1. Sort
- Determine what items are needed in a work area from those that aren’t.
- Create extra work space, make work flow more visible, and improve productivity, safety, and quality.
- Discard unnecessary materials.
Sort A Vetter Way®
- All paper, items, etc. always go into the Inbox first rather than on any surface.
- Create a paper information flow.
- A five-step process is used to sort the information (OATS) in the desk Inbox.
- Create an electronic information flow.
- From the e-mail Inbox, all information is sorted using the FADS system.
- Once a year, all files in your computer, e-mail, smartphone, and file drawers are gone through, decided on, and cleaned out.
- Separate your Action (tasks to do) items from your Support (information that you will reference and save) items.
2. Set In Order
- Keep necessary items in the correct place to allow for easy and immediate retrieval.
- Eliminate the need to search for tools and supplies, improve safety and productivity, and reduce wasted motion.
- Organize the work area.
Set In Order A Vetter Way®
- Keep only five things on your desk.
- Break down everything in your office by subject (Categories) and store them together.
- Keep tasks to work on only in your e-mail program, smartphone, and paper Action Category hanging folders.
- Keep everything off of the floor and walls in your office.
- Keep an open pathway to your desk.
- Turn your desk away from the door and distractions.
3. Shine
- Keep work areas, work surfaces, and equipment clean and free from dirt, debris, etc. which will result in a clean, more satisfying place to work, improve quality, and promote fewer accidents.
- Clean the work area daily.
Shine A Vetter Way®
- All loose paper goes into the desk Inbox.
- Nothing goes on the desk surface other than five specified items.
- Wipe out all drawers, shelves, and surfaces.
4. Standardize
- Establish standard activities, procedures, schedules, and people responsible for helping keep the work place clean and organized.
- Implement best practices.
Standardize A Vetter Way®
- Quiet Time (20% of your workday, uninterrupted, and spent on very important tasks).
- Information flow (information flows the same way at the same three times daily).
- Standardize your information storage system (filing system).
- Information storage
- o Shared drive.
- o My Documents.
- o Central file.
- o Library.
- E-mail template.
- Desk set-up.
- Use the same work system model everywhere including your paper and electronic files.
5. Sustain
- Drive the organization to be disciplined in maintaining these new standards and procedures and to continuously improve the state of the workplace.
- Monitor performance.
Sustain A Vetter Way®
- Process information three times a day.
- Produce work three times per day.
- Once a week go through all of your Action files in your e-mail program and file drawer and prioritize them.
- Batch similar activities and work on them during the same times.
- Spend 20% of your day in a Quiet Time (QT) working on your most important tasks.
- Create work processes for all of your repeated tasks.
Vetter Productivity, Inc.
[email protected]
www.vetterproductivity.com
404-250-1727