5S leads to improved productivity and profit

Published 9:10 pm Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Developed in Japan by Toyota Motor Corp. after World War II, 5S is a lean enterprise tool (exercise) designed to effectively organize the workspace. So, how can conducting a 5S exercise in your office or facility increase productivity and profit? And how do you conduct a 5S exercise? The answers you seek can be found in this article, grasshopper.

The English translations of the Japanese 5Ss are sort, straighten, shine, standardize and sustain. These are the five steps of a 5S project. However, 5S is much more than an exercise. It is a philosophy that can affect the entire enterprise.

The purpose of 5S exercises is to improve workflow and eliminate waste while ultimately improving the customer experience.

The benefits of conducting 5S projects are many, including improved process and product quality, order to cash cycles and employee safety and morale. Because lean practices, including 5S, are focused on creating value for the customer and eliminating waste, bottom-line benefits can be appreciable.

It makes no difference whether you produce a product or deliver a service, the approach to conducting a 5S exercise is the same. Here’s how to sequentially carry out a basic 5S project.

Sort. Go through all the tools, equipment, technology and materials in the workspace; keep essential items close, and store or discard everything else. A common exercise is to tag or mark everything in green (keep close), yellow (store for easy access) or red (discard).

Straighten. Arrange equipment and materials to improve workflow. Maximize operating efficiencies by keeping equipment and materials where and in the order they will be used. This will eliminate excessive wear, motion and time.

Shine. At the end of each shift, the workspace should be cleaned and everything restored to its rightful place. Don’t wait for a mess to build up. Develop an end-of-shift manual or map so all team members know exactly where everything is stored.

Standardize. Maintain work practices and operations in a consistent and standardized fashion. Everyone knows their responsibility and where all tools and materials are stored. Develop or update your operations manual based on the new 5S process.

Sustain. Stay focused on this new way of operating and do not allow a creep back to old habits. Leadership will need to consistently recognize and reward team members for sustaining the program. 5S should be built into everyone’s job description and reviews.

It is important to focus each 5S project on a specific space, product or process family. Everyone involved in the space or process should take part in the 5S exercise. A best practice is to assign a 5S project leader for each area, department or production line.

Start by piloting a small project to experience and optimize the process. The first 5S project I conducted was in my office. I went through the five steps and did a few small things that made a big difference.

Example: I placed active client files that I accessed daily in a desktop organizer, those I accessed weekly in a file drawer in my desk, and those less frequently accessed in a file cabinet in my office. Everything else was stored or trashed.

Remember, 5S is not a one-and-you’re-done project; it should become a company culture. Look at everything in your workspace and operation for 5S opportunities. You’ll save time, money and keep your customers happy. Now, grasshopper, you are ready to go out into the workspace and 5S.

Andrew Ballard is the president of Marketing Solutions, a local agency specializing in growth strategies. For more information, call 425-337-1100 or go to www.mktg-solutions.com.