5S

Three secrets for sustaining 5S success

There are secreTs about 5S that lean experts often overlook because nobody ever

clued them in. Before revealing the secrets, how-

ever, there are a few questions to answer: What is

5S? Why is 5S important to implement? And, why

do so many North American organizations fail in

5S implementation?

5S is a management technique that helps

organize a workplace by making it free of clut-

ter, more visual and safer. The Ss correlate to

Japanese terms that mean sort, shine, set in

In 50 Words Or Less The key to sustaining

results gained through the 5S method is to begin by standardizing and systematizing, not sorting.

By scoring early suc-cesses, you can build on employees desire to compete and find new areas to 5S.

A manufacturer and one of its customers used the approach to improve its bottom line.

SS

S

SS

order, standardize and systematize (or sustain). In

short, its cleaning up any work area and getting it

organized. It sounds so simple, and it appears very

obvious. Who could argue against the basic concept

of keeping your workplace orderly?

North American organizations frequently initiate

a 5S program and engage in a massive cleanup effort.

For many, they find the disorganization returns a few

months later. What a waste. The typical 5S effort that

falls on its face (see Figure 1, p. 20) generally follows

this pattern:

by John Casey

October 2013 QP 19

LEAN

QP www.qualityprogress.com20

Leadership decides the plant is a mess and starts an

initiative to organize. The leaders appoint a champion

to take on the initiative for the organization, and that

person will passionately begin the process. The cham-

pion starts in a small pilot area and begins the process

by asking people to:

1. Sort what they need.

2. Shine up the work area by cleaning up the dirt.

3. Set things in order, or determine a logical place for

everything and put each item in its place.

At this point, the organization stops and celebrates

the feat a little because the area is obviously tidier. Of-

ten the organization skips the process of standardizing

and systematizing, and moves to another area. This is

where atrophy sets in.

After one area is completed, the champion moves to

the next, repeats the process and cleanup effort. With

all the noticeable improvementplus the perception

of a better workplacethe organization gains some

momentum and the pace of activities begins to pick

up, allowing the 5S process to become a picture of suc-

cess.

At the end, the champion and leadership will feel

pretty good, and theyll ask everyone to Keep it this

way. The workplace environment is obviously better

and safer. Why wouldnt anyone want to sustain the

gains? But time passes and, eventually, gains are lost.

Then they ask themselves, Why did the effort re-

vert back to the original state? Why did we do it in the

first place? Certainly a clean shop makes people feel

better, but is that why management wants 5S?

secrets revealed5S increases profits because it exposes waste that can

be eliminated. The operations that win are the most

efficient in production, where the problems can be

seen and solved most quickly. When a strong 5S pro-

gram is in place, it is extremely easy for leaders to walk

around and see whether people are operating to the

plan and using the best practices. When everything is

in its place, a leader knows everyone has exactly what

he or she needs and has a baseline to start additional

continuous improvement projects.

Profit is the trigger for management. The secret is

that the 5S process, which, when properly implement-

ed, exposes waste, leading to increases in profitability.

This seems so obviouswhy does the effort be-

come atrophic? When you look at the Japanese ap-

proach, they taught 5S in the sort, shine and set in

order sequence. What they didnt realize is there is a

significant cultural difference between some Japanese

and North Americans.

In Japan, conformity is something to be treasured.

Many North Americans often do their own thing, and

conformity is not always cherished. To many Japanese,

excesses are unnatural. Many live in limited space.

They must store just what they want and need because

they dont have enough space for excess. Many North

Americans are accustomed to wide open spaces. Some

people have so much extra that they must rent storage

facilities to house the items. They adopt a culture of

individualism and excess.

Because of this dichotomy, the North Americans

drifting back to their former comfort level explains

why atrophy occurs following 5S projects. Herein lies

the second secret: What some North Americans lack

is a self-imposed system of reviewthe fifth S, or sys-

tematize.

What is the system that many North Americans

like? Its scoreboards. They want to winits in their

culture. While they dont really like to conform, they

naturally like to compete and beat the next person. 5S

doesnt appeal to their basic motivations and inclina-

tions for friendly competition. The secret is that North

Americans must instead start concentrating on the sys-

tematic reinforcement within 5S to achieve the profits

that they are seeking.

Now for the third secret: Often, the 5S process

starts at the wrong step. North Americans must know

the standards and how they will be measured. An or-

The 5S cycle / figure 1

1. Sort

2. Shine

3. Set in order4. Standardize

5. Systematize

October 2013 QP 21

ganization should start with the standardization step

(see Figure 2). Management must start by defining the

standard (for example, the cleanliness specification).

Operators must know what is expected when stan-

dards are in place, and then the 5S process can start to

work. This is best done with a combination of words

and pictures.

The secret is to start at step four by defining your

standard and move to step five (systematize) by having

a process to systematically measure the orderliness.

Do these steps before you go to step one (sort). Try it,

and youll be surprised.

Disheveled and disorderlyThere was a problem at Standard Grinding and Manu-

facturing (SGM), a computer numerical control (CNC)

machining company in Skokie, IL, that produces preci-

sion and complex components for the aerospace, hy-

draulic and medical equipment industries. SGMs ship-

ping area was a hub of constant activity with hundreds

of loads regularly coming and going.

With limited space, shipments and documents

were routinely misplaced. Workers always seemed

to be stepping over one another searching for mis-

placed boxes and paperwork. SGM had attempted 5S

in the past, but things always drifted back to a state

of mild disorder. The symptom was a cluttered ship-

ping area. The problem was sustaining the organiza-

tion at this work center.

One of SGMs major customers is Honeywell Aero-

space, which deploys supplier development engineers

(SDE) who consult with its suppliers (such as SGM)

and works with them on continuous improvement

LEAN

The UnIqUe ApprOAch Of LeAn 5S AT SGMStandard grinding and Manufacturing (SgM) was hungry for a better way to implement lean 5S because previ-

ous attempts had stagnated. The following approach worked for SgM:

SgM established a lean 5S internal audit team. Members of the original team were specifically chosen and

consisted of group leaders, supervisors and managers trained in lean 5S.

The team visited a facility recognized as a lean 5S leader. employees at Honeywell Analytics in Lincolnshire,

iL, a Honeywell Operating Systems (HOS) silver-certification facility, recognized for its continuous improve-

ment efforts, helped the SgM team develop its long-range vision and objectives.

SgM created a lean 5S company policy, or lean 5S mission statement, to unify and standardize the objective.

SgM created its forms, checklists, questionnaires, metrics, policies and documents before the sort and shine

events. in other words, the internal audit team was first formed, and then standardize and systematize steps

were established.

The internal audit team initially coached and educated employees. Scoring and metrics then became con-

tinually more stringent after the 5S expectations and culture had taken root.

SgM encouraged a sixth Ssafetyas opportunities arose.

SgM encouraged continuous improvement and friendly competition within the company at every

opportunity. J.C.

5S cycle secret to success / figure 2

3. Sort

4. Shine

5. Set in order1. Standardize

2. Systematize

Starthere

QP www.qualityprogress.com22

projects, especially lean Six Sigma.

During one visit, Honeywells SDE, Curtis Oswald,

was discussing shipping area orderliness with SGMs

quality engineer, Donald Reynolds, and described how

most North American organizations start with sort,

shine and set in order. Because previous 5S projects did

not take root in the factory, Oswald and Reynolds de-

cided to launch another effort, but this time in a differ-

ent sequence: Begin with standardize and systematize.

When they proposed the concept to SGM General

Manager Howard Natal, the discussion centered on

cost. Every time we tried this in the past, it always

felt like we were just spending money. I didnt want to

throw money out the window again for a temporary

boost in housekeeping, Natal said. I wanted some-

thing that would stick. Oswald and Reynolds idea was

different and had the permanence Natal was seeking.

They started by creating a layout of the shipping

area and went around the department and asked for

everyones input. This had a snowball effect. One idea

built on another, and they started to generate team ex-

citement: Everyone wanted to get started.

Next, Oswald and Reynolds took the key strategic

step. Before the 5S could start, they created a measure-

ment system, which included a scorecard, an internal

audit team and a weekly review schedule. With the

standard (the shipping area layout) and the system, the

team knew what to do and how it could define success.

SGM had even taken the step to create a bilingual 5S

mission statement (see Lean 5S Mission Statement).

LeAn 5S MISSIOn STATeMenT At Standard grinding Manufacturing (SgM), we are committed to lean 5S manufacturing for the benefit

not only of our customers but to our employees as well. The SgM team is actively involved in promoting

an environment of cleanliness, standardization, organization, improved efficiency, a better working envi-

ronment, teamwork, quality and safety.

En Standard Grinding Manufacturing, estamos comprometidos a inclinarse fabricacin de 5S en benefi-

cio no slo para nuestros clientes sino a nuestros empleados as. El equipo de SGM participa activamente

en la promocin de un entorno de: limpieza, normalizacin, organizacin, eficiencia mejorada, mejor

ambiente de trabajo, trabajo en equipo, calidad y seguridad.

The shIPPING area at standard Grinding and Manufacturing is the hub of constant activity as hundreds of incoming and outgoing shipments are processed daily at this station. The area before the 5s initiative (left) was cluttered and disorga-nized, overloaded with needless boxes and misused tables and shelving. Following the 5s exercise (right), more space was created to allow employees to function more efficiently.

October 2013 QP 23

The 5S mission statement set the stage for the cul-

ture change at SGM. Everyone needed to be involved,

Reynolds said. Having a bilingual statement signals

that no one is excluded. Ownership of a lean 5S project

gives the workers pride and a sense of achievement.

They want to sustain what theyve accomplished.

When the sort, shine and set in order activity got

started, everything just flowed naturally. Decisions

became easy. If we needed something, we had desig-

nated a place for it. If it didnt have a place, the item

became a target for disposition, Reynolds said.

The sort and shine steps happened so naturally

almost automaticallyby this point. We found old

credenzas and lots of nonstandard sizes and heights of

tables. We took care of that and the flow of product is

way up, Reynolds said. The work is just easier. Safety

was a natural byproduct, too. We are seeing a 65% re-

duction in shipping errors and a much faster flow of

product. The standard and the system broke the pack-

rat syndrome, and SGM started disposing of things that

hadnt been used for many years.

See the sidebar, The Unique Approach of Lean 5S

at SGM (p. 21), for a breakdown of the specific steps

SGM took to implement the 5S method.

The work in the shipping area now is much easier.

The clutter is gone, and the group can handle the peak

congestion periods with relative ease. Because the

staff members created the system, became involved in

defining the standard and created a process in which

they self-measure, the sustainability is real. See photos

of the transformation above.

This approach to 5S implementation greatly re-

duced the fear of change and of the unknown, Oswald

said. Teamwork and a winning attitude was the end

result. SGM did a great job. It was very rewarding.

The best part is that people compete with one an-

other and try to set new records for orderliness and

simplicity. Whats remarkable is that the departments

are starting to compete with one another, including in

self-started initiatives in the maintenance department.

Now the team at SGM has a new problem: Which

area does it select for 5S next? QP

AcKnOWLeDGeMenTThe author thanks Curtis Oswald and Donald Reynolds for their input in crafting this article. Oswald is a senior supplier development engineer at Honeywell Aerospace and is based in Chicago. He holds a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Oswald is an ASQ member. Reynolds is a quality engineer at Standard Grinding and Manufacturing Co. in Skokie, IL. He holds a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Reynolds is also an ASQ member.

LEAN

JOHN CASEY is a senior director of supplier perfor-mance management at Honeywell Aerospace in Tempe, AZ. He holds an MBA from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Casey is an ASQ senior member and the past chair of the ASQ Automotive Division. He is the author of Strategic Error-Proofing (CRC Press, 2008).

IN The shIPPING area, seen from above before the 5s project (left), the scales were nearly lost in the clutter. after the 5s activities (right), workers dedicated a separate table to hold the scales. Workers are now better able to handle peak congestion periods, and the company has seen a 65% drop in shipping errors since the 5s changes took hold.