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5S Implementation Methodology
By Randy Hough

5S implementation methodology is a system to reduce workplace waste and optimize productivity by
maintaining an orderly workplace. The use of visual reminders helps to achieve consistent
improvements as well. 5S Implementation “cleans up” and organizes the workplace, without changing
its existing configuration, and it is typically the first lean method which an organization puts
into effect.

The 5S pillars, Sort, Straighten, Sweep, Standardize, and Sustain, provide a methodology for
organizing, cleaning, developing, and sustaining a productive work environment. In order to have
a smooth and efficient flow of work, every company needs a system to organize and maintain the
work areas.

This lean manufacturing method encourages workers to improve their working conditions and helps
them to learn to reduce waste, unplanned downtime, and in-process inventory.

Typically, 5S implementation would result in significant reductions in the amount of space needed
for existing operations. It also would result in the organization of tools and materials into
labeled and color coded storage locations, such as the well known painted outlines of tools on
pegboard.

Another result is the creation of kits to organize specific activities. These kits save a great
deal of time and aggravation. You no longer need to gather the same items repeatedly for frequent
tasks; they are all in one place. Brilliant!

5S is a cyclical methodology: sort, straighten, sweep, standardize, and sustain the cycle. This
results in continuous improvement. It is a never ending process that gradually improves
everything it touches.

The 5S Pillars
Sort. This focuses on identifying all unnecessary items from the workplace which are not needed
for day to day operations. These items receive a red tag and are placed in a central location for
everyone to see and decide what to do with. Many times these are useful items, but used so rarely
that they need to be discarded, given away or moved to a storage area.

It is surprising how much space can be liberated from just this one process. Vast amounts of
valuable floor space suddenly become available for more productive work.

Straighten. Once sorting has taken place, you create efficient storage methods so your items are
easy to locate and use, as well as put away. This would include labeling drawers, tool racks,
boxes, shelves, etc. You also will define areas such as storage, first-aid, shipping, etc.

As you can see, one S builds on the other steps; in fact, they are all integrated to form a whole
way of keeping a workplace orderly and efficient.

Sweep. This is sometimes referred to as shine as well. Sweep means to clean, to thoroughly remove
clutter and fix things. A daily follow-up cleaning is essential in order to sustain the new
improvements.

Everyone likes working in a clean environment, plus it often happens that damaged wires, pipes,
electrical outlets, etc. are discovered and repaired. This is also a safety feature of 5S.

It is also a good idea to establish targets before beginning your Sweep process. This helps keep
everyone focused and accountable.

Standardize. Once the first three 5S’s have been implemented, the next pillar is to standardize
the best practices in the work area. Individuals need to be assigned responsibility for each of
the first 3S aspects.

Then you can create procedure manuals, visual cues such as signs, schedule short blitzes to
maintain the first 3S procedures. This is important to prevent the procedures from breaking down and
getting dirty.

Sustain. This involves changing habits and is often the most difficult aspect of 5S
implementation…Changing entrenched behaviors can be difficult, and the tendency is often to
return to the status quo and the comfort zone of the “old way” of doing things.

Sustain focuses on defining a new status quo and standard of work place organization. Without the
performance reviews, and department tours. Organizations typically seek to reinforce 5S messages
in multiple formats until it becomes “the way things are done.”

The 5S circle is kept in motion by discipline. 5S training of everyone involved is essential to success as well, otherwise it will just be another program imposed from management. Often workers wondr what is lean manufacturing and when they see the positive results of 5S implementation, they will be much more enthusiastic.

Randy Hough

Plastic Injection Mold Maker

What is lean manufacturing

“You know Dad, I’ve been thinkin’, one is a lot more than zero!” my son, Thomas, age 5.

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5’s - Lean Manufacturing Foundation
By Carl Wright

The 5S system is widely used today in a very large percentage of manufacturing businesses. Many non-manufacturing companies also employ the discipline.

The 5S system is one of the most common lean manufacturing principles, and generally the first one applied during implementation.

The 5S system is a workplace organization and housekeeping system. When applied correctly, the benefits are enormous in terms of productivity, quality, and morale.

The 5S’s are:

Sort

Set In Place

Shine

Standardize

Sustain

There are variations to some of the 5S’s as they were derived from 5 Japanese words beginning with “s”.

Most organizations apply the 5S system in one area at a time rather than across and entire facility at once.

The first “S” is Sort. It is the process of removing all unnecessary items from the workplace area. This first step is crucial to gaining efficiency through workplace design. A common method called the “red tag method” is often utilized, where all items are tagged which aren’t necessary for the specific area. These unnecessary items tagged are then moved to a “hold” area for review and disposition.

The second “S” is Set in Place. This is the process of moving the necessary items into the correct position for use. It is the process of organizing the work area to be perfectly laid out for maximum efficiency through minimizing movement. All materials and items that will be used at the job site are to be positioned and kept closes to the point of use. For example, if a tool is only to be used at the end of a machine, it should be kept there.

A common method used is called “shadow boards”, where the exact dimension of the tool is painted onto the board depicting the spot in which to hang the tool. It becomes obvious where the tool belongs.

The third “S” is Shine. This is the method of deep cleaning a machine or area to put it back into the condition it was when it was purchased. The idea is that quality and efficiency will not suffer if the machine is not allowed to deteriorate over time. Machines that are kept in new condition have less downtime and produce the same quality level as a new machine.

The fourth “S” is Standardize. This is the process of standardizing the entire system, which is often the most difficult. Most companies have conducted the first three S’s many times, only to watch the condition deteriorate over time. This cycle of cleaning up followed by gradual deterioration has been repeated over and over for years. The “Standardize” portion of the system corrects this problem.

The best way to standardize the system is to determine exactly what needs done to maintain the system. It is the “who, what, when, where” of 5S. For example, if a specific portion of a machine needs cleaned daily, there should be a checklist and written instructions detailing who will do it, when it will be done, and methods and materials necessary.

The last “S” is Sustain. Sustaining the system is thought to be one of the most difficult, primarily because experience proved years of cleaning and organization were not maintained. However, if the system is standardized in the fourth S, then sustaining it is much easier.

The best method of sustaining the system is to conduct audits. Care must be exercised so the audit system is not punitive. The 5S system relies on employee involvement and commitment at all levels, and a punitive audit system can destroy the system.

One good way of auditing the system is with a rotating audit crew of peers. This might be the plant workers auditing the system of their co-workers. The results are provided to the employees in the audited area and time given to correct deficiencies.

A good 5S implementation has many benefits. The assets of the company are kept in top condition which keeps the value high. Quality is kept at the level when the asset or machine was first installed. Maintenance costs are reduced as deterioration is immediately apparent. Setup times go down from better organization and reduced movement.

The best benefit is the morale improvement from an improved environment and culture.

Some managers think employees will not sustain a perfectly clean manufacturing environment. Like most systems, management is the reason the system succeeds or fails. Given the chance, employees will implement and sustain the 5S system. Most employees will choose an organized and clean workplace with a continuous improvement culture over a dirty disorganized facility.

Carl Wright is an industrial engineer, ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt, and Master Black Belt. Carl is involved with the lean manufacturing implementation organization http://www.1stcourses.com

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How to Make 5S Work - Part 1
By Oskar Olofsson

As a matter of preference, most employees desire to work in a fresh, clean and well-functioning workplace.

A cluttered and filthy work area undoubtedly mirror the kind of attitude and mindset the workers, as well as the managers, have in giving importance to their jobs.

On the other hand, a clean and tidy environment reflects how the employees (and supervisors) care about their jobs and work hard with due concern and consideration. Therefore, these people are more inclined to do their jobs better and are more productive compared to those who work in a messy and disorganized work areas.

However, there are companies who refuse to acknowledge their part in keeping the workplace more people-friendly and instead put the blame on the perceived laziness of employees when it comes to housekeeping.

Well, I have gathered different views on housekeeping based on my experience as a 5S coach.

Whenever I conduct 5S trainings, I meet employees from all kinds of businesses. I would always pose a rhetorical question: “What would change if your workplace would be clean and in good order?”

The answers vary but what surprised me is that everyone shares a common desire: to have a clean and orderly work atmosphere.

“It would save a lot of time,” a staff commented.

“I would be less irritated at work”, said one.

According to another staff: “I think we would be prouder about our workplace.”

These are some typical comments coming from ordinary employees—and to my mind, it is clear that almost everyone wants the work facilities to be in good tip-top shape.

Messy workplaces and employees who want order
One explanation to this contradiction is: it is acceptable for most people to take care of their own trash, but few people like to take care of somebody else’s waste.

A shift worker would certainly not be pleased if, one day, he would find his workplace dirty and all messed up. The first time it happens, he might clean it up. The second time, probably he’ll ignore the mess and clean it up again anyway—but the next time he will not be that generous to lift a finger. Soon he will stop playing hero and say: “It seems like no one else cares about this place, so why should I?”

This means that the overall level of “housekeeping consciousness” will gradually deteriorate. If we do nothing, we will end up in a situation where the least interested employee will implicitly impose a poor sense of housekeeping standard for everybody else.

The way I see it, a cluttered and dirty workplace is not a worker’s choice; it is a result of a bad system where a few lazy people can tear down the very fabric of industry convenience and labor satisfaction for all the rest.

This is, of course, unacceptable.

The more disorganized and unkempt the company is, the more reason why we need discipline, policies, rules and systems to maintain consistent standards of quality and safety free from wastes, errors, defects and accidents.

With these scenarios, this is where the “5S” approach can be implemented and put into practice.

What is 5S?

5S refers to the five structured programs using the Japanese principles of seiri, seiton, seison, seiketsu, and shitsuke—or commonly referred to as sort, set, shine, standardize and sustain, respectively.

The Japanese words are shorthand expressions for principles of maintaining an efficient and effective workplace.

The 5S approach is promoted as a set of strategies, systems and techniques that provide a standard approach to housekeeping.

Although there are different anglicized versions of the Japanese words within the context of Lean Manufacturing, the 5S is collectively alluded to as the “Pillars of Good Housekeeping” for successful lean implementation.

It is likewise regarded as the “Basic of Kaizen” tool to begin, support and sustain the lean path to higher productivity and efficiency.

In the next part we will look at how 5S is best implemented.

Oskar Olofsson is a Sweden-based Management Consultant with more than 10 years experience in the fields of Total Productive Manufacturing (TPM) and Lean Manufacturing. Mr. Olofsson maintains and manages Resources for World Class Manufacturing (http://wcm.nu), a free Internet information resource site on matters relative to TPM and Lean Manufacturing implementation.

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What Does Lean Manufacturing 5S Mean?
By Michael Baker

There are so many businesses, especially in the manufacturing world, that are just clusters of mass unorganization. What I mean is they have way too much stuff at each work station, more than what the job actually entails. Lean manufacturing 5S is one of the simplest things you can do right away to help with this.

It is called 5S because it is made of words that all start with an S. Let’s look at each one of the individually and see what needs to be done.

Some people really like this first step. It is your chance to get a trash can and load it up. All of the things not needed for the job are removed and only the essentials are kept.

Set is the next step. This means you will need to find a place for all of the tools needed for the job. Some examples of ways to accomplish this are through the use of a peg board or by using tape to outline where items should be. This ensures you have a place for them and people can notice when they are not there.

The next step is shine. What this entails is cleaning everything. Tools and the work stations are included in this step. Also, people should be assigned the responsibility of keeping the area and the tools clean.

When you see the term Standardize, it means to ensure the same process you laid out originally is done exactly the same with everyone. This could mean new procedures, or periodic reviews of the area. But it needs to be kept up.

Lastly, and the most difficult one, is to sustain the area. You have built a good amount of momentum right now, so now is the best time to move to another area. Just be sure to hold the appointed people responsible for the cleanliness of the area accountable. This ensures you do not need to micro-manage the area, and can focus on the next area.

5S is a very good tool in a lean manufacturing effort, and can implemented in any part of a business. Just follow the simple steps above, and you can have a dramatic improvement in the cleanliness of the area and in the efficiency of the area.

Lean Manufacturing Secrets is a simple to read, yet in depth, guide on Lean Manufacturing. It also includes topics such as Kaizen, Kanbans, and 5S.

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