The 5S system is an approach for good house-keeping and improving workplace efficiency by improving the layouts of the work environment and incorporating the culture of continuous improvement. The system is a comprehensive work-floor management tools which focuses reducing the cycle time of repetitive operations and improving an organization's culture.
It comprises of 5 different "S" with each meaning described as follows:
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Implementing a 5S system requires careful planning and considerations such as selection of suitable and rightful project leader, 5S champion, members of the team, sizable area, justified time limits etc.
This individual should be someone with comprehensive understanding of 5S and relevant experience of working with organizational change.
This person is responsible for the designated area under 5S project implementation. They will be on ground while also giving guidance and instructions to the team.
Everyone working in areas under the scope of the implementation project should be involved as a team member. It is recommended to have one or two persons from other departments in that area, to have a different sight on the situation, more like a third eye.
When implementing 5S project within an organization, it is recommended to choose an area of thousand square feet at a time, instead of all areas in the plant all at once. One good way is to select an area where some group of processes start and completely ends. This will enable 5S improve the flow of work through the processes.
There are two available alternatives with reference to the time-frame for starting 5S event. The first is to shut down the workplace for three to four days and dedicate the team to this event. The second is to work on 5S for a few hours in a day or week until the event is finished.
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Adebayo is a thought leader in continuous process improvement and manufacturing excellence. He is a Certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt (CSSMBB) Professional and Management Systems Lead Auditor (ISO 9001, 45001, ISO 22000/FSSC 22000 etc.) with strong experience leading various continuous improvement initiative in top manufacturing organizations.
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