Small stops poster

Small stops (minor stoppages) are the short stops an operator clears in a moment: a part caught in a chute, a jam at a feeder, a sensor that trips. Each one looks too small to matter, so it gets reset and forgotten, yet together they are one of the six big losses. This poster asks operators to name what the part did before they reset it, using words such as caught, jammed or skewed, to log every stop, and to work on the most frequent one first.

Download the poster

The PNG is free to download now. The print-ready vector PDFs open after a short form, once.

Download PNG (300 dpi)2550 x 3300 px, prints at 8.5 x 11 in · 365 KB · no form

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The words on the poster

Small stops

Say what happened before you reset it. Otherwise it will stop again.

What did the part do?

Caught
Jammed
Dropped
Skewed
Flipped
Doubled
Slipped
Not fed

Every stop

Look before you reset Where it stopped, which part, what it did.
Log it Time, place and the word for what happened. Even the short ones.
Count them Each week: which word, which place, how often.
Fix the top one At its cause, not with a faster reset.

Jam inside the guard? Stop and lock out before you reach in.

On the floor

How to use it

Putting the Small stops poster to work

1
Hang it at machines and lines with frequent short stops, next to the stop log.
2
Agree the eight words as the line's stop codes, so the log can be counted.
3
At the end of the week, count stops by word and by place: the top one is next week's kaizen.
4
Pair it with the free downtime reason codes template and equipment downtime log.

Where the poster goes and how to teach with it, in the order to try them.

Which size to print

24 x 36 in or A2: a main wall or team board, read from a few metres away.
18 x 24 in or A3: a station or notice board. The A3 file also fits 11 x 17 in paper.
Letter or A4: a clipboard, binder or handout, on any office printer.

Every PDF is vector, so it stays sharp at full size. Nothing runs to the edge of the page, so no bleed is needed.