Fourteen Tips to Help You Sustain 5S
5S Sustainment
In this short article I want to share with you fourteen top tips that I use with clients like you, to help
make your 5S Workplace Organisation efforts sticky.
I love the 5S technique.
It is one of my favourite Continuous Improvement methodologies.
Why ?
Because it raises everyone game.
I always use the analogy of a Company stuck on the motorway looking for a jack
to fix their punctured tyre compared to a Formula One racing team doing a pit stop.
Most Organisations that are not aware of the 5S technique are sad places to visit.
You can visibly see people struggling to do their jobs (looking for the jack!)
Leadership charge around like headless chickens with a "fire extinguisher" in one hand
and a "faulty piece of work" in the other (usually deciding if the product or information
is ok to send out this week. It wasn't last week , but there is a far greater volume this
week, so the decision will probably have to be different...)
The Seven Classic Wastes are alive and well.
It's fantastic for Continuous Improvement Trainers like me. Lots of quick fixes to show clients
and become a hero overnight.
Not so great if you have to work there every day.....
Stress, frustration, poor productivity, terrible quality, more stress, lack of team work,
and did I mention stress......
5S if implemented well and sustained can resolve 80% of these issues
Did you see what I did there? I mentioned the word sustained to introduce the
main theme of this article.
The Fifth S sustain.
Just a quick reminder of the 5S: SORT,STRAIGHTEN,SCRUB,SYSTEMS,SUSTAIN
Imagine if 5S was the name of a pop band. (These days it probably is...)
In many respects the fifth S is the member of the pop band that doesn't often get a mention
but their contribution is fundamental to a successful long career at the top of the hit parade.
Sort and Straighten , the front singers, get all the media attention and hype. They are always
adored by 5S fans. You know, getting out there, sticking on a few red tags and then moving a
few things about . Very full on, very sexy and you can go home and tell your family how you
transformed the department today. Oh and you made a thing called a shadow board.
But ladies and gentlemen, then what.
Very often. Not much more. After a few sales of your debut album "Sort and Straighten" 5S,the
band seem to have come out of the spotlight .They try the inevitable "Sort and Straighten- Remix"
This leads to a few more sales , but quickly they find both albums appearing in "Pound Shops" up
and down the country in buy one get the other one free section (That's only 50p per album)
The other members of the band, scrub and systems are important and also often overlooked.
But today I want to focus on the drummer Sustain
"You gotta keep banging that drum to sustain the 5S fun"
That's a lyric from the new charity record that 5S have produced (all proceeds going
to a good cause) to try and re-grab some media attention and get their career back on track.
So here are my 14 tips ( in no particular order) to ensure that the fifth S , Sustain is alive and well
and that our 5S efforts have longevity and substance.
 Physically Make a Difference
If you can make an obvious physical improvement in an area then it can
go a long way to making the changes stick. Things work best when you go narrow
and deep. It is not about tidiness but organisation and systems. For each item you
should visually indicate what it is, where it goes and how much there should be of it.
 Do Not Allow Squatters
When space is made available as a result of improvement activity, mark it off
and reserve it for a future activity. Advertise the fact and get the area on a
an office or plant drawing. Physically label the area with something like. This area
is reserved for "Project X" and is not to be used. If you do not do this then the
squatters will quickly move in and your efforts will have been in vain. Clutter and disorder
seem to be a magnet for free space unless it is made obvious that it is not to be used.
 Make People Accountable
Build 5S activity into your strategic plan and make all personnel have an element
of 5S in their individual annual goals, that are reviewed on a regular basis as part of
their overall performance.
 Make Aaabbbabnormality Jump Out at You
Try to make abnormality very obvious in the workplace. Don't hide issues but
make them scream at you, if something is wrong when you walk into an area.
You should be able to work out how things are going using visual control within
30 seconds of entering a department. Is the work flowing? Are their any errors?
Is all equipment where it should be? You should be able to answer all of these
questions without talking to anyone but just using your eyes.
 Promote 5S
Take every opportunity to promote the 5S, but avoid wall paper. Using a Continuous
Improvement Board can be a great way to show progress. Use before and after pictures
to show the positive changes that have been made. Position the board in an area that
everyone can see it. This can be a great asset when visitors come to the office
or plant. As long as it is fresh, accurate and up to date. If not it is far worse than having
no promotional material at all. You know the score. Last updated in 2002 syndrome...
Look and is awful..
 Connect 5S to the Bottom Line Results
Make direct connections between 5S activities and business results.
e.g.
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Inventory Reduction and the money saved |
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Less space required for the same or better productivity |
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Improved Quality with fewer errors because of improved sequencing |
 Apply 5S Everywhere
5S needs to be applied to all areas of the office and plant. It needs to become part of
the culture and normal daily routine. If you ever have to say the words "We need to
have a tidy up because we have important visitors coming next week...." then
you still have a long way to go in terms of 5S and Continuous Improvement
 Run Occasional Site Wide Red Tag Events
An occasional site wide red tag event can be a very powerful tool to promote 5S and
get a sense of common purpose and standards between areas. This approach works
really well maybe one or two times a year and can create a bit of a collective buzz.
 Follow Through on the Simple Things
These are often the ones that get missed but can have the biggest impact in
terms of commitment and perception. It can be as simple as a cracked window
or a worn, faded sign. It is a bit like if the seat belts are frayed on an aircraft you
start to worry about the state of the engines!
 Use Mini Kaizen Events
Taking 4-6 people out of the normal operation for one or two days to conduct 5S
activity can have a dramatic impact on performance. The secret is again narrow
and deep and doing things professionally.
 Use Audits to Create Action
Regular audits are probably the best way to sustain the gains.Calibrate scores between different areas to create an
accepted baseline.
Regular reviews using a few red tags and visual sweep will establish further improvements or areas
where the current standards are falling short of what is required .Each audit should result in a go forward action plan
If you don't audit and take action then the 5S will quickly fall into disripute.
The results and action plan should be visually displayed in a user friendly format on the Continuous Improvement
noticeboard.
 Use Visual Control Whenever Possible
By keeping things simple and visual there is more chance of
them being effective.
 Don't Allow Broken Fences
Decline happens faster than progress when issues are not addressed.Photographs
and video footage can be useful reminders of how things used to be if things start to
slip. "We don't want to go back to this do we......"
 Create Day One Standards
Build in 5S on all new projects and new processes from day one as part of standard
work. Start of as you mean to go on.
If you would like to find out about my one day, team based 5S workshops
please contact me for pricing and availability.
You will be amazed what can be achieved in one day with the correct facilitation
and expert training.
Hope this helps.
Best regards,
Graham Ross
Other related content on the web:
Manufacturing Times Blog » Blog Archive » Sustaining 5S - Most companies don't find it too difficult to implement the first three stages of 5S / workplace organisation, but many find it hard to sustain and improve once the initial energy has dissipated. I recently heard one plant manager joke ...
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