The merits and pitfalls of implementing 5S at your manufacturing plant
Have you ever walked through a manufacturing plant and wondered where that underlying feeling of walking through Bangkok's China Town came from?
Most likely it stemmed from a forest of signs, labels, boards, |signposts, placards and notice boards hanging from ceilings, sticking on walls and pillars and standing at every corner and |sometimes in the way. Those mandatory and important, such as emergency exit signs or fire extinguisher indicators often drown in the flood of all the others, fancy, oversized, in sparkling colours, funny and cute depending on their creator’s imagination but barely useful or really necessary for the daily operation and sometimes simply obsolete.
One reason for this suffocating over-decoration of factories is the western buyer’s desire to be able to identify everything on the spot when visiting the plant just as if they walked through a manufacturing museum.
The second reason for the sign post forest and extensive painting is called 5S, a Japanese concept that, if properly implemented leads to visible improvements, and in the other case becomes a continuous waste of time. Unfortunate but true, it is very often implemented in the way leading to the other case.
Sorting: Eliminate all unnecessary tools, parts, and instructions.
Stabilising or straightening out: There should be a place for everything and everything should be in its place.
Sweeping or shining: Clean the workspace and all equipment – and keep it clean, tidy and organised.
Standardising: Work practices should be consistent and standardised.
Sustain the practice: Make it become a habit.
How is 5S usually implemented?
When a manufacturer or any company starts to “implement” 5S it usually goes like this:
1 Set up a 5S committee
2 Call all the supervisors of all departments and tell them what they need to do under the umbrella or pretext of 5S
3 Regular evaluation and 5S completeness rating of every department by the 5S committee.
The 5S committee consists of a group of people who are somehow senior, reliable and have some leadership within the company. Of course, all these committee members had their jobs and duties keeping them busy to this day, but let us not waste our time with little concerns like that.
Early next week, an updated 5S score chart will be distributed where everybody can see the scores of each department that were generated based on a meticulous well thought through scoring system to make sure your department won’t be rewarded with a 67 per cent score when you really only deserved 66 per cent – fairness is everything.
What’s wrong?
The fundamental understanding is wrong.
5S is not something you need to implement. 5S is not an activity you need to perform. 5S is not something you need to do on top of what you are doing in your daily job.
5S is a philosophy, a guideline that you need to apply to what you are already doing. Then, and only then, it will make what you are already doing, easier. Otherwise it is just an additional burden – and cost.
If the answer is “nothing”or anything positive, then you can safely get rid of it.
After having gone through the undo-process, your factory or office will look neat and clean |and you will have the confidence that all that passed the undo-test questions and remains in place is really adding value to your business.
NIKLAUS STUCKI is a business |consultant at Freewill Solutions
