GOOD HOUSE KEEPING PRACTICE

SORTING
The criteria to define something as necessary or unnecessary,

 Consider the frequency of use to determine whether an item should be located in

a particular work area.
 Focus on specific time parameters, such as use per shift, per day or per week, to
determine if an item is unnecessary or necessary.
 Determine whether an item is obsolete, defective, trash or of unknown use in the
work area. Items that are obsolete, defective and trash should be immediately
labeled as unnecessary and returned, recycled, donated or discarded.
 Items that have unknown uses should be stored in a central location until the
items’ use has been identified or an agreed-upon period of time has elapsed with
the item in storage.
 Items that are infrequently used or incorrectly located also should be removed
from the target workspace and placed in a holding area for later analysis and
removal or storage.

Thorough Inspection

Table 1: Sort Inspection Checklist

Check walls and boards for:

Search these spaces: Unneeded hanging and posted items
Floors Out-of-date items
Work surfaces Useless signboards and messages
Corners near entrances & exits Look for unneeded supplies:
Behind and under workbenches and Spare parts
equipment Raw materials
Along the walls Search these storage spaces:
Tool boxes that are not sorted Lockers
Look for unneeded furniture: Storage shelves
Chairs Floors
Filing cabinets Workbenches
Benches Look for other unneeded items:
Look for unneeded equipment & tools Trash cans
Personal items
Develop item disposition list as a guideline for placing needed items in a work area and
for eliminating unneeded items in the area. The list should provide information on how
to decide in which category an item belongs and what action should be taken, based on
the categorization. For example, items used once per day or more should be stored at
the point of use or carried on person. Items that are defective should be returned to
supplier, recycled or discarded.

Table 2: Item Disposition Checklist

Category Possible Actions

Obsolete Discard

Return to supplier
Defective Discard

Recycle
Garbage Discard

Unneeded in this area Move to proper location

Carry on person
Used at least once per day Store at point of use

Used about once per week Store in area, close to point of use

Used less than once per

month Store where accessible and easy to find

Store out of the way, visually controlled and dated,

with retrieval planned
Rarely used, must keep Discard if this is a less-expensive option

Move to central storage if not able to easily find its

use
Use unknown Apply to one of the above