How to Understand the 5S Workplace

One of the simpler concepts of supply chain is 5S. While 5S is fairly easy to understand and implement, many companies do not implement 5S due to that idea that it is considered to be “cleaning up.” 5S does involve cleaning, but it is more advanced than that. 5S is a process—a methodology. In a 5S workplace, every item has a home, and only the items needed in a workspace are supposed to be in that workspace. So, what is 5S? In its original Japanese, 5S is 5 words beginning with the letter “s”: seiri, seiton, seisō, seiketsu, and shitsuke. This translates into 5 English words or phrases:
Sort: This is the step that is the removal and additional of necessary tools to a work area. If the tool is not needed in a work area for standard use, it should not be there.
Set in order: The “set in order” stage is intended to build upon the sorting step in this organizational aspect of 5S. This step ensures every tool or item has its home. Items and tools should also be arranged in a way that is logical for the worker or user as well as close by to prevent waste. Often, you will see shadow boards used in this stage to show where a tool belongs and highlight if it is not currently in the correct location. Signage and marked walkways highlight work cells, process goals, and safety areas.
Shine: The “shine” step is the one some think is the entire 5S process. This step does involved cleaning—yes, but it is more than that. This step is used to ensure all equipment is functioning correctly. This can even entail machine calibration and testing. Daily checklists are often used in this step to maintain that the identified cleaning steps are being completed.
Standardize: This is the point where the above steps turn into a process. A company or work team needs to ensure the steps are occurring regularly and being implemented correctly.
Sustain: This is where the 5S mentality becomes a habit. This would typically be facilitated by a 5S champion. Audits, inspections, and key performance indicators can be utilized to ensure the 5S process is being sustained.

It should be noted that implementing a 5S workplace mentality has many benefits. Some of these benefits include improved safety and reducing injuries, defect reduction, and less waste.