Xcellus, Inc. – Joseph L. Coffman Page 1 of 10 6/6/2020 Standard Work and 5S Executive Summary Standards, and rigorous discipline to the standards, are vital for every business. This concept is deeply rooted in history and has proven to be one of the most important aspects of every successful manufacturing operation. Without standards chaos prevails and improvement is thwarted. A manufacturing business with poor discipline to standards absolutely will fail; it is just a matter of time. 5S is a simple concept for the sole purpose of transforming CHAOS into RIGOROUS DISCIPLINE to STANDARDS. This is contrary to popular opinion. Keep reading to discover why Continuous Improvement, OPEX, and Lean Experts are often wrong about 5S.
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Xcellus, Inc. – Joseph L. Coffman Page 1 of 10 6/6/2020
Standard Work and 5S
Executive Summary
Standards, and rigorous discipline to the standards, are vital for every business. This concept is deeply rooted in history and has proven to be one of the most important aspects of every successful manufacturing operation. Without standards chaos prevails and improvement is thwarted. A manufacturing business with poor discipline to standards absolutely will fail; it is just a matter of time.
5S is a simple concept for the sole purpose of transforming CHAOS into RIGOROUS DISCIPLINE to STANDARDS. This is contrary to popular opinion. Keep reading to discover why Continuous Improvement, OPEX, and Lean Experts are often wrong about 5S.
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1 INTRODUCTION
Most people would agree about the importance of standards. The Finance group compares performance to the standard, HR expects standard review processes for employee performance, Operations expects Operators to follow a standard to produce widgets, Maintenance has standards for PM’s and routine maintenance, Quality has standards for the assurance and control of product quality, and the list goes on. If standards don’t exist, or are not followed, chaos prevails. If an organization cannot rely on HOW things are accomplished, the organization lacks discipline, beginning with leadership.
Anyone, even the untrained eye, can walk into a production area and see whether utter chaos or discipline prevails. It often takes experience to casually inspect and assess an area and see the level of discipline to standards. There are usually “tells.”
The real importance of 5S is about discipline to standards.
2 WHAT IS 5S?
5S is a methodology to transform chaos into discipline to standards.
What would learning about 5S be without a few Japanese terms? From ASQ:
Japanese Translated English Definition
Seiri organize Sort Eliminate whatever is not needed by separating needed tools, parts, and instructions from unneeded materials.
Seiton orderliness Set In Order Organize whatever remains by neatly arranging and identifying parts and tools for ease of use.
Seiso cleanliness Shine Clean the work area by conducting a cleanup campaign.
Seiketsu standardize Standardize Schedule regular cleaning and maintenance by conducting seiri, seiton, and seiso daily.
Shitsuke discipline Sustain Make 5S a way of life by forming the habit of always following the first four S’s.
It is strange and funny, but immediately after ASQ shows these 5S’s, which clearly lead to standardization and discipline to the standards, they then explain all the miraculous things 5S does. The funny part is that none of them relates to standards and discipline to the standard.
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3 BACKGROUND AND HISTORY OF 5S
5S as the Lean world knows it was developed by Hiroyuki Hirano in the 1970’s. Supposedly 5S was created as a way to achieve Just in Time (JIT) manufacturing. Baloney! The goal was certainly to achieve JIT, but in order to get to JIT every area must operate with extraordinary discipline. 5S was created as a methodology to force a paradigm shift.
5S was developed to help transform an area immersed in chaos without any semblance of discipline into an area that values adherence to standards and respects discipline. Imagine being charged with attaining JIT manufacturing and walking into an area where chaos reigns, people lacking in discipline and working however they want, producing parts in whichever way suits themselves best. How on Earth would they have the precision and discipline required to achieve JIT without major disruptions and shutdowns? IMPOSSIBLE!
Hiroyuki Hirano was not the only one faced with a chaotic workplace. Henry Ford faced this and came up with an amazingly similar solution 50 years earlier, in the 1920’s. Ford called it CANDO (Cleaning up, Arranging, Neatness, Discipline, Ongoing improvement). Amazing! 50 years earlier Ford found that Standards, Discipline and Improvement were vital for business success.
4 WHEN AND HOW TO IMPLEMENT
5S is one of the methodologies that lends itself well to an event when beginning the process. Once 5S is part of the culture, it is a daily, ongoing activity and no longer should be thought of as event-based. It becomes part of normal work activities, including 5S audits.
5S activities must be accomplished by the people that work in the area. It cannot be done be outside personnel if there is any hope of the improvements sustaining. It is often helpful to have an outside facilitator help conduct the 5S activities and occasionally audit, but the actual changes must be made by the people that will live with the results. Having an external team come in to “5S” an area will result in failure, guaranteed.
There are many organizations that already have clean and organized work environments that they maintain well. These are not ripe for a 5S Blitz. The areas that need 5S are chaotic, undisciplined workplaces. If you are a consultant (internal or external) be cognizant of the discipline level in whatever area you are helping. Don’t bang on their heads with the 5S hammer unless it is needed. Otherwise there is no real benefit and you make yourself look foolish.
Additionally, this should be intuitively obvious, but if you are a company leader, NEVER hire a “5S Company” to come in and assess your 5S performance levels or implement 5S for you. The 5S hammer is their only tool. Guess what they are going to hit you with.
Below, the general process for 5S is outlined.
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Sort o Separate needed items from unneeded items. Keep only what is needed o Red Tag questionable items for additional review
Set-in-Order o Arrange needed items and identify for easy & immediate use o Find a good place for less frequently used items and organize
Shine o Clean everything o Paint anything that needs painting – use light colors to make unclean
conditions immediately visible
Standardize o Create standard work to support first 3S’s, keep area organized, orderly and
clean o Make standards visual and visible
Sustain – also known as Self-Discipline o Set discipline to maintain established procedures o Use the JI Training method to train personnel in 5S procedures o Clean regularly according to the new standards o Use standard 5S Audits to keep expectations high (daily “Shine” checklists,
weekly Operations audits, periodic team audits, level advancement audits) o Use a merit-based system for showing 5S progress and sustained levels of
achievement o Utilize Kaizen to improve upon the standards (see document, How to Kaizen
and How Not to Kaizen)
An example of a merit-based system for showing 5S maturity is shown below. This is often effective to use by logical area within a factory. The 5S achievement should be displayed on the SQDEC Board.
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5 CONCLUSION
Standards, and rigorous discipline to standards, are the backbone of any manufacturing business and Lean Production System. Without them chaos prevails and the business cannot succeed.
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5S is a powerful methodology for beginning a paradigm shift about standards and discipline to standards. 5S is about discipline to standards. 5S should be used as a first step in eliminating chaos and the status quo and, most importantly, as a workforce transformation tool. When done properly, 5S is a foundational element of a Lean Production System.
Out of the Crisis, W. Edwards Deming Today and Tomorrow, Henry Ford My Life and Work, Henry Ford Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production, Taiichi Ohno 5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace: The Sourcebook for 5S Implementation, Hiroyuki Hirano