5S Visual Workplace
Clean, organized workspaces generally result in greater efficiencies whether on the factory floor or in an office environment. The 5S system of workplace organization provides a solid platform to enact Lean initiatives and process improvements.
5S helps employees understand their role in meeting workplace standards because they are clear, visible, and consistent. Benefits include:
- Greater efficiency
- Improved quality
- Better safety
- Work standardization
- Less search time for tools & material
- Reduce cycle time & changeovers
- Visual workplace control
- Improved employee morale
Visual management control involves simple, visual signals that give the operator tangible information to make the right decision in that particular production process. Visually displaying guidelines helps support a diverse workforce with easily understood directions for enhanced workplace safety.
What are the Steps of 5S?
Like many continuous improvement tools, 5S is a straightforward framework that is very powerful when implemented on the factory floor, in the office environment, or in any other workspace. It follows these five steps:
1) Sort out what’s not needed throughout your workspace, and bring in what is needed.
2) Set in Order everything you use to create and work on the product. Our 5S experts help you determine where things should be placed and stored to improve the efficiency of your current workflow. We teach your workforce to categorize their tools, and only keep on hand what they need to do the job.
3) Shine and clean your workspace by eliminating all forms of contamination including dirt, dust, fluids and other debris. We help you define what “clean” looks like, and then ensure all tools are properly labeled, cleaned and repaired, if needed.
4) Standardize all the rules to keep everyone on the same page and implement visual controls. Our 5S experts help you define what to sort, and what the schedule should be for equipment and workspace cleaning.
5) Sustain the entire process and the gains you’ve made. This requires self-discipline, which we all know is the hardest part. Our 5S experts help you create infrastructure around auditing, communication and how continued processes will be attained.
