Lean methodology focuses on concepts that help to reduce waste in a process in order to improve productivity and efficiency. One key source of waste in a process is unnecessary motion. This can include movement of materials, equipment, tools, or people. For example, if you receive raw materials on one end of a manufacturing facility and need to use them for a process on the other end of the facility, this generates a lot of wasted time for people to manually move the materials across the site. That is why one of the five principles of Lean methodology is developing flow. By improving the flow of a process, you limit unnecessary motion and wasted time which allows you to get the job done faster. This is where 5S comes into lean thinking.
What is 5S?
5S is a Lean tool that you can use to organize any workspace in order to make it clean, organized, and safe. The end goal of 5S is to limit any extra motion that people have to complete in the area. This includes bending or reaching to grab a tool or wasting time moving unneeded materials around to find something. When you implement 5S, only items required for the task should be present in the area, and you should place each item intentionally in easy reach of wherever you typically use it.
In order to implement this organizational method, there are five steps that you must follow. This is where the term 5S originates. The five steps of 5S were derived from Japanese terms that begin with the letter “S”. These steps were also adapted to an English version where each step also begins with the letter “S”. This makes the steps clear and easy to remember.
What does 5S stand for?
1. Seiri or Sort
The first step of 5S is known as seiri in Japanese which loosely translates to sort. In this sorting step, you must identify what tools and materials you need for the task that the area is intended for. You should consider everything that is currently in the area. This includes:
- Materials
- Tools
- Equipment
- Documents
- Furniture
Each item should be designated as either necessary or unnecessary for the task. Then, you should immediately remove as many unnecessary items from the area as you can. Any unnecessary items that you cannot immediately remove should be “red-tagged”. By putting red tags on items that you want to remove from the area, you are creating a visual reminder that you need to take some action to dispose of those items.
Tip: You should immediately devise a plan and timeline for the removal of red-tagged items to avoid having them remain in the area out of convenience. This could require scheduling a waste removal company to assist if the items are large or difficult to dispose of.
The end goal of the “sort” phase is to only have necessary items for the task present in the area. This will ultimately eliminate distractions and wasted time since you won’t need to search through random items to find what you need or move things around to create enough space to work.
2. Seiton or Set in Order
The second step of 5S is seiton or the “set in order” phase. In this step, you will take all the items that you determined to be necessary in the “sort” phase and you will find a home for them. The key idea of this phase is that the ultimate home for each item must be very intentional. Therefore, this goes beyond just standard organizing where you throw items wherever they fit or look good. You must carefully think through where each item should be.
The ultimate goal of 5S is to be able to complete a task more efficiently. Therefore, you need to evaluate your workspace and process to determine where the optimal place for each item is. For example, if you were to complete the 5S process in your kitchen, you may consider placing cups in the cabinet closest to the refrigerator. This will make them easily accessible whenever you are grabbing a drink.
The end goal of the “set in order” phase is to achieve optimal flow for your process. If every item is always located in an easily reachable position, you won’t need to waste time or energy looking for misplaced items or repeatedly bending/reaching to grab them.
3. Seiso or Shine
Now that you only have the required materials remaining in the area and each item is in its optimal position for efficiency, you can tackle the third step of 5S. This phase is known as seiso or shine. In the “shine” phase, you will focus on cleaning the area.
In general, this is the simplest phase of the 5S process, but it is vital to ensuring your workspace is as safe and organized as possible. This can include typical cleaning tasks such as removing trash, sweeping the floors, and dusting surfaces, but it should also include steps to make the equipment and tools in the area look brand new. For example, you can repaint equipment or clean old tools.
The “shine” phase should also include general equipment maintenance. By being proactive with preventative maintenance tasks, you will limit equipment failures that lead to downtime and inefficiency.
Tip: Although these housekeeping tasks are not the most enjoyable, it is very important that everyone who works in the area is involved with keeping it maintained. This will allow them to develop a sense of responsibility for the space.
4. Seiketsu or Standardize
At this point in the 5S process, you should have a clean area that is organized for efficiency. Now we need to look at how you can maintain this for the long-term. That is where the seiketsu or “standardize” phase comes in. In this phase, you must establish a regular schedule for cleaning and maintaining the area. You cannot expect the workspace to remain in its current optimized state for very long if you do not implement clear steps for sustaining it. When doing this, you must define clear roles and responsibilities for who will maintain the workspace and when. If you do not, everyone will either expect someone else to do it or continuously push it off. A few easy ways to do this are by creating visual aids and audit checklists.
Create visual aids
In my experience, visual aids are one of the easiest ways to maintain a workspace. Visual aids serve as a reminder for where a tool should go or what the organized space should look. This takes all the thinking out of maintaining the area.
Some key types of visual aids you should consider when completing 5S are:
- Shadow boards
- Labels
- Floor markings
- Reference pictures
For example, if you hang commonly used tools on a board next to your workstation, shadow boards will be extremely valuable. To create a shadow board, you can paint the area around where each tool is positioned to create a silhouette effect that shows you where each tool should be. This is an easy reminder of where to return a tool to once you are done using it. It also provides a quick visual alert that a tool is missing if it isn’t located in its usual spot.
Labels and floor markings are also great visual aids. For example, if you store raw materials in various bins or documents in various folders, you can add labels to these. This will ensure that you are consistent with where you store items which will make it easier and more efficient to locate them. The same logic can also be applied to floor markings. For example, if a process uses drums, pallets, or boxes of material, you can place floor markings to designate the spaces where you will store these items. Similar to labeling, this allows you to quickly locate the items you need. It also ensures that all materials are stored in a specific location out of the way of the process flow. This keeps the process efficient and safe.
Another simple type of visual aid is reference pictures. Once you finish the first three phases of 5S, you should always take pictures of the area from multiple angles. Then, you can reference these pictures whenever you are cleaning up the area. This will ensure you are always returning the area to its fully optimized state.
Implement audit checklists
Another proven method for maintaining a workspace is through audits. You can create an audit checklist that lists out each item that must be complete for the area to pass as fully organized according to 5S. This can include:
- Making sure there is no trash or unnecessary tools/materials in the area
- Confirming that the floors and equipment are free of debris
- Checking whether or not the space matches the visual aids
Whoever is working in the area should complete an audit at the end of every day to ensure that they are consistently maintaining the workspace.
Tip: It is also often a good idea to have someone who does not regularly work in the area complete an audit on a weekly basis. This will encourage even more accountability for the space.
5. Shitsuke or Sustain
The final step of the 5S process is shitsuke or the “sustain” phase. This phase focuses on implementing the maintenance schedules and audit checklists developed in the “standardize” phase until a habit is formed.
This phase is by far the most important phase of the 5S process because, if it fails, all the previous work was useless. It is also important to remember that this is the most difficult step of the process. It is typically easy to get people to complete the first four phases when the excitement for the process and the hope for a cleaner, safer workspace is present, but it can be very difficult to maintain that mindset when the excitement wears off.
In order to successfully sustain the organized workspace, you must develop good habits towards maintaining the area. To do this, you could introduce training sessions where you discuss what you expect of each person who works in the area. It is imperative that you define clear and specific roles and responsibilities for each person so that they feel a sense of accountability.
What are the benefits of 5S?
If you are successfully able to implement 5S in a workspace, it can have tremendous benefits in many areas.
1. Safety
In all manufacturing environments and daily life, everyone should keep safety as the number one priority. By implementing 5S, you can ensure that a workspace is clean and organized in such a way that promotes overall safety.
There should be no items in the way of the process flow, and all workers should know where every item is located at a given time. This prevents accidents from occurring due to a hazardous material, such as a chemical or sharp object, being located in a spot where someone doesn’t expect it to be. Many people even consider safety to be the sixth “S” of the 5S (or 6S) process.
2. Increased productivity
As mentioned earlier in the article, by placing all tools and materials in the optimal position for efficiency, you are eliminating potential wasted time caused by searching for missing items or bending to retrieve tools. This leads the process to have better flow which drives overall productivity.
For example, in a manufacturing environment, you can expect to see improved uptime or asset utilization. This ultimately leads to reduced costs and allows you to get product to your customers faster.
3. Improved morale
Having an organized, polished area to work in can also boost overall morale for the people working in the area. In particular, you should ensure that everyone who works in the area is involved in the entire 5S process so that they can feel a sense of responsibility for the workspace. This will develop a sense of pride in the workers for their space.
Tip: If you are completing 5S in many different areas in a manufacturing facility, it can also be beneficial to have the employees audit other areas on a weekly basis. This will promote an atmosphere of healthy competition since no one wants to feel accountable for the one area that has become disorganized.
What are the challenges of 5S, and how can you overcome them?
At the surface level, 5S appears to be pretty simple and common sense. How difficult can organizing and cleaning really be, right? You may have gotten the sense already throughout this article, but the 5S process can definitely pose many challenges.
1. Sustaining 5S
Possibly the largest difficulty when it comes to 5S is sustainability. As mentioned earlier in the article, 5S is generally easy to implement but can be extremely difficult to maintain. You can likely appreciate this sentiment if you have ever struggled to keep your bedroom organized for more than a day after cleaning it.
In order to effectively sustain 5S, you must develop a sense of accountability in the workers in the area. You may consider hosting training sessions, implementing audits, and providing visual aids for what the area should look like in its optimized state. Most importantly, you must define clear roles and responsibilities for maintaining the area to eliminate possible excuses.
2. Continuous Improvement in 5S
Another difficulty that 5S can pose is that it is never really complete. Similar to Lean methodology in general, you must practice the 5S process with a mindset of continuous improvement.
For example, the first time you go through the “set in order” phase, you may decide to place a tool in a certain position that you think will work well. After a few weeks of working in the area, you may find that this position isn’t optimal, and you might need to move the tool. Based on this, you may find yourself constantly adjusting the area to achieve optimal flow.
Therefore, it is also imperative that you are getting input from everyone who works in the area throughout the entire 5S process. Since they are the ones who are in the area every day, they will be able to add the most valuable input on what is working well and what isn’t.
Conclusion
Overall, 5S is a very powerful tool to drive productivity through thoughtful organization. These concepts can be applied far beyond the typical manufacturing environment and in any area of your life. The next time that you are organizing a space in your home or office, you may want to consider questions such as:
- What items in this area do I not use?
- Where do I typically use this item, and where should I place it based on that knowledge?
- How can I develop ways to maintain the space once I have organized it?
If you are able to follow this logic, you will become more efficient in completing any task you face.
Would you consider using the 5S process in your life? If so, how? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
