LeanSuite vs spreadsheets and paper

For a small team with a few projects, yes. Keep one shared file with the problem, baseline, target, owner, due date, status and savings for each project. It stops working when people keep their own copies, nobody is reminded of due dates, or leaders need a roll-up.

Yes, if one person reads every idea, answers every submitter and moves approved ideas into a project list. Most spreadsheet systems fail on the answer. LeanSuite's Idea Management routes each idea to a reviewer, and it is free for teams of 25 and under.

It works when the team is small and one person updates it after every training. The risk is that it goes stale just when you need to cover a station. The free skills matrix template has an Excel version with a coverage row. LeanSuite's Competency Management keeps the matrix live.

List the checks for each of the five S's, score each one, total by category and keep every audit to see the trend. The free 5S audit checklist template has 25 scored checks and an Excel version. Excel can't require a photo or chase a failed check until it is closed.

When the problems cost more than the tool: several copies of one tracker, actions with no owner, operators who can't reach the file, hours spent on reports, audits with no evidence, or each shift with its own version. Until then, stay on spreadsheets and use good templates.

Then the risk is the person, not the file. A macro workbook, Access database, SharePoint list or Power App works while its builder is there, but nobody can change it after they leave. Write down what it does, keep a copy of the data, and compare the upkeep with buying.

LeanSuite is one flat price per facility with unlimited users, quoted on request. A 90-day pilot costs $3,000 per facility, and the first module is typically live in under a week. Idea management is free for teams of 25 and under on the Starter plan.