I’ve seen lots of groups run effective 5S’s on a work area without conducting a motion study, but when trying to make a case for moving or buying equipment, it helps to show how much time people are spending and the distance they’re walking given the current setup. As an example, I saw a group make the case for individual printers once they showed the time, distance and reprinting going on in a high-volume process using a shared printer. In that case they used a Spaghetti Map which is a great tool for understanding people movement. That illuminates the Waste of Motion as well as the Waste of Time.
