Dr. Marilyn M. Helms,
In conquering the flood of paperwork circulating or
just organizing for faster service or response, you may want to borrow several
of these suggestions on using color.
A trucking/transportation group
mentioned faxes were critical to their business and represented both new and
urgent business. In their flood of
packing lists, shipping documents, manifests, and other paperwork, faxes were
getting lost. In desperation, a key
manager announced all faxes were to be printed only on yellow paper from that
date forward. The yellow paper, visible
on the desktop, matched the urgency and priority of the document.
Surveys too get a better response rate
on colored paper with the neon yellow achieving the best results of any colors
tested. Student club events, speakers,
and campus announcements stand out better on our DSC campus on bright neon
paper. Using alternative colors also
helps signal new events and new information for those quickly scanning
bulleting boards.
Color-coding can even organize your
calendar and events by category. My busy
attorney friend uses color to organize her life. She enters events in a paper datebook and highlights work events in red, events for her
daughter in yellow, her husband in blue, payments to make and tax filings in
green, and so on. A quick glance of her
day helps her transition between activities and ensures she has the right
material and supplies for her many tasks and events.
Color-coding is instantly familiar
from stoplights, hot and cold faucets, or temperature ranges on newspaper
weather maps. Color warnings also exist
for air quality and other weather risks including hurricanes, tornadoes,
volcanoes, earthquakes and even terrorism alerts. Color-coding allows for quick identification. It is not necessary to sit and study or read
reports. Information is conveyed
quickly. In the academic or training setting, color-coding exams or
materials can signify different classes or semesters. Schedules, assignments, and key details stand
out in color. If you give multiple
versions of a test, several colors can help you organize them.
Medical offices use color-coding to quickly
alphabetize and locate patient records and files. Color speeds both filing and the retrieval
time. Computer and electronic manufactures have realized home assembly would be
easier with color coded cables, cords, and ports. Even bakeries identify a particular days production with color-coded ties representing a
particular day of the week. Colored
flags are also used in various settings to quickly give information—conditions
of the waves at the beach, track conditions for auto racing, and the presence
of scuba divers or to organize and rally troops.
Color is
helpful particularly with a multi-lingual work group. Color can overcome language barriers, but
remember some colors have negative meanings in other cultures. Marketers use color in ads or product designs
to convey emotions or feelings and even make it possible to quickly find
products in crowded retail spaces.
Colors also guide customer actions in a number of ways. Fast food restaurants usually have bright
yellow, red, or orange interiors. These
colors are harsh or cause anxiety to patrons over time so they hurry customers
along and meet the quick turnover goals of management. Contrast this to a more upscale restaurant, a
spa or hospital that uses pale blues and greens to evoke a calming or healing
experience.
A hiking map
color-codes trails so users can tell whether trails are easy, moderate or
difficult to make the mountain sport easier and more predictable. Color hangtags on clothes can help shoppers
quickly find their size and assist sales staff in stocking and re-stocking
merchandise. When shoppers locate their
size quickly, they typically move on to the next purchase, buying additional
products while visiting a store. School
security is seeing benefits from color-coded ID cards to permit easy
classification and channeling of students by age, subject, or even academic
performance. The cards identify those
who belong on campus, providing security.
Hospitals and extended care facilities can also benefit from
color-coding for patient tracking and tracing.
On the factory floor visual signals on the
production line immediately communicate to workers if the line is running
smoothly (green), is slowed for quality inspections or external maintenance
(yellow), or is stopped and needing immediate maintenance attention (red). The visuals instantly communicate the message
and guides actions helping shop floor workers and manufacturers better run the
day-to-day process of making products.
The use of color and key signals can make it easy to make good
manufacturing decisions and hard to make bad ones.
Manufacturers using color-coded part’s inventory
can see if inventory is too high (blue), just right (green) or too low (red)
and corresponding software can request or delay shipments. The system can specify when shipments need to
be made and how many parts to order, keeping the burden on the system rather than
a manager, to control inventory. Other
manufacturing applications include color-coding for quality control. Red, yellow and green visuals alert
production staff to the quality of output and whether adjustments for
statistical quality control are needed.
With emphasis on parts location and re-supply, some
distributors have color-coded parts for quick location and identification. An HVAC parts supplier, for example,
identified 12 categories (and colors) of parts and the system enables
contractors and distributors to improve efficiency in keeping inventory,
stocking products, and finding the right part for the job when they need
it. As an example, the color-coding help
differentiate between thermostats and alarms for gas and oil heating from air
movement supplies. Set-ups and change
over of machinery can also be reduced by 50% to 75% with color-coding. Color has simplified the production and
assembly set-up for manufacturers including electronics, chemical and fluid
handling, medical equipment, environmental technology, agriculture machinery,
metalworking, electrical engineering, conveying, food and beverage processing,
textiles, and automotive, among others.
If you need a quick visual way to convey
information or save time, try color-coding.