5s - What exactly is it

The intent of 5s is much more than just housekeeping. It is more about creating and maintaining a standard, structured and efficient workplace. This has to be done with the involvement of those that work in the area with consideration being made for ergonomics and usage frequency.

The 5s’ 

The 5s’ are 5 Japanese phrases that begin with S (as do the English translations)

Seiri – Sort

This requires the work group from within the working area making some decisions on what is used regularly, what is either not used or used rarely and what within the area can be thrown out thereby ensuring only required items will be stored within the area.

Seiton – Systematic Arrangement

Now the team must decide on the best location for all items that are to be returned to the area. All items to be returned must have a space allocated and demarcated, making it visually obvious when things are missing, misplaced or out of position. Consideration must be given to ergonomics, manual handling and usage. Items utilised most often should be situated closest to the user progressively working outwards from the user as usage levels reduce. Likewise heavier items do not need to be stored in high positions or, for that matter, low positions.

Seiso – Shine

Everything to be kept in the area must be kept clean and tidy. This is not only good for the morale of the people working in the area but it also offers those an opportunity to check and inspect all items.

Seiketsu – Standardise

Once the area has been 3s’d, the agreed new standard has to be documented and displayed prominently in the area.

Shitsuke – Sustain

Regular inspection and maintenance is critical in the early stages of any change. 5s is no different. This is the responsibility of everybody.

How does 5s’ create customer value?

Quality – Quality is improved as the correct tools, parts etc., are located within the area of work and anything that is not required is removed. This makes the task of fitting incorrect or damaged parts or utilising the incorrect tool difficult at the very least and preferably impossible.

Price – As quality is increased reworks and defects are decreased. This cost saving can be reflected in the price, where appropriate, of the product/service ensuring competitiveness.

Lead times – Right first time percentages will increase and so lead time is reduced as a consequence.

How does the business benefit?

Safety – An organised workplace is a safe workplace.

Morale – Who wants to work in a place that is unclean, untidy and it takes you forever to find the things you need quickly?

Wastes Removed  - The immediate improvement will be in the reduction of Waiting and motion waste. Flow rate is increased as product/service/process/people does not have to wait whilst rework or replacement takes place. This in turn will mean that “just in case” Inventory can be reduced. Wherever we can reduce inventory levels will also mean reductions in Transport waste as we do not have to pay for the logistics involved in moving Defects around.

Benefit to the workforce

Ability to find things quickly, efficiently and consistently resulting in a lighter workload. Clean and tidy working areas.

Workforce role in 5s

Improve and sustain

Benefit to Managers

Visualises the area/workplace thereby offering an opportunity to challenge and discuss concerns raised when the visuals and the actuals do not match. In this instance there is something wrong, this must be investigated and corrected, in the name of continuous improvement.

Challenge – Any item where the actual does not match the expectation or standard.

Genchi Genbutsu -  When in the Gemba, non standard situations become obvious and therefore more difficult to ignore or bypass.

Continuous Improvement – Obvious variability from set standards require improvement to rectify.

Respect for people – Those, challenged variations, should be rectified by those that work in the area. There should also be a constant expectation that agreed standards are challenged for improvement by those that work within the area. As the work force is given back time, it becomes the managers responsibility to create focus on further improvement or ensuring that this newly available time is filled with other value adding tasks

Teamwork – Work groups improve the area themselves, with support.

Management role in 5s

Support teams by allowing them time.

Set clear expectations for both sustainability and improvement.

Challenge ALL non-standard situations.

NEVER ignore ANY non-standard situations, respectfully raise and challenge the situation, establishing a clear expectation for rectification.

Be visible and active in 5s activities and take part in sustainability measures.

Common Issues to look out for

3s fever – Any organisation that states “we have done 5s and it doesn’t work here” I can guarantee has not actually completed the 5s process. Most often what they have actually done is 3s. This is understandable because this is where the action is and where the visible and tangible improvements are evident. This fits well with those business cultures that are not supportive of Lean i.e. “we are happy to solve the same problem over and over because it makes me look like a hero rather than solve the issue once and for all allowing me to work on more value adding activities.”. 3s fever leads to areas that look great, short term. These areas soon become victim to “stealth” dumping and quickly revert to messy, disorganised and inefficient workplaces that hide all of the expensive wastes previously discussed.

Lack of Challenge – In other situations there is 4s, with the visuals and standards being in place. What is going on in these workplaces is that the manager does not really care. The result is that they do not set improvement expectations and they do not challenge any variation from the agreed standard. The managers lowest expectation becomes their people’s highest.

Old Standards – Occassionally improvements are made quickly and with little consideration for ensuring that documentation is aligned. When and wherever we have established a standard we should always make it a priority to ensure it is kept up to date. 

Summary

5s is a foundational tool of any Lean management system. It has the ability to highlight many wastes and has many benefits for both the organisation, their people and their customers. The state of an organisations 5s efforts is a fantastic reflection of the organisations leadership. Poor 5s equates to poor, or at least non supportive, Lean management systems.