The Five "S" Methodology

The philosophy of continuous improvement is more than a trend in today's business environment, and the solution is the visual workplace - for improving quality, organization, efficiency, housekeeping and safety.

The 5S methodology, as described in Hiroyuki Hirano’s 5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace, is the foundation for making companywide improvements in both the production facility and the front office, so that the Just-In-Time production strategy (inventory management) can be implemented.

The 5S’s are based on the Japanese words seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu and shitsuke, and, when translated, mean organization (sorting), orderliness (setting in order), cleanliness (shining and sweeping), standardizing (standardized cleanup) and discipline (sustaining the process). These 5S’s are the basic formula for achieving “product diversification with zero changeovers, higher quality with zero defects, lower costs with zero waste, reliable deliveries with zero breakdowns and improved safety with zero injuries.”

A sixth “S”, “Safety”, is sometimes added depending on the workplace, and some argue that explicitly including this sixth “S” ensures that workplace safety is given primary consideration. But it is reasonable to assume that a properly planned and executed 5S program will inherently improve workplace safety.

Sorting

The main component of the first “S” or sorting phase is ridding a bloated production facility of any unwanted, unneeded or unused tools or materials. This happens by implementing the “red tag” strategy – applying a red tag to anything considered unnecessary in a production cycle, placing in a holding area to see if it is needed at any point, and then ultimately discarding anything not needed. “When in doubt, throw it out.”

Setting in Order

A lot like a home garage peg-board, or a surgeon’s tray of instruments, the second “S” gives each tool a permanent place to reside so that whether the employee is new or temporary, or doesn't speak English as a first language or just happens to need something right away, they know exactly where to find it and put it when finished. Driving even deeper into this strategy, tools are combined when possible to perform various functions, and placement in bins, in drawers, or on shelves accounts for chronological use and proximity to the user.

Shining

When the work area is clean and maintained, maintenance and repairs can happen instantaneously, because they come to a worker’s attention immediately. In a dirty environment, machines that could be easily fixed may break down because an oil drip was not noticed until it was too late.

Standardized Cleanup

Even once everything is in its place and the work environment is clean, don’t stop there. Determine daily (even shift) targets, assignments, methods, tools – then keep going. There is no limit to how often, how long, what procedure or what tools to use, until it is determined that once your daily cleaning duties are accomplished, your time can be better spent elsewhere.

Sustain the Discipline

Simply put, "Make a habit of properly maintaining the correct procedures." Without discipline, excess materials are purchased because they're not in the proper place, workers waste time searching for misplaced tools, the facility will get dirty again causing machines to break down, and accidents will become more prevalent.

5S for the Front Office

Record Saving

As any production facility is subject to the 5S methodology, so too are the front offices. Bookkeeping or record keeping lack a "self-cleansing" mechanism and the accumulation of paper or the "paper trail" (usually in triplicate) can be burdensome. The best answer for defeating this problem is starting before it ever exists - including finding ways to prevent organizational documents from accumulating in the first place.

Knowing what to keep and for how long, and dedicating time each month, quarter or year for cleansing the clerical space of unnecessary, unwanted or unneeded clutter is a necessary task to avoid the front offices from also becoming "fat." Records of reports and data that never get used are a major culprit. Not only is old information typically an unwanted accumulation, it tends to lose its value the older it gets. Front office cleanup campaigns should be implemented at least twice a year while daily organizational routines consistently work to sort what is necessary to keep and what is not.

Some records are necessary for certain periods of time and offsite record storage or annex buildings are sometimes used for this warehousing. But these buildings are also subject to the same issues as the main facility. When transfer of documents and records is necessary, store new documents separately from documents that are reaching their shelf life and remember to clearly mark all storage containers not only with what they hold but for how long they should be kept.

Desktop Templates

In eliminating time wasting effort by employees searching for tools they need on a regular basis in the production facility, the shadow board philosophy also works in the front offices in the form of a desktop template. Regular use of stationary and supplies should be noted and only those tools regularly used should be kept on desktops. This eliminates clutter and accumulated dirt and also serves another important purpose - savings on the cost of front office supplies in general. No stationary or supplies including pens, notepads, scissors, tape dispensers or any other should ever be stored in a drawer where they are inevitably forgotten. This is cause for unwanted accumulation of often expensive front office tools and unnecessary re-purchasing of these items, ultimately affecting the company's bottom line.

With proper planning and execution, any production facility can implement the 5S's for a visual workplace - not only in the plant, but the front offices and any secondary warehousing facilities as well. This methodology requires buy-in from the CEO all the way to the newest employee. Over time, it will benefit the organization as a whole, protecting workers safety, keeping things organized and running properly, and increasing the bottom line of the company.