Module for Operations Management and TQM Part 5

Good Housekeeping

OBJECTIVES:

After reading this lesson, the student should be able to:

 Define 5S as a philosophy for improvement.
 Identify the 5S activities.
 Apply 5S in everyday life.


A dirty workplace cannot produce quality products. A chaotic workplace with mess around
everywhere is bound to produce poor quality products.
Everyone and all types of business benefit from having a well constructed 5S program. It is
usually manufacturing that comes to mind but any type of business from hospitals to professional
services and every area or department within the organisation will benefit from implementing a 5S
program.

THE 55

5S which is a Japanese system to reduce costs, control inventory and reduce breakdowns and
accidents drastically resulting in increased profits. It is the starting point for any company who wants to
make improvements at the workplace by reducing waste and create better environment for its
employees to work in.

5S is a procedure that organizes individual workstations or departments and consequently enhances

efficiency at the micro-level by keeping the workplace neat, orderly and accessible and it is for this
reason that it is considered as the foundation of quality initiative in any organization.

The 5S is a systematic approach and the key to total quality environment a philosophy most Japanese
factories endorse and practice. It leads to foolproof systems, standard policies, rules and regulations to
give rise to a healthy work culture at the organization. Japanese factories are well known for their
cleanliness wellness SS is the philosophy that simplifies the work environment and A Waste and non-
value activity while improving quality efficiency and safety.

Hardly anyone can tind an individual representing a Japanese company unhappy or dissatisfied Japanese
employees never speak ill about their organization. The process of Kaizen plays an important role in
employee satisfaction and customer Satisfaction through small continuous changes and eliminating
defects. Kaizen tools given to a well organized workplace which results in better productivity and will
better results It also leads to employees who strongly feel attached towards the organization Kaizen
focuses on continuous small improvements and thus gives immediate results. The name stands for five
Japanese words, sein south seiton (set in order), seiso (shine), seiketsu (systematize) and shitsuke
(standardize).
5S adoption is different in every facility depending on the needs processes and culture of any given
workforce. However, no matter how it's done, businesses large and small can enjoy numerous benefits
from adopting the 5S methodology which includes:

1. Improved profitability - Companies can save labor hours money, and other resources

2. More efficient workforce - With standard procedures in place, personnel can center on what's
important

3. Better service - With a more organized, cleaner, streamlined workplace, employees can use more time
providing exceptional service

4. Safer workplace - Employees are at less hazard and can feel protected in clean organized workspaces

5S process can increase morale, create positive impressions on customers and increase efficiency and
organization. Not only will employees feel better about where they work, the effect on continuous
improvement can lead to less waste. better quality and faster lead times. 5S should become part of the
culture of the business and the responsibility of everyone in the organization.

SORT (Seiri)

In the first stage, sort, all tools and materials used in the work process are taken care of. Sort
refers to the sorting of the clutter from the other items within the work area that are actually needed.
Sort connotes tidiness and structured organization.

During the sort process, all materials and tools are sorted, and only the necessary ones are kept
for continued use. In other words, this stage requires the team to remove all items that clearly do not
belong in the working area and only leave those that are required for the processes in question. Simply
keep the necessary in work area, dispose or keep in a distant storage area less frequently used items,
discard unneeded items. This process leads to fewer hazards and less chutter that might interfere with
productive work.

Since sort focuses on eliminating unnecessary items from the workplace, employees should sort
out and organize things well. Label the items as "Necessary", "Critical", "Most Important", "Not needed
now", "Useless and so on. Throw what all is useless. Keep aside what all is not needed at the moment.
Items which are critical and most important should be kept at a safe place.

Consequences of not practicing Sorting:

1. The unnecessary messes the place and the necessary are hard to find.

2. Every place can only contain so much.

3. Mess sometimes causes misidentification.

This stage has the following steps:

1. Separate needed items from unneeded items. Do a Red Tagging activity. It is a means of implementing
organization by labeling all unneeded items with conspicuous red tags.

2. Store the needed items in the following storage sites:

a. Ready-access storage (needed in 1 - 6 months)

b. Remote storage (needed in more than 6 months)

In this step, it is important to determine the storage periods in advance and should also have
labels and description on all storage sites containers.

3. Discard / dispose the red - tagged (unneeded items)

4. Discard remote storage items by the box load at the end of the storage period.

SET IN ORDER (Seiton)

Set in order refers to straightening and orderliness. It is the process of taking the required items
that are remaining after the removal of clutter and arranging them in an efficient manner through the
use of ergonomic principles.

In this phase, all the materials and tools selected for the production process are organized. The
focus is on efficient and effective storage methods and the requirement for a tidy workplace. In addition,
the process should be arranged in n order that makes best use of efficiency.

Research says that employees waste half of their precious time looking for And vital documents.
There should be a place for everything, and everything uld be in its proper place. This is alsa known as
"demarcation and labeling of place" Keeping things in order plays an important role in the efficient use
of oms, which will contribute to time saving. The place for each item should be visibly labeled or
segregated.

Items should be arranged in a manner that support systematic workflow, with equipment used
most often being the most easily accessible For instance, tools, equipment and parts should be reserved
where they will be used in order to straighten the flow path Workers should not have to bend
repetitively to access materials using ergonomics.

For the items that have been sorted as needed item, they must be kept in the correct place to allow for
easy and immediate retrieval. The targets for orderliness could include any of the following:

1. Spaces - floors, walkways, operation areas, walls, shelves, warehouses

2. Products - raw materials, procured parts, parts for machinery, in-process inventory, assembly parts,
semi-finished products, finished products

3. Equipment - machines, tools, jigs, gauges, carts, conveyance tools, work tables, cabinets, chairs
In this stage the company may want to employ signboards and painting as forms of visual methods of
orderliness.

1. The Signboard Strategy. The signboard strategy is a method for clearly indicating where, what, and
how many necessary items go where, to make the facility more orderly. The signboards should include
the following information:

a. specific places where things go" via location indicators

b. specific items - "what things" via item indicators
c. specific amounts - "how many things" via amount indicators

2. The Painting Strategy - This strategy involves marking off the factory's walking areas ("walkways")
from its working areas ("operation areas") using any of the following:

a. divider lines
b. door range lines
c. markers for inventory, carts, worktables, and
d. tiger marks (yellow & black striped lines)

Consequences of not practicing Setting in Order:

Things are rarely obtainable when needed.

Items are misplaced in stores.
Items that are defectives and good ones get mixed up.
Accidents or near-accidents take place due to mess.
Visual control of the shop floor is not feasible.
At times, production is lost because an item necessary is available but cannot be seen.
In some offices, important records may not be traceable. This can lead to loss, and
embarrassment.

SHINE Seiso)

Shine stands tor sweeping and cleanliness it means to clean all items used at or all materials
used during a manufacturing process The workplace, for umple has to be clean and may all the time. At
the end of each shift, a work area a cleanca up and everything is stored to its place. This makes it easy to
know largues where and to have confidence that everything is where it should be. The key point is that
maintaining cleanliness should be component of daily work. It est not be a special activity that is
initiated only when things get too cluttered. It means clean everything, removing stains, spots and
debris and eradicating sources of dirt. The workplace ought to be kept clean Workstation should be de-
cluttered. Necessary documents should be kept in proper folders and files. Use cabinets and drawers to
store items.
 Shine is the comprehensive cleaning of the area, tools, machines and other equipment to make
certain that everything is returned to a "nearly new" status. This will ensure that any non-conformity
stands out like an oil leak from a machine onto a bright, newly painted clean floor.

Clean the workspace and all equipment and keep it clean tidy and organized. After the first
thorough cleaning when implementing 5S, every day follow-up cleaning is compulsory in order to
maintain this improvement. A "Shining" work environment will lead to great efficiency gains.

Shine should be integrated into daily maintenance tasks to combine cleaning checkpoints with
maintenance checkpoints. It involves the following phases: -

1. Daily cleanliness

a. Determine cleanliness targets.

b. Determine cleanliness assignments.
c. Determine cleanliness methods and tools.
d. Implement cleanliness

2. Cleanliness inspection

3. Maintenance

STANDARDIZE (Seiketsu)

Seiketsu, translates as standards." A standard refers to making all the cleaning, control, and
improvement processes a customary activity in the workplace, allowing for control and consistency.
Fundamental housekeeping standards apply everywhere in the facility Everybody knows precisely what
his responsibilities are Housekeeping duties are ingredient of normal work routines.

Standardize means keeping one's person clean, like wearing proper working dothes, safety
glasses, gloves, and shoes, as well as maintaining a clean, healthy working environment. In addition,
standardize can be interpreted as continuing to work on the first three 5S continually and every day.

Employees need to respect organization's policies and adhere to rules and regulations. Self
discipline is indispensable. Do not report to office in casuals Follow work procedures and do not fail to
remember to carry ones identity cards to work. It gives an employee a sense of pride and respect for the
organization.

Work practices should be consistent and standardized. Work stations for a particular job should
be the same. All employees doing identical job should be able to work in any station with similar tools
that are in the same location in every station.

Consequences of not practicing Standardizing:

1. Good health and safety need the practice of standardizing.

2. Harmful chemicals, dusty chemicals, fumes and the likes can make it an unsafe place to work in.

3. Washing thoroughly and cleaning a place makes the workplace enjoyable.

4. Personal hygiene is indispensable for healthy workforce.

SUSTAIN (Shitsuke)

Shitsuke, means maintaining the process to retain long-term kaizen goals and retaining and
reviewing standards. This is to ensure that the firm has common standards and ways of working. As soon
as the previous four phases have been established, they become the latest way of operating the
organization Maintaining a focus on this new way of operating is indispensable and a gradual turn down
back to the old ways of operating should not be permitted. Except if an issue arises about improvements
in working a new way of doing things, or a new requirement concerning output, it typically leads to an
evaluation of the first four commandments.

Sustain makes certain that the company continue to continually improve using the previous
stages of 5S, maintain housekeeping, and conduct audits and so forth.

Consequences of not practicing Standardizing:

1. If standardizing is not practiced, then the first 4-S would backslide.

2. Lack of standards will affect all activities related to safety and quality.

Sustain involves the habit of maintaining and following specified and standardized procedures. This
stage is best taught by example and therefore, the person ultimately responsible for any 55 backsliding
is not the individual worker but the manager /owner himself Given this critical role, the manager /
owner of the business may employ the following measures:

1. The CEO must take ultimate responsibility in 55 adoption and implementation.

2. Explain the 5S's until everyone understands them. Emphasize that 5S is the company's road to survival
due to its practical approach in minimizing wastes and generating savings.

3. Promote company-wide participation such as but not limited to the following:

a. 5S Poster making contest

b. 5S Badge making contest
c. 55 Slogan making contest
d. 5S Ideas contest
e. 5S Day
f. Plant tour of a 5S Practicing Company
g.5S Snapshots

4. Make organization and orderliness activities as visual as possible. Be persistent, meticulous, quick and
ruthless when red-tagging and making signboards.
5. Manage people's resistance to 5S

a. Provide encouragement at every opportunity.

b. Give and receive criticisms carefully. Be polite.
c. Immediately correct and slacking-off on 5S conditions.
d. Stick to hands-on here-and-now approach.
e Improvement requires effort and effort requires enthusiasm.