The document discusses how the principles of Lean management used in corporations can also be applied to managing household activities efficiently. Following Lean practices like 5S (Sort, Systematically arrange, Shine, Standardize, and Self-discipline) can help avoid morning chaos and stress. For example, planning meals ahead, organizing the home clearly, and involving children in responsibilities can help a mother prepare smoothly even if she oversleeps. Communication, teamwork and continuous improvement among family members are also important for successfully managing a household in a Lean way.

1. mindset
morning
rush
MANAGING THE ‘LEAN’ WAY
BY RANGASHREE SRINIVAS
PICTURE THIS. A much hassled mother of two children - a foot-
dragging 13-year-old and a mischievous 6-year-old.
Mother has had a bad night, has slept through the 5:00 am alarm
and wakes up at 6:00 am instead. The school bus arrives at 7:30 am,
and she has to prepare breakfast, pack a snack and lunch, and help
the younger child get ready for school. The older child has to prepare
for the class test in the morning. Horrors! Both the children are still
sleeping. The tension builds up. If the husband had been in town, he
might have woken them up and helped with the snack-packing.
All hell breaks loose, as the stressed-out mother loses her cool and
transfers her tensions on to the children. The younger one has wet
her bed again! The older one is not coming out of the bathroom! The
younger one does not go to school as it is too late; the older one has
stormed out of the house in tears, with a semi-packed school bag and
the previous day’s leftovers for lunch. Mother is left with a migraine
and a cranky child to manage during the day.
M
any households experience emotions and demonstrating
similar morning madness, good practices.
ranging from the mild to utter
chaos, setting the tone for the rest of How does Lean work?
the day. This takes a toll on everybody’s Introduced by Toyota Motor Company,
productivity and peace of mind. Parents the key elements of Lean are:
and children alike lead stressful lives. • Well-defined Value (workflow)
Children experience trauma, and do not Stream
learn life-skills with a positive attitude. • Value (work) flowing without
Parents have health-related issues; they interruption
go through feelings of inadequacy, guilt • Production to requirement only
and self-doubt. • Synchronizing all the processes, to
the delivery process.
There is a way out of this vicious circle
through Lean Management, which is a Durairajan explains, ”Corporate
Japanese style of managing resources organisations and families need to be
efficiently. Though commonly used by managed well, to run without hiccups.
corporates Lean can also be practised Delayed starts, under-preparedness
at home by families, says Kaizen and unexpected events interrupting the
consultant and Lean management manufacturing processes result in short
expert S Durairajan. This can be delivery to some customers (mother
done through better management of oversleeping and child bedwetting, in
24 Parent Circle / January 2012

2. SYSTEMATICALLY
ARRANGE
SORT
our family example). Delivery failures
leave dissatisfied customers and create What is 5S?
a negative image of the company (the
entire family). To add to this, labour
issues (no help from children) can
5S is a key factor in practising Lean.
They are illustrated here with tips on SHINE
cause additional headaches for the how this applies inside the home.
management (mother). This is further
aggravated by the untimely absence of Sort out: Remove unwanted things
SELF
a key manager (the husband) and the and retain only the items that
DISCIPLINE STANDARDIZE
lack of alternate processes to make up are needed.
for the lost time. Complexity actually In the kitchen: Store only the vessels
increases in the households due to the and food items needed for weekday
intense emotions evoked between use in easily accessible shelves. Put away reserve supplies on the shelves
the members.” above; rarely used items in the harder-to-reach areas. Definitely do a monthly
spring-cleaning, and throw away things not used for at least six months.
What this mother
could have done Systematically arrange: In the sequence of use.
Ideally, she could have had a back- In the bathroom: Run a weekly check for essentials such as toothpaste,
up plan for breakfast and lunch – toothbrush, soap, shampoo etc. Likewise lay out your clothes and the
something easy to prepare, in case she children’s uniforms the night before. Encourage your children to take
woke up late. Instead of losing her responsibility for towels, ironed clothes, underwear, clean socks and shoes.
temper, she could have asked the older Introduce the concept of checklists to them when they are young, as a game.
child to eat at the canteen or deliver Teach them to keep their things in an easy-to-reach orderly way.
lunch at school if that was possible. She
could have ‘empowered’ the children Shine: Keep the place and items sparklingly clean.
to take on greater responsibility in In the kitchen: Half-an-hour of extra effort cleaning the kitchen the night
the absence of her husband – like before, will save you from a day’s worth of tension. If you have a maid to
encouraging them to wake up at wash utensils, rinse out the used vessels. Stack them neatly in a pre-assigned
the first call; pack their own lunches; area so that they don’t come in the way of your morning kitchen work. Wash
complete school work the previous what is needed and set them aside in an accessible place. Enlist the help
night. In short, planning and organizing of your children and spouse in taking on different cleaning and arranging
for the next day should be the last assignments.
activity of the day to ensure success in
everyday activities. It is very important Standardize: The practice of regularly sorting, of systematic arrangement
to prepare oneself and the children and cleaning.
mentally about the activities of the next In the house: Plan and fine tune the sort, sequence and shine processes in
day and plan out a sequence for every area of your home. Involve your family one Saturday night on a pretend
doing them. play of board-room strategy where each family member is an important board
member contributing key ideas and strategies. Evolve a game plan on a white
Lean requires consensus and bonding, board with different coloured markers for each family member. Develop a
to be practised well. The entire family strategy that works for your family with ideas pooled in by everybody, with
should eat dinner together; talk about individuals taking on specific responsibilities.
the day’s events, discuss interpersonal
issues that arise during the day (without Self-Discipline: Demonstrated by you as an adult, and involving the
blaming one another); and follow it up children in sorting, systematically arranging and standardizing processes.
with ideas for a better and smoother At home: If your children see you sorting out your wardrobe at regular
tomorrow. This way, a culture of intervals, they will do the same. Resist the temptations of impulsive shopping;
continually improving the processes and this will de-clutter the house and help you gain contentment with
the self, will be ushered. fewer possessions.
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