Facility managers are often at the forefront of organizational 5S or Kaizen programs. These programs are an organization-wide effort for workplace transformation. At the duration and finalization of the program, all areas of the facility are transformed into safe, efficient and effective units of the organization. This is because programs such as 5S and Kaizen endow ownership to everyone in the organization for the change to take effect. The continuous improvement in processes and operations result in many benefits, such as well-organized offices, uncluttered storage and warehouses, lesser costs in supplies and a diminishing of unnecessary wastes.
During the process of transformation, one of the most visible signs of the process is the re-layout of the spaces through sorting and re-organization. Furthermore, passageways where employees often pass are now identified with floor safety markings.
The workplace changes dovetails with the standards of the Department of Labor’s OSHA or Occupational Safety and Health Administration, particularly in the issue of floor safety markings. OSHA has standards for safe working conditions of facility employees. One of them is the proper setup of aisles and passageways used by workers daily. Facility access paths are better-maintained with the help of properly-applied floor safety markings.
