WORKSHOP SYNOPSIS:

The term 5S’s refer to five Japanese words that represent a technique to organize any work area. These Japanese terms have been converted in English to Sort, Set-in-Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain. Implementing the 5S’s will lead to increases in productivity and safety. No longer will workers be wandering on a scavenger hunt looking for equipment, materials, and information that they need to do their jobs. In this course, we will look at each of the 5S’s and how to apply them:

1. Sort - clear the work area and keep only what you need in the area.

• This eliminates the clutter that operators often work amidst. It will save time and increase safety performance in the work area.
• Eliminating clutter creates space for the materials that the operator needs to perform his or her job.

2. Set-in-Order - a place for everything and everything in its place.

• Keeping everything in its place eliminates a huge waste of a worker’s time – looking for things.
• Knowing the locations of tools, gauges, supplies, auxiliary equipment, and other key items saves the operator tremendous amounts of time by eliminating the search.
• Travel distances can be minimized because frequently used items are kept close to the machine or process.

3. Shine - clean equipment and work area.

• Clean equipment performs better. Moving components tend to wear or have more variation if the equipment is dirty.
• If clean equipment becomes dirty, you get a visual signal that something has gone wrong.
  • Rather than waiting for the equipment to breakdown, you can plan the repairs.
• Cleaning also makes the work area safer. If people are worried about their personal safety, it will reduce their productivity.

4. Standardization – making things the same from process to process and person to person.

• Standardizing organization and arrangements eliminates time wasted when operators move between processes.

5. Sustain - involving everyone and ingraining 5S’s into the culture.

• If the 5S’s don’t become ingrained in the culture, the benefits go away as the 5S discipline fades away.