What is Sanitise (Seiso) ?

'Everyone is a Janitor' -- Sanitisation should be done by everyone in the organisation, from the managing director to the cleaner. This is why in Japan, they do not need street cleaners in residential areas. Every family is responsible for cleaning the pavement in front of their houses. Therefore, what they need are rubbish collectors. The Japanese believe that while they are doing cleaning, they are cleaning their minds, too. If you have done your annual cleaning at home before the New Year, you would probably have this feeling of freshness.

In an office or a factory, you might start by graphing out the individual areas of responsibility. In doing this, it is important that all assignments be absolutely clear and that there is no undefined, unallocated, or grey areas. Unless each and every person takes these admonitions to heart and accepts personal responsibility, you are not going to get anywhere.

Fig. 3a: Good Example of Sanitise – Sparkling Clean Campaign	Fig. 3b: Bad Example of Sanitise – No Cleaning Responsibility

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