An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

The 6 S’s: Improving physical and virtual processes for Team Scott

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Andrew Davis
  • 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Starting Monday and lasting through Feb. 13, Team Scott will be cleaning out and sprucing up their work areas as a way to streamline their offices and work more efficiently. 

Col. Barbara Jacob, AMC Process Improvement Team lead, said the command is using a method for the week-long effort referred to as 6S, which stands for safety, sort, straighten, shine, standardize and sustain. 

"6S is a technique we use to teach the workforce how to eliminate wasted time and energy by improving the organization of their workspace -physical, virtual or intellectual.
"Through (the 6S) method, we teach our Airmen to look for misplaced materials, equipment and information, and find the optimal setup that reduces waiting time, inefficient handling and waste. The desired outcome is discipline in organizing the workspace and sustaining it that way." 

AMC Seminar 

In an effort to educate people about the process, AMC is sponsoring a seminar geared toward staff work (primarily for AMC) called, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Staff Officers." In this seminar, attendees will focus on how to best clean up their desktop.
"If you're constantly clicking around to find your files, or if you want to organize your e-mail better or needing to find AMC templates and commonly used files, then this is a great opportunity," said the colonel. 

The seminar is offered Feb. 11 and 12 at Rockwell Hall. Those who are Client Services Administrators can attend a special time Monday at 2 p.m. at Rockwell Hall. For more information or to sign up, call 229-2233. 

375th AW events 

In addition to the AMC seminar, 375th Airlift Wing members will also have an opportunity throughout the week to not only clean their virtual workspaces, but physical workspaces as well. 

Col. Stephen Oliver, 375th AW vice commander, said "The wing has reserved the 'Big Bertha' shredder and arranged with the applicable agencies for ADPE and furniture turn-in, as well as the always popular flea market. At next week's wing commander's call, each group commanders is encouraged to bring in the most heinous '6S' artifact that is found while cleaning out their workspaces."


Side bar

The "6S" are as follows: 

· Safety - Safety First. The first "S" to maintain a focus on safety throughout the following steps. 

· Sort - Distinguish between what is needed and not needed. Discard what is not. 

· Straighten - Organize, identify and arrange everything in the work area. With all the excess furniture, files and equipment removed, there is now room to organize efficiently. 

· Shine - Clean up the workplace and look for ways to keep it clean daily. In a shiny workspace, regressing to old habits will be easy to spot. 

· Standardize - When the fastest, safest, best quality and repeatable steps have been identified, document them and ensure teams follow the standard. 

· Sustain - Train and maintain the gain. Establish a formal system for monitoring.