My workplace 5S
5S is the name of a workplace organization method that uses a list of five Japanese words: seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke. Transliterated into Roman Script, they all start with the letter "S". The list describes how to organize a work space for efficiency and effectiveness by identifying and storing the items used, maintaining the area and items, and sustaining the new order. The decision-making process usually comes from a dialogue about standardization, which builds understanding among employees of how they should do the work.
In some quarters, 5S has become 6S, the sixth element being safety
There are five 5S phases: They can be translated from the Japanese as
"sort", "set in order", "shine",
"standardize", and "sustain". Other translations are
possible
Sort (Seiri)
Set In Order (Seiton)
Shine (Seiso)
Standardize (Seiketsu)
Sustain (Shitsuke)
5S in Lean Product & Process Development
The output of engineering and design in a lean enterprise is information,
the theory behind using 5S here is "Dirty, cluttered, or damaged surfaces
attract the eye, which spends a fraction of a second trying to pull useful
information from them every time we glance past. Old equipment hides the new
equipment from the eye and forces people to ask which to use
Many manufacturing facilities have opted to follow the path towards a “5S”
workplace organizational and housekeeping methodology as part of continuous
improvement or lean manufacturing processes. The term refers to five steps –
sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain – that are also sometimes
known as the five pillars of a visual workplace
Safety also plays an important role in the 5S audit process. Standard worksheets are developed for each process to help make a factory more visual, highlighting safety precautions for each cell, in addition to showing where all work in process should be located.
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