Getting Organized with a Custom Shadow Board is Easier Than You Think

One of the keys to running a successful business is maintaining a productive work environment; when productivity declines, revenues, customer satisfaction, and future growth are all negatively impacted.

A structured workspace is crucial to support continued company growth and productivity. And one-way businesses are ensuring they don't fall behind is by focusing on workplace organization, using tools such as a custom shadow board or colour-coded checklists. This blog will outline the importance of workplace organization and a few strategies companies are adopting to implement a functional organization structure.

Why It Pays to Be Organized

Maintaining a structured, organized environment has significant benefits for workplace productivity and mood, and mental health.

• A well-organized space enables employees to complete tasks faster. For example, a custom shadow board ensures that every tool has its proper place and employees spend less time looking for the equipment they need
• Organization helps support work-life balance by ensuring tasks are completed on schedule without requiring workers to put in overtime
• A clean environment free of debris and clutter has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, improve employee morale, and boost productivity
• The benefits of improved workspace organization can have a momentum-building effect as employees who complete assignments ahead of schedule become free to take on future tasks

How to Implement Improved Organizational Structure in Your Workplace

Businesses from various industries will have different ways to implement organizational practices; what works in an office might look different than what works on a busy production line. However, the concept is the same regardless of your industry.

Review Your Workflow

Before implementing a new organizational strategy to combat inefficiencies in the workplace, you need to understand where those inefficiencies originate. This includes evaluating your employees to see whether their skill sets are meeting the demands of the job, mapping out your processes and looking for areas that can be optimized, and examining the state of your current equipment and technology.

Reviewing your existing workflows lets you see where pain points are occurring so that you can better train employees or update processes or equipment to eliminate these inefficiencies.

The 5S Method of Organization and Custom Shadow Boards

The 5S methodology was orientated at a Toyota factory in Japan in the 60s to improve workplace efficiency, effectiveness, and safety through a cohesive organizational structure. The 5S's - sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain – seek to eliminate workplace waste, whether that means lost time or lost product, by removing what's unnecessary, cleaning the workspace, organizing tools, and making routine maintenance a habit.

Using 5S-inspired organizational tools, such as custom workplace shadow boards and colour coding, allows manufacturing facilities to reduce waste, streamline processes, and increase productivity with minimal investment.

Custom shadow boards are a pillar of 5S lean manufacturing. Custom shadow boards are designed based on your production facilities' unique tools and equipment. Each instrument used in your production line is given a marked location to be returned immediately after use.

While this practice may sound straightforward enough, its benefits of implementing custom shadow boards throughout your organization can't be understated. Custom shadow boards allow for the following:

• Immediate identification of lost or damaged tools
• Enhanced workplace cleanness and efficiency
• Improved quality control
• Reduced waste

Production facilities typically adopt custom shadows board in conjunction with other best organizational practices like departmental colour coding and ID tagging to ensure cohesiveness and continuity throughout each level of your organization.