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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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