The foundation to creating a lean culture of continuous improvement is an organized workplace. To clearly identify any form of waste in business processes, the clutter must be removed from the workspace. 5S is the foundation for a disciplined approach to the workplace. The term “5S” comes from the Japanese method for workspace organization and housekeeping. Each step in the system starts with the letter S. Safety is the sixth “S” which has been added to ensure a safe workplace is created. The term “6S” or “5S+Safety” are often used to include Safety in the original Japanese system. Steps are outlined below with the English translation:
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| 5S Cycle |
1. Sort: Remove what is not needed
2. Straighten: “A place for everything and everything in its place”
3. Shine: Cleaning
4. Standardize: Visual management and standardization
5. Sustain: Discipline to maintain and build upon improvements through 5S process
6. Safety: Identify and eliminate safety hazards
2. Straighten: “A place for everything and everything in its place”
3. Shine: Cleaning
4. Standardize: Visual management and standardization
5. Sustain: Discipline to maintain and build upon improvements through 5S process
6. Safety: Identify and eliminate safety hazards
Why perform 5S? What are the benefits?
o Business Efficiency! It takes MUCH LESS time to find items you use regularly. For example, the “catch-all” drawer in the kitchen cabinets where all phone numbers and small tools get lost for months and years. How long does it take to find anything in there? With a clean, organized drawer that contains only the necessities, any item can be found in a snap! Same goes for business processes - first step to lean operations are organized work spaces.
o Empowerment! By having team members take ownership for their own workspaces, they feel empowered to make decisions and take action to improve the quality of their work.
o Safety! By removing clutter and broken or damaged items, the workspace becomes safer to work in. Eliminate opportunities for slips, trips and injuries
o Morale! Employees take pride in the quality of their work and the appearance of their workspaces. Get your teams on the right track by providing these tools.
o Quality! Reduced opportunity to damage product because clear space is delineated to place product, no stray tools to fall on product, and product status is clearly identified as accepted / in-process / rejected / quarantined.
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