The 5s implementation process in detail

5S

The 5S Implementation Process in Detail
As a sincere “thank you” to our readers’ loyalty since 1998, we have developed this page to provide an easy-to-follow 5S Implementation Procedure
That will help you get fast and low-cost results and get your teams to support and sustain the effort so the new clean and orderly way of having their workstation in optimal conditions will produce more quality in every way.

A high proportion of our visitors have shown their interest into this particular discipline and asked for a more detailed explanation of the process to implement it. I strongly recommend to do this at the very beginning of your Lean Effort. It will make all the future tasks much easier and produce top results in every way.
Originally compiled by one of the Toyota Production System gurus: Iwao Kobayashi, the 5S or 5-Ss have been a valuable first step in many successful implementation processes. Many people though, frequently misunderstand or misinterpret its essence and here I will try to produce some simple guidance so that you become a champion implementer for your own benefit and that of your company.
One of the main advantages of learning this discipline is the applicability it has in every environment: you car, your garage, your kitchen, and home in general; your social life also benefits big time from this. This article will be focusing on a manufacturing environment but you will discover how easy it is to adapt the steps to any other environment. Today there is an important movement to bring the Lean Manufacturing principles of the Toyota Production System to Administrative areas (Lean Office) and to the Health Industry (Lean Healthcare). These applications will contribute to reduce their cost of operation and benefit the economy in general.
In order to have a total, measurable, and noticeable success implementing the 5S, I strongly recommend that you be very objective and focus on [ONE PARTICULAR

AREA] only. Take several pictures of the area in general and some spots of special interest within the area.
Watch Out!!! It is easy to feel very excited from the beginning as soon as we start seeing results. This excitement can make you want to Five-S every single spot or corner in your plant, home etc… Watch out! you may end up not getting the good results your effort deserves. You must be selective and concentrate all your attention and resources into one small and clearly defined area. Then your results will be of a very high impact on everyone else and you will be developing the necessary credibility for getting everyone else’s support to continue the spread of this “new” culture.
As most of the valuable components of the Toyota Production System (TPS) or Lean Manufacturing, the 5S is mostly comprised of “Common Sense” the least common of senses…
In all these steps, it will be the experience of the operators in the area where we are working that will give us the guidelines. We want them to come up with creative ideas that will make their area easier to work at. That is the essence of any Kaizen Event.
The team of a Kaizen Event for implementing the 5S will be comprised like many others: include at least one of the users of the area, if possible add a maintenance person, at least one supervisor or leader, and whenever possible, a manager. This team should be anywhere from 4 to 8 people for a defined work area that can be as small as fewer than 100 and should not exceed 1,000 square ft.

The first S (Seiri) is for “Sort”