated to the bare walls instead of blocking the windows. The

doors were also removed from cabinets 2 and 3 so that the desk attendant could view the

equipment from their seated position but the customers at the window would not be subjected to

staring at the cabinets full of equipment. Cabinet 4 was also rotated in location so that it faced

the desk attendant. The doors were also removed from cabinet 4 so that the desk worker could

see the contents of the cabinet at a glance. Cabinet 1 was a drawer style cabinet in which the

doors could not be removed. It was also very large and made entering the desk area a bit of a

hassle. For those reasons the cabinet was eliminated all together. In place of the cabinet, the

equipment was mounted on the wall with a series of organizational instruments specifically

designed for sporting equipment, refer to Figure 3. Cabinet 5 is a built in unit and therefore could

not be moved. The new layout of the desk cabinets is reflected in Figure 5.

32

Figure 5. Reorganized desk layout

Results from Layout Reorganization

The repositioning of the equipment cabinets and the sorting of the equipment into five

separate locations reduced the amount wasted time by the desk attendant. Instead of leaving their

position at the desk to looking though each cabinet for an item requested by a customer, the desk

attendant would be able to look at the cabinet from their current position to see if the item is

available. If the item is available they can proceed directly to the cabinet to retrieve the item.

With the new layout configuration and the addition of visual management systems, the

maximum distance traveled to retrieve an item would be 10 feet, refer to Figure 6. In the event

that a piece of equipment is already checked out the desk attendant can use the instant feedback

to let a resident know that the items is not available and save time and distance needed to looking

for the item under the old layout and system.

1

2 3

4

5

33

Figure 6. Spaghetti diagram of distances traveled by desk attendant – after

5S

All of the concepts of 5S were utilized in the re-organization of the desk. Equipment was

“sorted” into groups and unnecessary items were discarded. Equipment was also “set in order”

within the storage cabinets so each piece of equipment has its own location. Labels were also

added to each piece of equipment to “standardize” the items description and aid in returning the

item to its appropriate location in the storage cabinets. Though out the re-organization process,

the desk area also received a thorough cleaning. The storage units were all scrubbed, the

equipment was all cleaned, and evaluated for quality. Any piece of equipment that was deemed

unsatisfactory was discarded and replaced with a new item. That completed the “shine” aspect of

the project. A new set of daily tasks was created to “sustain” the changes that were made in the

desk operation.

34

Sort, Set in Place, and Standardize. Once the equipment was separated into categories

and assigned a storage area, the equipment then needed to be labeled and organized in each

storage cabinet or device. Each piece of equipment was engraved or labeled with a description

and number. Then each piece of equipment was given a specific location within the cabinet or

storage device.

The sports equipment and entertainment equipment needed special customization to their

designated storage areas because of the irregular sizes and shapes of the items. To best display

and organize the two types of equipment, specialized organization units needed to be purchased

and built. The sporting equipment was hung on the wall using specialized organization devices

for each piece of equipment, refer to Figure 7.

Figure 7. Storage area 1 before and after

Hanging each piece on its own, it gave the desk attendant immediate feedback of what was

available and what was checked out to other customers. It also made it extremely easy for the

35

desk worker to return the item to its proper location. The addition of some brightly colored

labeling also assisted in that process, refer to Figure 8.

Figure 8. Current storage device with labeling

The entertainment equipment required a special custom made insert for the cabinet so that each

individual game had its own location instead of desk attendants returning the game to any space

they could find, refer to Figure 9.

Figure 9. Storage area 4 before and after

36

Specially designed labels were added to storage cabinet 4 to improve the organization.

These labels were designed to hide out of sight when the equipment was in its proper location.

Then when a customer checked out the equipment for use and the desk attendant removed the

equipment from it designated location, the label would flip down signifying that the item was

checked out. The addition of flip labels to the storage cabinet also made it easy for the desk

workers to return each piece of equipment to its proper location when it was returned.

Additionally, the labels also provide the desk attendant with a quick reference to know which

games are checked out at any given time, refer to Figure 10. The additions of labels and

customized equipment locations help mistake proof those storage locations. When items are

returned for re-shelving, the labels help reduce the error of putting a game in the wrong location.

Figure 10. Shelf labeling system

Sustain. To sustain the other elements of 5S at the desk, a hourly task list was created

that assigned a desk assistant a task every hour that pertained to keeping the desk area clean,

checking the equipment inventory against the computer inventory, organizing the equipment

storage cabinets, and clean some of the equipment items that are used frequently, refer to Figure

11. The Daily Task List assigns the desk attendants a key part of the 5S process to every workers

shift. Their involvement in the 5S process gives the workers some buy-in to the program as well

37

as keeping the desk space clean. It also gives the desk attendants a greater sense of pride in their

working environment which aids in the sustain step of the 5S philosophy.

Figure 11. Desk attendant daily task list

Inventory Replacement Improvement

Equipment labeling was a very important step in the project. Before the equipment was

given a standardized label desk assistants had to guess what the items was when entering it into

the equipment check out logs. Most desk workers would use a generic name when entering it

38

into the spreadsheets because there were no labels. This created problems when equipment was

not retuned or checked-in incorrectly. It was difficult to know what type of item you were

looking for with a generic name like pot or pan. Once the equipment was labeled it was easy for

desk attendants to simply look at the item label, input the description into the spreadsheet, and

reshelf the item in its appropriate location when it was returned. Now instead of calling an item a

pan, the desk worker new that the item was actually a 2/3 quart saucepan number 2. The change

to a standardized labeling system also made it easy to replace items that were not returned to the

desk. A Hall Director could now use the exact product description to purchase the same piece of

equipment. It also made it possible to create a standardized price list so that the desk attendant

knew what to dollar amount to charge the student and the hall director knew what price range the

item should retail for, refer to Figure 12.

Lean and 5S Principles Impact on Inventory Control

The implementation of standardized locations for each piece of equipment as well as

standardized labels for each individual item has made a significant improvement in inventory

control, mistake charges to residents, and unnecessary equipment replacements.

The inventory lists utilized by the desk assistants were reworked to make the process of taking

equipment inventory more efficient. The complete desk inventory list before the lean principles

were applied is contained in Appendix A. After the sorting of equipment was performed a new

desk inventory list was created that was specific to each storage cabinet. This made taking a full

equipment inventory more efficient than the previous method because the desk assistant knew

which items should be located in which area and could easily see when something

39

Figure 12. Equipment standardized price list

was missing or in the wrong location. The new desk inventory list is located in Appendix B.

Under the previous desk condition, customers would often be unnecessarily charged

replacement and late fees due to errors by the desk attendants in checking in returned equipment.

Since there was no standardized location for the desk attendants to return the equipment to, it

was often hard to make sure that the customers actually returned the items. The lack of

standardized names also contributed to the problem because the desk attendants had trouble

figuring out what their co-workers were describing. The old system created a lot of customer

complaints and extra work by the administrative staff. The implementation of the new system

40

allowed the desk attendants to quickly double check the item location before they issued a

replacement or late fee to the customer. As a result, customer complaints and customer refunds

decreased by 75% over a period of one year due to the implementation of 5S and lean principles.

University Housing also saw a 50% cost savings to the South Hall replacement

equipment budget over the course of a year. In previous years, money was wasted replacing

equipment that was lost or misplaced. Poor record keeping due to a lack of standardized item

descriptions also contributed to the wasted money. The 5S and visual management changes

improved the overall loss and misplaced equipment in previous years to save the department

$250.00 dollars in cost.

Summary

The application of lean principles, visual management systems, and 5S organization to

the South Hall Front Desk helped improve the overall operation. The reorganization of the desk

storage cabinets allowed desk assistants to better assist the customers’ needs. The use of

spaghetti diagrams helped identify wasted motion by the desk attendant and overall time savings

in the check-out process. The application of 5S and visual management tools decreased the

amount of customer complaints associated with desk attendant mistakes. They also increased the

accuracy of the desk inventory and eliminated time from the inventory process. 5S and

standardized labeling of equipment provided a 50% cost savings to the South Hall Desk

Replacement Equipment budget of $500.00 dollars by eliminating lost or misplaced equipment

items. In addition, the process saved employees of University Housing an average of 4 hours a

week in time savings that they were able to allocate to other parts of their jobs. Chapter V will

discuss future recommendations that the University Housing department can use to improve its

operation.

41

Chapter V: Discussion

This project examined the existing operation of the front desk. The operating procedures

that were currently being used created problems with inventory control, the accessibility of

check-out equipment, and returning the equipment back to its original location once it is

returned. To correct these errors, lean and 5S principles were applied to the operation to reduce

the waste in time and money that was associated with the operations problems. The results were

overall improvement in desk attendant mistakes, reduction in customer complaints, and a time

and cost savings for the University Housing Department.

Chapter I defined why the South Hall Front Desk needed to reform the operational

procedures. Chapter II reviewed the literature regarding how the department can implement lean

and 5S practices to improve the desk operation. Chapter III summarized how the implementation

of lean and 5S practices improved the work flow of the front desk area. Chapter IV outlined the

results of the principles application to reduce the waste of time and money.

Limitations

The limitations of the study are as follows: This project focused on a single front desk

area. The project did not include any of the other eight residence hall front desk operations on

campus. The project involved employees employed by University Housing between January 21st

2012 and December 1st 2012. No past or future employees where included in the project

implementation. The project didn’t include any additional training to the current desk staff. The

project included only equipment specified on the University Housing’s standardized equipment

list as of January 21st 2012. Any additional equipment that was added to the front desk operation

after that date was not included in the project. The footprint of the South Hall front desk at the

42

University of Wisconsin-Stout was not altered. No effort was made to increase or decrease the

existing structure due to building regulations and renovation guidelines.

Conclusions

The project was successful in applying lean manufacturing, mistake proofing and 5S

techniques to the South Hall Front Desk. The reorganization of the storage areas and

standardized labeling of the equipment helped reduce customer complaints by 75%. The

application of standardized equipment locations also provided a 50% cost savings to the South

Hall Front Desk’s equipment replacement budget. The principles of 5S created a cleaner and

more efficient working environment for the desk attendants, and improved their work efficiency.

Recommendations

The application of lean principles during this project was concentrated to only one of the

University Housing front desk operations. The implementation of lean and 5S principles to the

other eight locations would offer University Housing additional savings in employee efficiency

and cost savings associated with the operation. Further analysis should be conducted to

determine the value of implementing additional lean and 5S activities at the other locations.

The project successfully applied lean and 5S principles to help improve the operation of

the South Hall Front Desk. The application of these principles brought a much needed

organizational method to the operation. The addition of the Standardized Equipment Price List

should be implemented across the department. Its use in all the desk areas could significantly

streamline some of the operational procedures associated with equipment replacement.

The application of 5S principles to the front desk operation proved to be an invaluable

tool for the South Hall Front Desk. Future training on 5S should be implemented to the Desk

43

Service Manager and Hall Director training schedule to educate the rest of the department on the

benefits of the 5S philosophy.

The implementation of a Daily Task List at each front desk has insured that each desk

operation has the steps in place to continue to sustain the efforts of 5S into the future. It also gave

the desk attendants some buy in to the process of keeping their work environment clean and

running efficiently.

Where possible it is recommended that front desks utilize visual management tools to

make it easier for desk attendants to get an idea of what equipment is available at a glance. There

is considerable time savings associated with an employee not having to leave their position at the

front desk to look for equipment. The various front desk layouts may make some of those visual

management tools hard to implement, but every desk can benefit from some level of

implementation. It may not be possible to create the same ideal layout that was achieved at the

South Hall Front Desk but portions of the project can be used in every location.

The adoption of a continuous improvement culture will empower the desk attendants to

come up with new ways to improve performance. The culture change would not take place over

night, but over a long period of time, a continually changing work force could put forward many

different ideas that can help improve the front desk operation. The culture would instill the idea

that one person can make a difference in every operation. It may not be a large game changing

idea, but even the smallest idea when implemented correctly can snowball into something that

will help all the employees involved in the process. Improvement is not something that happens

all at once, it is a long journey that in most cases never ends.

University Housing should study the effects of 5S on the front desk operations and apply

the 5S techniques and philosophy to other aspects of the department. University Housing could

44

see improved efficiency in the operation of the main office, mailroom facility, hall director work

room, exciting resource room, departmental library and conference room. Furthermore, the

department could implement the method of value stream mapping and spaghetti diagrams to

improve the departmental processes associated with student contracts, student room switches,

student move in day, and student occupancy.

Summary

Application of lean and 5S principles improved the operation of the South Hall front desk

at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. The University Housing department should implement the

techniques improvement made at the South Hall front desk to all the desks on the entire campus.

The department should incorporate 5S training into its fall and spring training schedule to

educate all its employees on the benefits associated with the 5S philosophy. Additionally, the

department should adopt a culture of continuous improvement and apply that culture to all

aspects of the department from facilities to all related student processes.

45

References

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Aherne, J., & Whelton, J. (2010). Applying Lean in Healthcare: A collection of International

Case Studies. New York, NY: Productivity Press

Fabrizio, T. & Tapping, D. (2006). 5S for the office: Organizing the workplace to eliminate

waste. New York, NY: Productivity Press.

Jones, D. & Womack, J. (2002). Seeing the whole: Mapping the extended value stream.

Cambridge, MA: The Lean Enterprise Institute.

Locker, D. (2011). Lean office and service simplified: The definitive how-to guide. New York,

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Rother, B., & Shook, J. (2009). Learning to see: value stream mapping to create value and

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Sarkar, D. (2006). 5S for service organizations and offices: A lean look at improvements.

Milwaukee, WI: Quality Press.

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Tokyo, Japan: Japan Management Association.

Tapping, D., & Shuker, T. (2003). Value stream management for the lean office: Eight steps to

planning, mapping, and sustaining lean improvements in administrative areas. New

York, NY: Productivity Press.

Womack, J.P. & Jones, D.T. (2005). Lean Solutions: How companies and customers can create

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Womack, J.P., Jones, D.T., & Roos, D. (1990). The machine that changed the world.

New York, NY: Free Press.

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Appendix A: South Hall Front Desk Inventory before lean principle application.

Items Quantity Items Quantity Blender 2 Basketball 4

Pitchers 2 Volleyball 2

Toaster 1 Kick Ball 1

Small Bowls 5 Football 2

Short Glass Cups 8 Square Rackets 2

Tall Glass Cups 4 Tennis Rackets 5

Liquid Measuring Cup 1 Tennis Balls 7

Medium Plates 3 Racket Ball 12

Large Plates 7 Frisbee 1

Peeler 3 Ping Pong Paddle 5

Spoons 4 Ping Pong Balls 73

Large Spoon 1 Pool Stick 4

Butter Knives 12 Pool Bridge 1

Pasta Fork 2 9 Ball Triangle 1

Pasta Spoon 2 16 Ball Triangle 1

Potato Masher 1 Baseball Bat 1

Flippers 7 Ladder Ball 1

Bread Knives 4 Badminton Racket Pair 1

Carving Fork 1 Pool Balls Set 3

Chef Knives 4 Pool Brush 1

Chopping Knife 1 Disk Golf 6

Knives 20 Soft Ball 4

Paring Knives 7 Baseballs 4

Tongs 7 Bache Ball Set 1

Cheese Grader 1 Birdies 3

Watermelon Scoop 1 Ping Pong Nets 3

Glazing Brush 1 Yoga Mats 3

Serving Fork 1 Ball Pumper 1

Whisk 3 Pool Equipment Box 1

Measuring Cup Set 5 Catch Phrase 1

Measuring Tea Spoon 5 Poker 2

Large Spatula 1 Dominoes 1

Wood Spoon 2 Mad Gab 1

Serving Spoon 4 Scrabble 1

Slotted Spoon 4 FBI 1

Ladle 4 Bohnaparte 1

Angel Cake Pan 1 In a Pickle 1

Spring Cake Pan 1 Card Sets 2

47

Rolling Pin 1 Loot 1

Pot Holder 7 Bohnanza 1

Square Pan 1 Yahtzee 1

Pie Pans 9 Trivial Pursuit 1

Bread Pan 3 Are you Smarter than a Fith Grader 1

Glass Bread Pan 1 Wisconsin Dells 1

6"x9" Pan 2 Property Training Games 1

Square Glass Pan 1 Uno 1

Rectangle Glass Pan 1 Battle of the Sexes 1

Red Pan 1 Imagine Iff 1

Wok 2 Taboo 1

Apple Slicer 1 Twister 1

Knife Sharpener 1 Boxers or briefs 1

Dicer 1 Monopoly Mega Edition 1

Soup Bowl w/ Lid 1 Life 1

Large Scooper 2 The Game of Scattergories 1

Ice Cream Scooper 1 Pictionary 1

Can Opener 3 Dirty Minds 1

Large Rubber Spatula 1 Cranium 1

Medium Rubber Spatula 2 Stratego 1

Small Rubber Spatula 1 Carcassonne 1

Skewer 6 Scene it? 2

Lid Small 2 Racko 1

Lid Medium 4 Loaded Questions 1

Lid Large 4 Guesstures 1

Metal Lid 1 Apples to Apples 1

Black Lid 1 Would you Rather 1

Square Pan 1 Beyond Balderdash 1

Glass Mixing Bowl 4 Biller Chalk Cube 13

Plastic Mixing Bowl 2 Jenga 1

Crock Pot 1 Crow Bar 1

Hand Blender 1 Rubber Mallets 4

Jug 1 Tiring Iron 1

Popcorn Maker 1 Jumper Cable 1

Pizza Pan 4 Hammer 1

Cooling Rack 3 Wrench 4

Muffin Tin 3 Vice Grip 1

Cookie Sheets 8 Needle nose pliers 2

Blue Roast Pan 1 Pliers 1

Dutch Oven Lid 1 Wrench Set 2

48

Large Mixing Bowl 5 Pressure Gage 2

Small Mixing Bowl 1 Allen Wrench 1

Metal Strainer 2 Measuring Tape 2

Plastic Strainer 3 Drill Bits 2

Plastic Bowl 2 Cable Box 1

Dutch Oven Pot 1 Laptop Cord 1

Black Deep Pan 2 Power Strip 4

Roaster 1 Extension Cord 1

Cutting Board 6 Flashlight 1

Gumbo Pot 1 Sledge Hammer 1

Deep Small Pan 6 Electric Drill 1

Sauce Pan 4 Drill Set 1

Pizza Cutter 1 Standard Sockets 1

Skillet Pan 0 Metric Sockets 1

Small Spoon 0 Screwdrivers on wall 17

Wood Spatula 1 Bolt Cutters 1

Industrial Battery Box 1 HDMI cables 3

Funnel 1 Foot Pump 1

Blue handled Screw Driver 1 AC adapter 1

49

Appendix B: South Hall Front Desk Inventory after lean principle application

South Hall Front Desk Inventory Location 1 Items Quantity Basketball 2 Volleyball 2 Kick Ball 1 Football 2 Square Rackets 2 Tennis Rackets 5 Tennis Balls 7 Racket Ball 12

Frisbee 1 Ping Pong Paddle 5 Ping Pong Balls 73 Pool Stick 4 Pool Bridge 1 9 Ball Triangle 1 16 Ball Triangle 1 Baseball Bat 1 Ladder Ball 1 Badminton Racket Pair 1 Pool Balls Set 3 Pool Brush 1

Disk Golf 6 Soft Ball 4 Baseballs 4 Bache Ball Set 1 Birdies 3

Ping Pong Nets 3 Yoga Mats 3 Ball Pumper 1 Pool Equipment Box 1

50

South Hall Front Desk Inventory Location 2

Items Quantity

Blender 2 Pitchers 2 Toaster 1 Small Bowls 5 Short Glass Cups 8 Tall Glass Cups 4 Liquid Measuring Cup 1 Medium Plates 3 Large Plates 7 Peeler 3

Spoons 4 Large Spoon 1 Butter Knives 12 Pasta Fork 2 Pasta Spoon 2 Potato Masher 1 Flippers 7 Bread Knives 4 Carving Fork 1 Chef Knives 4 Chopping Knife 1

Knives 20 Paring Knives 7 Tongs 7 Cheese Grader 1 Watermelon Scoop 1 Glazing Brush 1

Serving Fork 1 Whisk 3 Measuring Cup Set 5 Measuring Tea Spoon 5 Large Spatula 1 Wood Spoon 2

Serving Spoon 4 Slotted Spoon 4 Ladle 4 Knife Sharpener 1 Dicer 1 Soup Bowl w/ Lid 1 Large Scooper 2

51

Ice Cream Scooper 1

Can Opener 3 Large Rubber Spatula 1 Medium Rubber Spatula 2 Small Rubber Spatula 1 Skewer 6 Lid Small 2 Lid Medium 4 Lid Large 4 Metal Lid 1 Black Lid 1 Square Pan 1

Glass Mixing Bowl 4 Plastic Mixing Bowl 2 Crock Pot 1 Hand Blender 1 Jug 1

52

South Hall Front Desk Inventory Location 3 Angel Cake Pan 1 Spring Cake Pan 1 Rolling Pin 1 Pot Holder 7 Square Pan 1 Pie Pans 9 Bread Pan 3 Glass Bread Pan 1 6"x9" Pan 2 Square Glass Pan 1 Rectangle Glass Pan 1

Red Pan 1

Wok 2 Popcorn Maker 1 Pizza Pan 4 Cooling Rack 3 Muffin Tin 3 Cookie Sheets 8 Blue Roast Pan 1 Dutch Oven Lid 1 Large Mixing Bowl 5 Small Mixing Bowl 1 Metal Strainer 2

Plastic Strainer 3 Plastic Bowl 2 Dutch Oven Pot 1 Black Deep Pan 2 Roaster 1 Cutting Board 6 Gumbo Pot 1 Deep Small Pan 6 Sauce Pan 4 Pizza Cutter 1 Skillet Pan 1

53

South Hall Front Desk Inventory Location 4 Catch Phrase 1 Poker 2 Dominoes 1 Mad Gab 1 Scrabble 1 FBI 1 Bohnaparte 1 In a Pickle 1 Card Sets 2 Loot 1 Bonanza 1

Yahtzee 1

Trivial Pursuit 1 Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader 1 Wisconsin Dells 1 Property Training Games 1 Uno 1 Battle of the Sexes 1 Imagine Iff 1 Taboo 1 Twister 1 Boxers or briefs 1

Monopoly Mega Edition 1 Life 1 The Game of Scattergories 1 Pictionary 1 Dirty Minds 1 Cranium 1 Stratego 1 Carcassonne 1 Scene it? 2 Racko 1 Loaded Questions 1

Guesstures 1 Apples to Apples 1 Would you Rather 1 Beyond Balderdash 1 Biller Chalk Cube 13 Jenga 1 Dvd Players 3

54

South Hall Front Desk Inventory Location 5 Crow Bar 1 Rubber Mallets 4 Tiring Iron 1 Jumper Cable 1 Hammer 1 Wrench 4 Vice Grip 1 Needle nose pliers 2 Pliers 1 Wrench Set 2 Pressure Gage 2

Allen Wrench 1

Measuring Tape 2 Drill Bits 2 Cable Box 1 Laptop Cord 1 Power Strip 4 Extension Cord 1 Flashlight 1 Sledge Hammer 1 Electric Drill 1 Drill Set 1 Standard Sockets 1

Metric Sockets 1 Screwdrivers on wall 17 Bolt Cutters 1 HDMI cables 3 Foot Pump 1 AC adapter 1 Blue handled Screw Driver 1 Funnel 1 Industrial Battery Box 1