Public Works: Animal Shelter Food Prep Area 5S

The Challenge

The division of Animal Care and Control in the City of Bloomington has a mission of addressing and responding to all animal needs in the community through education, enforcement, and support. The Bloomington Animal Shelter at 3410 S Walnut St provides a range of services, from pet adoption and fostering, lost and found pets, animal control, donation management, and volunteering. 

You can imagine with all the dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, lizards, and humans sharing space, and thoughtful residents donating food, snacks, and bedding, it is kind of difficult to keep things organized. 

When the Innovation Director offered to train any team who wanted it in the 5S Lean Process Improvement system, the Bloomington Animal Shelter easily identified multiple candidate areas and snatched the opportunity!. 

“Our Food Prep Room had become a catch all for everything in the building. We were hoping to declutter and put things in their places to take the space back to its original purpose – preparing food for the thousands of animals we care for each year.” - Robyn Peffinger

As is common with many work areas that are shared by different functions, the Food Prep Room became difficult to navigate and use for its intended purpose.

The Idea

So… what is 5S, and why isn’t it just called “cleaning a room?”

5S is a Lean process improvement tool that helps staff see things that are otherwise not obvious by organizing an area. A disorganized area is more likely to cause frustration and wasted time on the part of the folks sharing the resources. So, organizing a space is a way of showing respect to coworkers! In fact, the Lean framework operates with two main principles: respect for people, and continuous improvement. 

The 5 steps in the improvement system are Sort, Shine, Set in order, Standardize, and Sustain. 

After being trained in the 5S methodology, Innovation Devta Kidd joined Volunteer Director Jenny Gibson, Animal Care Technician Shelly Cook, and Shelter Manager Robyn Peffinger to 

• take everything out of cabinets and off of shelves;
• determine which items belong (to serve the purpose of the space) and which do not;
• determine which items are good and which are expired;
• return the things that belong in the space in such a way that the workflow of the space is efficient; 
• label cabinets and shelves so it is clear what belongs and what does not; and finally
• create a shared auditing system to ensure that the space remains tidy.   

The Cost

“The implementation was quick! We did the big overhaul in about four hours and had all of the signage in place within a couple of days. It cost us the paper and laminating sheets so, basically, pennies. It is saving us money by reducing our overall waste.” - Robyn Peffinger

The Benefit 

Since implementation, the results have been invaluable. During the “sort” phase, the team found that the lack of a process for taking older food and treats out before using newer ones resulted in HUNDREDS of pounds of food and treats that were expired and no longer usable by the Shelter. While most could be donated to other agencies, the team did need to compost a significant amount. As a result, the team implemented a new “first in / first out” plan for wet food that will prevent future waste from happening!

In its first months of auditing, the Food Prep area stayed mostly organized. The audit tool the team developed helped them hone in on the fact that specific categories of items that belonged in other areas were regularly collecting in the Food Prep area. By identifying trends, the group was able to zero in on the root cause, make a plan to rehome the items that didn’t belong there, and give their colleagues targeted messaging instead of a generic “Please help us keep this area organized” note.

“The impact has been positive. It helps us to use donations responsibly and gives staff a clean, accessible work space. Also, it has inspired several staff to extend 5S into other areas of the shelter.” - Robyn Peffinger

Metadata

Department(s): Innovation, Animal Care and Control

Department Point(s) of Contact: Robyn Peffinger, Animal Shelter Manager

Partner(s): Devta Kidd, Jenny Gibson, Shelly Cook

Partner Point(s) of Contact: 

Type of Innovation: Process Improvement

Date Implemented: 2023