5S Methodology

What Is 5S?

5S is a systematic form of visual management utilizing everything from floor tape to operations manuals. It is not just about cleanliness or organization; it is also about maximizing efficiency and profit. 5S is a framework that emphasizes the use of a specific mindset and tools to create efficiency and value. It involves observing, analyzing, collaborating, and searching for waste and also involves the practice of removing waste.

5S Translation

The term 5S comes from five Japanese words:

Seiri

Seiton

Seiso

Seiketsu

Shitsuke

In English, these words are often translated to:

Sort

Set in Order

Shine

Standardize

Sustain

Each S represents one part of a five-step process that can improve the overall function of a business.

What Does 5S Stand For?

5S, sometimes referred to as 5s or Five S, refers to five Japanese terms used to describe the steps of the 5S system of visual management. Each term starts with an S. In Japanese, the five S's are Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke. In English, the five S's are translated as Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain.

Let's take a closer look at each of the parts of 5S.

Sort

The first step of 5S, Sort, involves going through all the tools, furniture, materials, equipment, etc. in a work area to determine what needs to be present and what can be removed. Some questions to ask during this phase include:

• What is the purpose of this item?
• When was this item last used?
• How frequently is it used?
• Who uses it?
• Does it really need to be here?

Keep in mind the best people to assess the items in a space are the people who work in that space. They are the ones who can answer the above questions.

When a group has determined that some items aren't necessary, consider the following options:

• Give the items to a different department
• Recycle/throw away/sell the items
• Put items into storage

For cases when an item's value is uncertain—for example, a tool hasn't been used recently, but someone thinks it might be needed in the future—use the red tag method. Red tags are usually cardboard tags or stickers that can be attached to the items in question. Users fill out information about the item such as:

• Location
• Description
• Name of person applying the tag
• Date of application

Tip: Set a reminder—on your phone or computer, or posted somewhere in the workspace—to check back in with the red tag area so it doesn't get forgotten.

Set in Order

Once the extra clutter is gone, it's easier to see what's what. Now work groups can come up with their own strategies for sorting through the remaining items. Things to consider:

• Which people (or workstations) use which items?
• When are items used?
• Which items are used most frequently?
• Should items be grouped by type?
• Where would it be most logical to place items?
• Would some placements be more ergonomic for workers than others?
• Would some placements cut down on unnecessary motion?
• Are more storage containers necessary to keep things organized?

Businesses may want to stop and think about the relationship between organization and larger Lean efforts. What arrangement will cause the least amount of waste?

In Lean manufacturing, waste can take the form of:

• Defects
• Waiting time
• Extra motion
• Excess inventory
• Overproduction
• Extra processing
• Unnecessary transportation
• Unutilized talents

Tip: For the purposes of 5S, specifically consider how the layout and organization of an area could increase/decrease waiting time, motion, and unnecessary transportation.

Shine

Everyone thinks they know what housekeeping is, but it's one of the easiest things to overlook, especially when work gets busy. The Shine stage of 5S focuses on cleaning up the work area, which means sweeping, mopping, dusting, wiping down surfaces, putting tools and materials away, etc.

In addition to basic cleaning, Shine also involves performing regular maintenance on equipment and machinery. Planning for maintenance ahead of time means businesses can catch problems and prevent breakdowns. That means less wasted time and no loss of profits related to work stoppages.

Tip: How to clean may seem obvious, but make sure people know how to properly Shine their spaces. Show employees—especially new employees—which cleaners to use, where cleaning materials are stored, and how to clean equipment, particularly if it's equipment that could be easily damaged.

Standardise

Measuring results

Once the first three steps of 5S are completed, things should look pretty good. All the extra stuff is gone, everything is organized, spaces are cleaned, and equipment is in good working order.

The problem is, when 5S is new at a company, it's easy to clean and get organized…and then slowly let things slide back to the way they were. Standardize makes 5S different from the typical spring-cleaning project. Standardize systematizes everything that just happened and turns one-time efforts into habits. Standardize assigns regular tasks, creates schedules, and posts instructions so these activities become routines. It makes standard operating procedures for 5S so that orderliness doesn't fall by the wayside.

Tip: Visual cues such as signs, labels, posters, floor marking tape, and tool organizers also play an important role in 5S. They can provide directions and keep items in place, in many cases without words.

Sustain

Once standard procedures for 5S are in place, businesses must perform the ongoing work of maintaining those procedures and updating them as necessary. Sustain refers to the process of keeping 5S running smoothly, but also of keeping everyone in the organization involved. Managers need to participate, as do employees out on the manufacturing floor, in the warehouse, or in the office. Sustain is about making 5S a long-term program, not just an event or short-term project. Ideally, 5S becomes a part of an organization's culture. And when 5S is sustained over time, that's when businesses will start to notice continuous positive results.

Tip #1: To help sustain 5S practices, make sure all new employees (or employees who switch departments) receive training about their area's 5S procedures.

Tip #2: Keep things interesting. Look at what other companies are doing with 5S. New ideas for organization can keep things improving and keep employees engaged.

Safety – The 6th S

Some companies like to include a sixth S in their 5S program: Safety. When safety is included, the system is often called 6S. The Safety step involves focusing on what can be done to eliminate risks in work processes by arranging things in certain ways.

This might involve setting up workstations so they're more ergonomic, marking intersections—such as the places where forklifts and pedestrians cross paths—with signs, and labeling the storage cabinet for cleaning chemicals so people are aware of potential hazards. If the layout of the workplace or the tasks people perform are dangerous, those dangers should be reduced as much as possible. That's what the sixth S focuses on.

Tip: If mishaps and accidents do happen, stop to consider whether a 5S improvement could have prevented it. Could less clutter, cleaner walking surfaces, or better signs and labels have made a difference?

The 6S Controversy

Throughout the Lean manufacturing community there is some controversy about whether 6S should be a standard or not. The argument against 6S points out that safety should be a key component of each of the other S's, and therefore having a 6th separate S is actually redundant.

Nonetheless, those who like the idea of 6S believe that while safety should be a factor in each of the other S's, it is important enough to warrant its own category as well. There really is no right or wrong answer, but it is difficult to argue that safety is not one of the most important factors in reducing waste and improving productivity.

Hazards Are Inefficient

Here are some of the most obvious ways safety can help eliminate waste and improve productivity within any workplace:

Of course, there are dozens of other ways that safety can help improve the overall efficiency of a facility.

Why 5S is important 

If you want to understand why 5s is important, you must first understand its benefits. 5s, or any lean system, helps to eliminate waste, streamline production, and optimize efficiencies. When you adopt 5s thinking, you make a commitment to put safety, organization and effectiveness ahead of production deadlines, profits and output. The end result is always an increase in overall success, though growing pains will occur as the processes are implemented.

Following in the same vein is an important foundation of the TPS - Visual Management/Controls. The most important function of 5S is to help in this aspect. 

Imagine a shop floor where there is no assigned place for everything.

1. How do you know if there is excess WIP (Work- in - progress) inventory? All inventory looks the same to you.
2. How do you ensure Standard Work, which is yet another foundation of the TPS? How do you define Standard Work when each workplace is a little different?
3. How do you ensure the workers do not spend unnecessary time rearranging his work place when he could have been adding value to the customer?

And now imagine a shop floor with 5S implemented.

1. You see inventory stored outside of the assigned place and you know that there is a problem there. The processes which produce them and consume them are not in balance, or something might have broken down, etc.
2. Since everything(tools, raw materials, etc.) are in its assigned place, Standard Work is well-defined. Time and Motion Study can be performed with ease.
3. You can see the workers move in the prescribed standard & Optimised way because they don't have to move/clean/remove any items from their workplace which helps in keeping the flow of the production steady.

By implementing 5S and allotting specific time to do it, we avoid interruptions in work and club all the non-value adding activities in the shop floor to one time slot. This improves the flow in the processes which is what Lean/TPS wants us to do, eventually.

Benefits of 5S

Over time, the 5S methodology leads to many benefits, including:

• Reduced costs
• Higher quality
• Increased productivity
• Greater employee satisfaction
• A safer work environment
• Reduction in Waste
• Worker Commitment
• Optimized Organization
• Efficiency
• Bigger Storage Density
• Increased workplace morale
• Company image 

Mind Map for 5S

5S Audit Checklist