Introduction
Maintaining order in one’s life is an essential step toward creating a harmonic environment and, therefore, increasing life satisfaction rates (Sirgy, 2012). The reasons for choosing specific tools for managing the crucial elements of one’s routine are arguably very subjective; therefore, the efficacy of a certain device may vary depending on the environment, in which it is applied. The 5S (seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke) principle of order based on the Japanese philosophy is assumed to be the foundation of managing the elements of a particular process and has recently been viewed as a silver bullet for addressing the situations that need a better arrangement of priorities. By applying the identified philosophy to the process of house renovation, one is likely to create an environment, in which every single item is in order, therefore, creating prerequisites for managing the emergent problems faster and much more efficiently.
Main body
The application of 5S to the process of house renovation will imply that the renovation should be split into five stages mentioned above. First, the seiri concept of eliminating everything that is unrelated to the renovation process should be carried out (Kubiak & Benbow, 2009). Particularly, the tools that can be deemed as not quite useful (e. g, the elements of refurbishment that were considered unnecessary in the process of planning, including certain types of drills, etc.) should be removed from the area.
Afterward, the required equipment and materials (drills, a vacuum cleaner, wallpaper, beams, nails, etc.) should be arranged in the necessary order. The items mentioned above along with others will have to be located so that they could be reached easily and that they should be arranged in the order that they are required (e. g., first, a drill, then nails and a hammer, etc.).
The seiso stage will demand that the area should be clean throughout the entire process. The identified concept is admittedly hard to implement. However, it may become a possibility once the previous step (i. e., orderliness) is made. By following the steps outlined in the course of planning and evaluating the outcomes, at the same time remaining calm despite the inevitable miscalculations and problems, one will be capable of following the Seiketsu and Shitsuke concepts.
Addressing the benefits that the framework in question provides, one must give credit to the options for eliminating waste that it gives. Seeing that the house renovation process is quite expensive and needs careful calculations so that the budget should not be stretched further, the 5S system application seems more than reasonable. By implementing the 5S strategy, one will successfully introduce the concept of Lean Management into the process by reducing the amount of waste and using all resources sparingly (Kubiak & Benbow, 2009). Indeed, by definition, Lean Management implies utilizing the number of materials available sparingly so that each aspect of the process could be sustained properly and that no materials should be used excessively (Wilson, 2009). The 5S approach, in its turn, creates the environment, in which every domain of the project receives the exact amount of resources needed to deliver the best performance possible (Kijima, 2014). As a result, the renovation will not trigger the scenario, in which there will be bolts of wallpaper left after the work is over, or in which the amount of paint purchased will be not enough to refurbish certain areas of the house, etc.
Conclusion
Therefore, though the choices made in the course of rearranging the priorities are typically rather personal and depend on internal factors to a considerable extent, the application of the 5S principle can be deemed as rather efficient. The observed phenomenon can be attributed to the universality of the ideas that the 5S framework is based on. When implemented in the household setting, the philosophy appears to be fairly flexible, therefore, allowing one to choose from a variety of options available. Therefore, the framework is not binding in contrast to a range of other tools. Efficient and quick, it may serve as a perfect basis for any kind of project, be it a workplace – or home-based one.
Reference List
Kijima, K. (2014). Service systems science. New York, NY: Springer Science & Business Media.
Kubiak, T. M., & Benbow, D. W. (2009). Waste elimination. In The certified Six Sigma Black Belt handbook (pp. 332-336). Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Quality Press.
Sirgy, J. (2012). The psychology of quality of life: Hedonic well-being, life satisfaction, and eudaimonia. New York, NY: Springer Science & Business Media.
Wilson, L. (2009). How to implement lean manufacturing. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Professional.