Top Reasons You Should Establish a 5S Program

As soon as most business leaders hear about 5S, they conclude that it is really just a complicated housekeeping initiative. An audit or methodical examination of the 5S method reveals that it is much more powerful than simple housekeeping. Listed here are some of the top reasons you should be encouraging a 5s program at your workplace.

Increased Safety
Among the major motives companies utilize 5s is so that there is a place for everything and everything is in it's place. When clutter is cleared out and things are actually set in order safety hazards can be detected a bit more easily. Pedestrian lanes in manufacturing and distribution settings are definitely designated. Trip hazards are cleared away. Instruments and equipment are actually stored in clearly marked locations where they belong. A strengthened state of focus of the work environment triggers enhanced consideration to preventative maintenance. Daily 5s audits or waste walks by senior leadership should focus initially on safety and then on inhibitors to quality, delivery, and cost. Generally when waste is discovered it could be remedied by one of the facets of 5s.

Enhanced Quality
Quality problems can be more quickly identified in an environment that has an intense understanding of 5s and it's principles. When an activity or product is not delivering it's designed result, the 5s environment can make it painfully evident that something is wrong. Staff members are allowed to "stop and solve" and very little rework is usually needed for defective outputs from the defective process. The quality of the work performed increases. Folks that take great pride and care in their work environment will also take great pride and care in their work product. You can not expect six sigma levels of quality when you don't require basic details like sweepers to be replaced where they belong.

Improved Delivery or Strengthened Efficiency
Once things are set in order and standardized in a 5s environment, Performance and production increase tremendously. People are able to locate what they require when they need it. The operations in these workplaces are stable, capable, repeatable, and teachable. Individuals do not need to hunt for resources or raw material. The resulting savings in time little by little accumulates and output is at a higher level with the similar number of people in the value stream. Enhanced delivery and reduced cycle time may not feel like a big deal when you are shipping gadgets, but if you are a patient in an emergency room who is in severe discomfort you don't want people looking for the medicine you seriously need. There is a concentrated discipline focused around lean medicine.

Decreased Costs
Most people affiliate decreasing costs with eliminating employees. In a Lean environment the focus is on removing or reducing waste and respect for the employee. Efficiency is evaluated by output per employee. Assuming that you increase your output but the number of employees remains the same you have improved your efficiency. Reducing wasted motion of people and parts, minimizing wait times and in process stocks you can diminish your lead time.

It's up to you
The case for exactly why you should implement 5s is pretty clear. The very best thing you can possibly do is get started. Locate one area in your workplace and prioritize it. Draw a team together and initiate a sorting event in that area. Establish momentum off of that event and get started on starting your very own lean initiative for your workplace.

For more information about starting a 5s program at your workplace go to www.e5saudit.com.

Tips for a Successful 5s Event

So you have decided to initiate a 5S plan at your workplace. Congratulations! Here are five tips for success that can help ensure that your implementation is a success.

Don't try to boil the ocean ... start modest for success.
Many implementations fail because they try to implement on a larger scale than they are capable of achieving or sustaining. Start with just one area in your work environment and focus all of your intensity and focus there. By having employees work in different areas outside of their normal surroundings, you can help your team develop better teamwork skills and will build a greater sense of shared ownership.

Plan your work and work your plan.
Nothing can take the wind out of your sails faster than haphazardly starting a 5S project that fails because you didn't have the right resources employed. Ask yourself and challenge your team "What does success look like?" Verify that that you have all the tools that you need for your event. The most omitted items are things like cable ties for red tags and having enough colored tape. Hold a quick huddle event with your team before you get started.

Lead by example
One of my advisors always told me that the rate of the pack is determined by the leader. What he meant was teach by doing. You can have a much greater influence on the success of your 5S Program by being involved! Offer to help move tagged items to the sort area, take blank tags to sorters, or just grab a broom and sweep he newly cleared area.

Sort for Success
The primary step to successfully implementing 5S in your workplace is to eliminate disorder. When setting up your sort things will fall into three categories 1) I need it, 2) I don't use it, or 3) I'm not sure if I need this. For the things you need find and mark a home for them. For the things you don't use or need, dispose of them properly or recycle them. For the things you are not sure if you need segregate them to a holding area and if you use something make a home for it in the work area. Otherwise, after a reasonable time period (usually a week) get rid of the items you find that you haven't used.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Taking before and after pictures to celebrate your project is a great to celebrate your success. You can also use the after picture as a visual aid to demonstrate how the work area should be left after you are finished using it. Creating visual aids is a great way to sustain your 5S program.

Use these tips and get off to a great start with your 5S performance.  For more information check out sites like www.e5saudit.com