5S is a reference to a list of five Japanese words which 'start' with S. This list is a mnemonic for a methodology that is often incorrectly characterized as "standardised cleanup", however it is much more than cleanup. 5S is a philosophy and a way of organizing and managing the workspace. The key impacts of 5S is upon workplace morale and efficiency. By ensuring everything has a place and everything is in its place then time is not wasted looking for things and it can be made immediately obvious when something missing. The real power of this methodology is in deciding what should be kept and where and how it should be stored. This dialogue builds good clear understanding amongst a workforce of how work should be done and instills an ownership of the process when done effectively. It is often, therefore, executed in partnership with standard work which are the operations for which these 'things' are used.
The 5S's are:
• Seiri (整理): tidiness, organization. Refers to the practice of sorting through all the tools, materials, etc., in the work area and keeping only essential items. Everything else is stored or discarded. This leads to fewer hazards and less clutter to interfere with productive work.
• Seiton (整頓): orderliness. Focuses on the need for an orderly workplace. "Orderly" in this sense means arranging the tools and equipment in an order that promotes work flow. Tools and equipment should be kept where they will be used, and the process should be ordered in a manner that eliminates extra motion.
• Seiso (清掃): systemized cleanliness. Indicates the need to keep the workplace clean as well as neat. Cleaning in Japanese companies is a daily activity. At the end of each shift, the work area is cleaned up and everything is restored to its place. The key point is that maintaining cleanliness should be part of the daily work - not on occasional activity initiated when things get too messy.
• Seiketsu (清潔): standards. This refers to standardized work practices. It refers to more than standardized cleanliness (otherwise this would mean essentially the same as "systemized cleanliness"). This means operating in a consistent and standardized fashion. Everyone knows exactly what his or her responsibilities are.
• Shitsuke (躾): sustaining discipline. Refers to maintaining standards. Once the previous 4S's have been established they become the new way to operate. Maintain the focus on this new way of operating, and do not allow a gradual decline back to the old ways of operating.
Translations and modifications
Often in the west, alternative terms are used for the five S's. These are "Sort, Straighten, Shine, Systemise and Sustain" and sometimes "Safety" as a 6th optional S. Similarly 5Cs aims at the same goal but without the strength of maintaining the 5S name.
• Clearout and Classify
o Clearing items no longer required
o Tagging items that may be required and storing away from workplace
o A specific place for specific items
o “ A place for everything & everything in its place”
• Clean and check
o Identify cleaning zones, establish cleaning routines
o Consolidate the previous 3C’s by standardising the new process and use of ‘Visual Management’
• Custom and practice
o Monitor process adherence
o Continually validate process
o Make further improvements using the PDCA cycle, otherwise known as the Deming cycle
Alternative acronymns have also been introduced, such as CANDO (Cleanup, Arranging, Neatness, Discipline, and Ongoing improvement). Even though he refers to the ensemble practice as "5S" in his canonical work, Hirano prefers the terms Organization, Orderliness, Cleanliness, Standardized Cleanup, and Discipline because they are better translations than the aliterative approximations. In the book, there is a photo of a Japanese sign that shows the Latin "5S" mixed with Kanji.
Additional practices are frequently added to 5S, under such headings as 5S Plus, 6S, 5S+2S, 7S, etc. The most common additional S is for Safety mentioned above, and James Leflar writes that Agilent adds Security as the seventh (7th) S. Purists insist that the other concepts be left out to maintain simplicity and because Safety, for example, is a side-benefit to disciplined housekeeping.
Relation to other concepts
5S is used with other Lean concepts such as SMED, TPM, and Just In Time (JIT). The 5S discipline requires clearing out things which are not needed in order to make it easier and faster to obtain the tools and parts that are needed. This is the foundation of SMED, which in turn enables JIT production. The first step in TPM is operator cleanup of machines, a mandate of 5S. Masaaki Imai includes use of the 5S strategy in his book on Kaizen.
5S in a business context
The 5S methodology has been adopted into a variety of organizations from small business to Fortune 500 companies. All implement the 5S's in the hope to improve productivity and performance. Peterson, Jim & Smith, Roland give examples of the uses of 5S in the business context. Such organizations and their achievements include:
Hewlett-Packard Support Center
• Improved levels of quality communication and information sharing
• Reduced training cycle for new employees
• Reduced call backs
• Reduced call time per customer
• Reduced stored parts inventory at one facility by $300,000
• Incident rate divisionwide reduced by 1.5%
• Reduced machine Downtime
• Office and plant space made available
• Improved productivity
• Improved morale
• Increased levels of product quality
• Improved safety
• Total Productive Maintenance
• Just In Time or Toyota Production System (TPS).
1. ^ Hirano, Hiroyuki (1995), 5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace, Productivity Press, ISBN 1-56327-123-0
2. ^ Leflar, James A. (2001), Practical TPM: Successful Equipment Management at Agilent Technologies, Productivity Press, ISBN 1-56327-242-3
3. ^ Imai, Masaaki (1986), Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, ISBN 0-07-554332-X
4. ^ Peterson, Jim & Smith, Roland (1998), The 5S Pocket Guide, Productivity Press, ISBN 0-527-76338-1