What is 5S?

 Toyota looked at strategies to decrease waste in their plants after WWII. The company's technique, which became known as the Toyota Production System, includes ideas for establishing a rational working order. Those ideas were ultimately embraced by the West, and the term "5S" was coined to describe them.

What Is 5S?

The 5S principles are a set of guidelines for organizing a workplace. These concepts entail everyone becoming involved in removing unnecessary items, placing everything in its appropriate place, and standardizing workplace cleaning procedures.

What Does 5S Stand For?

Specifically, 5S stands for:

📌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

Objectives of 5S

As previously stated, the ultimate objective of 5S is to ensure that the workplace is as organized and rational as feasible. Anything that isn't needed is removed, objects are placed where they are needed, and the space is maintained clean and debris-free.

In addition to the foregoing, 5S is intended to be used on a regular basis, promoting continual progress.

The Five Steps of 5S

Each stage of 5S has its own methodology. In the following paragraphs, we will explain it in detail.

1. Sort

The first stage in the 5S method is seiri, which means "arrange" or "sort." This phase entails going through everything currently in the workplace and determining what should be kept and what should be discarded.

Sorting focuses on preserving just what is absolutely necessary to complete the task. In this phase, if a tool, piece of equipment, or procedure is no longer needed, it is removed.

To arrange your workspace, start by asking yourself the following questions about each item:

• What is the item’s purpose?
• Who uses it?
• Is it used often?
• Is it really needed here?

When it comes to some items, it's not always apparent if they're necessary or not It's very uncommon, for example, for technicians to believe that a specific instrument would come in handy at some time, but it hasn't been utilized in In such situations, the object would be marked with a red tag. An item's description, location, and time of placement should be included on the tag. The item is deleted if it hasn't been used for a certain amount of time.

Items that are no longer required may be discarded, recycled, sold, stored, or moved to another department or location. Seiri might be extended beyond physical things to abstract elements like overwhelming data streams or stifling habits.

2. Set in Order

After you've decluttered your workspace, go on to  a section, which literally means "orderliness." As a result, under the 5S approach, it's interpreted as "put in order" or "straighten."

In this phase, you'll organize the remaining equipment/tools/processes/etc. in the most logical manner feasible. The ultimate objective is to make the work environment as user-friendly as possible by eliminating waste such as travel and waiting time (in fact, over 20% of wasted time results from traveling to different

parts of a facility). 

Consider the following questions when making seiton:

• Who makes use of this gear?
• When does it come into used?
• Is it possible that certain item locations are more efficient and ergonomic than others?
• Which things should be categorized according to their type?
• Which ones should be categorized by task?
• What method will be used to arrange the various pieces?
• What routes do people take to get about this area?

Examine how you can decrease waste and make the work space more usable as you consider ways to minimize waste and make the work area more helpful. Make sure it fits into the overall context of your facility. It might not be worth it if one arrangement makes one person's work simpler while getting in the way of everyone else's.

 3. Shine

It's time to shine up your workspace after it's been organized in a reasonable manner. Seiso is the third stage, which translates to "cleanliness" (or "shine" in the 5S framework).

Cleaning is the most important part of “shining”: sweeping, mopping, wiping, dusting, putting things away, and so on. It's essentially the fundamentals of office upkeep.

Many people are unaware, however, that shining entails not just cleaning but also preventative maintenance. Making ensuring your workplace's equipment operates correctly is a big part of maintaining it in excellent repair, and that needs regular maintenance including replacing worn components and lubricating moving parts.

Shining isn't the job of your janitorial crew alone. Employees need to know how to keep their workplaces tidy and in working shape.

4. Standardize

It's time to make those tasks normal practice after you've organized, straightened, and cleaned the workplace. Cleaning and straightening should be done on a regular basis, not just once.

As a result, seiketsu, which means "to standardize," is the fourth step in the 5S system, and its purpose is to develop standard operating procedures that promote an efficient, ordered workplace. Visual signs and markings, instructions, charts, regular preventative maintenance chores, and checklists are all examples of this. Regular reminders will almost certainly be required, especially when first beginning off.

Making the first three stages as repeatable as feasible is the most important aspect of standardization. For example, in the case of preventative maintenance, a maintenance checklist for each preventive maintenance work order may be used.

These habits may take some time to catch on and become ingrained in your culture. Using our preventative maintenance checklist as an example, getting employees to utilize your checklists regularly may take time and frequent training.

5. Sustain

The fifth and final S in the 5S approach is shitsuke, which means "discipline" in Japanese. It's known as "sustain" in 5S, and the goal is to make the entire technique a permanent part of your work habits.

Shitsuke goal is to make the full 5S process simple and long-lasting. Making ensuring everyone is participating in 5S, including management and corporate leaders, is a big part of it. No one is free from 5S, and it is up to management to keep it continuing by implementing policies and processes.

This stage may involve the following practices:

• Putting in place regulations to support the preceding four phases.
• Audits are conducted on a regular basis to track progress.
• To get to the root of the problem, do a root cause analysis.
• Employee training The 5S curriculum is updated on a regular basis.

Continuous improvement is incorporated in this final stage. Companies that track the results of their 5S programs and make regular improvements will cultivate the type of culture that is required to keep it going. Rather of settling with the status quo, they are striving for greater heights.

5 Benefits of a 5S Program in Your Workplace

Here are some of the most important advantages that businesses they from effectively implementing 5S.

 1. Low Upfront Cost

It is important to note that 5S has a low initial cost when compared to other lean methods. Special equipment is not required and the learning curve does not require any technical knowledge in order to get started. There is a little expense for the time it takes to teach and implement 5S, along with a few basic supplies like instructions, floor and wall markings, labels and so on, but

The modest initial investment and relative ease of the procedure make it simple to execute, at least for the first few phases. The following two steps, standardize and maintain, are more challenging since they require integrating 5S into your workplace's everyday procedures and culture, although they still have a low material cost.

2. Efficient Work Environment

One of the most important advantages of 5S is that it may help to establish a more efficient work environment. There is less time spent looking for tools or moving to other parts of the workstation, and the environment is maintained clean and organized.

The outcomes are frequently observable. In fact, according to one research conducted in a student lab, 5S reduced equipment search time by 12 %.

Ultimately, the 5S concept reduces waste in the workplace, making it more productive and profitable.

3. Safer Workplace

Another advantage of a well-executed 5S program is increased safety. Given that safety dangers and accidents are causes of inefficiency with significant costs, they should be removed as much as possible throughout the execution of each stage in the process.

Another advantage of a good 5S program is safety. Given that safety hazards and accidents are high-cost sources of inefficiency, they should be avoided as much as possible throughout the execution of each stage in the process.

For example, using visual markers to organize a workspace may help with both productivity and safety. Equipment that is kept clean and in its appropriate location is safer to use and retrieve, lowering the chance of an accident. When it comes to polishing, doing routine preventative maintenance on equipment reduces the likelihood of failures and any accidents that may occur.

4. Improved Employee Morale

Employee buy-in is required for 5S to be effective, but once it is achieved, employees are considerably more engaged. Instead of merely going through the motions, they are pushed to plan forward and make changes where they are needed.

Several of the stages, such as sorting and straightening, benefit from employee input. After all, operators and maintenance personnel are the ones who know their workplace best, and relying on that knowledge enhances productivity while also validating their understanding of the region. As a result, employee morale and engagement are better.

5. Fosters a Lean Culture

The cornerstone of lean culture is 5S. Everyone in the facility is urged to focus on how procedures and work areas may be made more efficient once each step has been completed correctly. People are more inclined to consider methods to reduce waste and streamline work procedures.

One of the most important aspects of 5S is that it should be done by everyone, from new employees to senior supervisors. With such a rigorous approach, lean culture may be embedded across the organization. It's critical to make 5S and other lean techniques a part of your company's culture once they've been adopted. Otherwise, The prosperity it brings may be fleeting, a culture of continuous improvement must be created.

5S in Lean Manufacturing

The 5S method is at the heart of lean manufacturing "Lean Maintenance". As a result, it is critical in establishing the sort of culture required to sustain lean methods like TPM.

5S and the Eight Pillars of TPM

TPM, or total productive maintenance, is a maintenance concept in which everyone in the organization is responsible for keeping equipment in good operating order. The objective is to increase production without spending too much money.

The basis of TPM is 5S, which is the first of eight pillars. The remaining seven pillars are as follows:

• Autonomous maintenance - Wherever feasible, operators and other employees undertake basic regular chores.
• Continuous improvement- often known as Kaizen, strives to eliminate all losses.
• Planned maintenance - To avoid failures, important maintenance operations are scheduled ahead of time.
• Quality maintenance - Defects are eliminated via the use of standards and inspections.
•  Training - required to gain buy-in and build necessary skills.
• Office TPM- Administrative duties should aid in the elimination of losses.
• Safety, health, and environment-Each of the other pillars should support workplace safety, including safety, health, and the environment.

By getting everyone on board with fundamental cleaning and upkeep duties, 5S lays the foundation for the other pillars to stand on. Total productive maintenance can then be applied to its full potential.

What is 5S with example?

Here's an example of how 5S may be used in an industrial setting.

A food processing facility's maintenance crew seeks to improve the efficiency of its maintenance operations. They accomplish this by following each stage of the 5S process:

1. Sort :They examine each tool in their MRO inventory to determine which ones are the most often utilized. Tools that aren't used too often are put away. Any obsolete or unwanted tools or replacement components are sold or discarded.
2. Set in order :The remaining tools and parts have been reorganized to make them easier to find and track. Check-out and check-in procedures for equipment are also established.
3. Shine : The whole work area is cleaned, and preventive maintenance jobs are created for routine tasks. Equipment operators are also trained to handle minor upkeep.
4. Standardize : Each work order has its own equipment and supplies list, as well as checklists for preventative maintenance activities. Actual demand is taken into account when MRO inventory counts and ordering processes are modified. Every day, five minutes are given out for basic cleaning.
5. Sustain : A CMMS is used by the maintenance crew to keep track of their equipment and work orders and make necessary modifications.

9 Tips for Implementing 5S in Your Maintenance Facility

Even while 5S is straightforward, it is not always simple. It won't be very successful if it isn't properly done; at best, it will result in a brief spring cleaning with no long-term advantages. The following pointers will assist you in effectively implementing the 5S technique at your institution.

1. Involve Everyone

The first and most important piece of advice is to get everyone involved. Your company's employees, managers, and executives should all be participating in 5S in some capacity. Otherwise, you won't be able to build the type of culture that 5S need to thrive.

Take the effort to figure out who is accountable for what in order to include everyone. Employees are often in charge of sorting, straightening, and cleaning, while managers are in charge of creating best practices to integrate 5S into everyday work routines.

2. Train New Employees

Make sure you teach new workers on what 5S means for them in the spirit of getting everyone involved. It might be as easy as side-by-side coaching, in which they are taught directly what sorting, placing in order, and shining will entail in their day-to-day job.

When training new workers, don't forget to include individuals who have been transferred from other areas inside the firm. After all, each department is unique, therefore 5S will take on a distinct form in each one.

3. Focus on the Purpose of 5S

Take the effort to explain your employees and management the objective of 5S to gain the buy-in you need. Simply informing maintenance workers that they must check in equipment at the conclusion of each maintenance operation, for example, may not be sufficient. On the other hand, if you show them how doing so would make job simpler for everyone, they are more inclined to accept it.

At its heart, 5S is about eliminating inefficiencies from the workplace to make work simpler for everyone. People are more inclined to support it if they understand this.

4. Use Visual Communication

Visual logic lies at the heart of 5S. You may minimize waste and make the area more productive by utilizing visual features to arrange the workplace and aid navigation. Here are a few suggestions:

• Signs and marks on the floor
• Posters containing task lists
• Cleaners and equipment have labels on them.
• The use of color coding
• Warnings about safety and hazards

5. Focus on Safety as Well as Eliminating Waste

Some businesses include a sixth S, which stands for "safety." While some may argue that a sixth S is necessary, the fact remains that safety is critical to successful 5S deployment.

Consider safety issues, particularly those that may have an impact on the environment, as you go through each phase of the 5S process. This avoids losses that may potentially impair your facility's routine workflow.

6. Tailor 5S to Each Department

Each department has a distinct job and method of operation. As a result, no 5S program should be “one-size-fits-all.” Sorting, straightening, and other tasks should be done separately for each department in your business. This allows each department to develop the practices and procedures it requires to function without interfering with the work of others.

7. Be Creative

Some firms add a sixth S for "safety," while others add one for "spirit." In this case, “spirit” refers to the 5S spirit, which is to be innovative and entertaining while making life simpler for everyone who works in the facility.

Employees and management alike should be actively involved in identifying ways to enhance current practices and procedures, and challenges should be handled with optimism. Instead of being a source of anxiety, an issue may be viewed as an opportunity for growth.

8. Strive for Continuous Improvement

In this spirit, 5S can only achieve its purpose if it's employed to foster continuous improvement, or Kaizen, in the workplace. The third stage, "sustain," is all about continually searching for ways to improve your 5S program, and the uniformity of sorting, putting things in order, and shining means that your team should always be on the lookout for areas where items may be cut out or reorganized.

9. Use Your CMMS to Implement 5S

Finally, your CMMS may be a very useful tool in the 5S process. Here are some instances of how it may help:

1. Examining work order materials listings to determine what is actually required to have on hand.
2. Examining work order completion timeframes to determine where time is being wasted.
3. Examining the condition of assets to evaluate how preventative maintenance duties may be improved.

While the use of a CMMS is not required to execute 5S, it will make the process easier and more efficient.

Make 5S a part of your maintenance team's daily routine.

When properly implemented, 5S transforms the workplace into a logical, easy-to-navigate environment, paving the way for continuous improvement and the efficiency of lean concepts.

That implies greater safety, less time lost waiting and commuting, more streamlined workflows, and overall more successful repair work for maintenance and reliability teams. Your maintenance staff is able to execute jobs with fewer delays and mistakes, resulting in increased equipment reliability.