5 S’s or the “Toyota Method”: How it applies to you!

By: Don Wood

“Surfaces are not for storage. Rather, surfaces are for activity, and should be kept clear at all other times.” – Francine Jay, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life

Many people are now aware of a minimalist life and try to reduce clutter in their life.  My training in cleanliness and future skills in Lean started at home.   My mom would always tell my twin brother and I to put our toys away so we could find them again.  As we got older and started working on our cars as teenagers we were not allowed to use or dad’s tools until we were trained in the use of his shadow board and returning tools to the correct spot. He was a retired Air Force flight mechanic and very particular with cleanliness and order.

These personal experiences enlightened me to 5s before I was formally introduced to “The Toyota Way”. Many organizations add a 6^th S – for Safety and review all processes and workstations for Error Proofing to reduce Human Error and interactions that may cause harm or injury to people, equipment, or materials.

 

The graphic above shows the 5’s and the relationship that the process is never done.  It is our goal to continually improve the process.

 

Here is japanese symbols and approximate translations:

 

1. Sort

The first and most critical step.  Assets are important and many people remember the time they did not have critical equipment, inventory, supplies.  Often someone outside the process can ask “why” this item is needed.  The team must be sensitive to their associates when deciding what is and what is not necessary.  Some associates grow attached to tools and methods they use to complete their work.

Discrepancies between what is and what is not considered necessary are indications of non–standardized work. Decide on the best method and standardize on that method. Then 5s the area.

Hint:  Use the rule of 1-3-10 as a general guideline, but not an absolute because common sense and needs dictate the true placement of materials.  Therefore; if used daily place items 1 meter or less from working area.  If used weekly place item 3 meters or from working area.  If used monthly place item 10 meters from working area. Tag anything not needed and place in a corner and bring it back into the process if it is required.  Consider removing permanently items not used or needed

NOTE:  Again this is not an absolute remember some items are very important due to RISK of not having it, or Cost to replace. Use either another tool like an Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) or Financial Cost/Benefit to help in deciding.

 

2. Straighten

A quick internet search will show many different ways to store items including bins, shadow boards, cubes, etc..  Storage should be visual and easy to determine the correct item and location.  Visual differentiate between places that are intentionally empty sometimes, like production queues, and those places that should always have an item there should be highlighted and trained of the proper usage.

The location of  “occasional use items” should be displayed in the area where the item will be used. This eliminates search time. The location of shareable items in the central area should also be labeled with visual cues to make finding those items easier.

 

3. Shine/Sweep

I was taught this as “Make like New” and pride in ownership.  Cities in the U.S. have known for years that buildings with broken windows lead to more and more damage and neglect.  Nationwide, cities are implementing programs to eliminate the “broken window” syndrome.

Likewise, equipment with missing access panels, stained and contaminated work areas, and filthy tooling invalidates the organization’s propaganda that they are committed to excellence and quality.

A clean work area is a better working environment. Conducive to better work.

 

4. Standardize

Repeatability and Reproducibility is included in the benefits of standardization.  Cross-training can be enhanced by standardization of tool, locations, and usage. Employees can move from area to area and understand the system.  This works well at home also, to reduce stress by simplifying the need to memorize where everything is.

When finished with steps 1-3, a preferred strategy is to take a picture of the area showing how it should appear. In the unlikely event something is out of place it will be apparent and the preferred condition can be repeated.

 

5. Sustain

In my opinion this is the most difficult of all the steps.  The erosion of 5s is subtle, for example there may be 1 missing piece of equipment or extra supplies placed within the work area.  If overlooked by management, this becomes an accepted norm and the behavior will be repeated by others.  Soon it will be as if no 5s program existed.  An audit or a walk through daily will help the erosion of the Standard work and reinforced by looking at the picture and correcting any negative condition.

 

Using 5s combined with Lean best practices to eliminate waste can improve the processes significantly.

The benefits of 5s can be highlighted by reducing the space requirements (minimalist) and ease of finding things because there are fewer items to search through.  It does increase pride in ownership and safety of all employees can be improved.  Finally it is easier to spot defects and abnormalities in the process by adding visual controls to reduce human errors.

 

Many organizations start their change transformations with 5s because it is visual, rapid, and drives positive change.