5’S Concept
During the World War II an American bomber dropped the world first developed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima and after three days a second bomb dropped to the Nagasaki. Due to this incident those two city were utterly destroyed and many peoples were death. However due to hard work of Japanese changed fate and they became the second economical giant in the world within short period of time. However Japanese believed that 5’S concept is silently contribute to move their faster successful. As well as 5’S concept was started 60-70 years ago and this concept was found by the Dr. Taiki Akimoto. Also this 5’S concept was firstly practiced in “TOYOTA COMPANY” and in this stage only first 3’S were introduced and after expansion another 2’S were introduced.
However 5S concept can be define as systematic steps which can be implemented at immediate surrounding which helps arrange those place properly and it is a visually oriented system used to create and maintain greater organization, efficiency and safety while reducing training time, search time and wasted time & resource.
• Sort out (Seri)
The first 5S principle is Seri or Sorting. It all comes down to properly arranging things and removing unnecessary items from the workplace. The ultimate purpose of this stage is to eliminate unnecessary clutter in order to improve productivity and avoid mistakes. Main goal of this step is reduce chance of distraction by unnecessary items, simply inspection, increase amount of available useful space, increase safety by eliminating obstacles and more. During this phase should identify purpose of the item, frequently of item usage, date of last use, who use particular item and more. Red tag (use for identify unnecessary items) and move unnecessary items for central store area are the activities done during this phase.
• Set in order ( Seiton)
Setting things in order is the second step in the 5S process. It's more like visual management, where you need to keep things in places where they're easy to find and won't cause any problems. Main goal of this phase is create smooth and easy workflow. According to the item usage, three requirement can be identified. Those are high usage, average usage and low usage. High usage item can be stored within reach easily, average usage items can be stored very closely and low usage items can be stored somewhere else properly. Label & sign strategy, paint & taps strategy and tool outline strategy are the activities done during this phase.
• Shine ( Seiso)
Thoroughly clean the workplace area is the third step in the 5S process. Cleaning up the work environment is the focus of this stage and which includes sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, wiping down surfaces, putting tools and materials away and more. Main goal of this stage is improve production process efficiency, reduce waste, keep workplace clean & pleasing and detect any problems and more.
• Standardize (Seketsu)
The fourth 5S concept is about establishing standards for the actions you conduct throughout the company. When you establish a clear standard for any operation, its efficiency skyrockets. Things should seem quite good once you've finished the first three steps of 5S. Because all of the excess items have been removed, the workplace has been cleaned, and the equipment is in fine operating order. Also instead of seeing procedures as one-time events, standardizing them allows you to transform them into habits.
• Sustain (Shitsuke)
The goal of using the 5S methodology is to keep the beneficial improvements that it brings with it and also improve corporate processes and eliminate impediments to efficiency. It is not a one-person job, and organization must enlist the help of all of staff to guarantee that this principle is properly implemented. Main goal of this phase is provide employees the commitment and motivation to follow each step within day also day out. Appoint a 5S committee, prepare 5S action plan, continuous training of employees, follow rules, maintain self-discipline are the activities done during this phase.
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