How many times, when leaving home already late, have you lost even more time looking for your wallet, your house keys or your car keys? Why does this happen? Usually because of disorder: things piling up that are no longer used, and no set place to keep each thing.Now compare this with a production line: think of a maintenance worker who cannot quickly find the tool needed to adjust a machine. Just as in the personal example, the problem almost always has the same causes. In a factory, this lost time leaves the equipment standing idle, which lowers productivity and raises the cost of each unit produced.Working in clean environments, with adequate lighting and noise within the standards, raises employees' self-esteem and, consequently, their productivity. Today we will talk about 5S, a philosophy that helps keep the workplace clean and organized.History of 5SIn post-war Japan, many factories were dirty, disorganized, noisy and dark, and productivity and quality were low. To stop being seen merely as a copier of products and to create a competitive edge, the country needed to change that story. This is where 5S comes in: a simple but very powerful philosophy that is often the foundation of quality programs. That is why many companies start with it. ISO 9001 does not require 5S, but implementing a quality management system (QMS) in a disorganized environment is much harder.In Japan, habits of order and cleanliness are part of education from an early age: in schools, for example, the students themselves clean the classrooms. That is why 5S is not limited to the workplace.The story goes that someone once asked Kaoru Ishikawa: "Where should a company start a quality management program?". He promptly answered: "Start by sweeping the factory!". "What do you mean, professor?", the other person asked. "Do you mean we should sweep the company, removing those who are incompetent or perform poorly?" Ishikawa then explained that sweeping the factory literally meant removing the dirt from the floor, cleaning the spaces and keeping things organized, creating an environment in which people think about, look for and practice good ways of doing things.A company wants to implement ISO 9001, but the factory is disorganized, with tools and documents scattered around. Following the logic of 5S, what is the best starting point?Answer: Organize and clean the environment first, because that makes the rest of the system easier — that is the meaning of start by sweeping the factory. Dismissing employees is exactly the wrong reading of Ishikawa's phrase that the other person made.The 5S concept5S is a management program developed in Japan that aims to improve the organization, cleanliness and standardization of the workplace. But why is it called 5S? The name comes from five Japanese words that begin with S: seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu and shitsuke. In Brazil, these "S" are called senses: the sense of utilization, of organization (or orderliness), of cleanliness, of health and hygiene (or standardization) and of self-discipline. In English they are often rendered as sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain.The 5S and the senses in PortugueseSeiri – sense of utilization (sort)This is our first S, translated in Brazil as the sense of utilization (also called the sense of selection or of disposal). Remember the clutter at home that made it hard to find the car keys? Now is the time to solve that problem. This sense helps us separate what is necessary from what is not.In the workplace, seiri consists of analyzing each area and classifying every item (objects, materials, information, etc.) according to its usefulness and frequency of use, and then removing everything that does not need to be there.Note that "everything that does not need to be there" is a very broad set, not limited to broken equipment. There may be materials and equipment in perfect condition that, for some reason, are no longer used.Another important detail is to classify what is still needed as well. You cannot keep everything at the workstation, so you have to prioritize. We can classify items into three types:a) Immediate use: these should stay at the workstation. For example, a tool used all the time to adjust the machine.b) Routine use: these are not used as often and can therefore be kept a little farther away.c) Occasional use: these can go days without being used and can therefore be stored even farther from the workstation.As the sense of utilization begins, useless materials start to appear, and they should be taken to a "disposal area". In that area, every item must be identified. A disposal area is not a synonym for mess: there are many things there that may be useful to another department or can be sold. That is why it must be organized, with items that are easy to find.At this stage, it is important to separate what is necessary from what is not, get rid of excess or unused tools, cabinets, shelves and materials and, for example, discard outdated control records.The expected benefit is less waste and more room to work with what really adds value to the department's activity, which also brings its real improvement needs to light.Applying seiriPreparationIdentify where each task in your process is carried out.Make sure each task is carried out in a suitable place prepared for it.Discuss with the people involved.Identify and list each piece of furniture.Include the asset number in the list, if there is one.Assess whether each item is really needed. Keep only what is necessary and justifiable in the workplace.List all devices.Check how the devices are used: why they exist, how often they are used, how many people use them, etc.List all existing and used documents.Check how the documents are used: why they exist, why they are there, what they are for, how often they are used, how many people use them, etc.List the raw material present and consumed in the area.Check its application and consumption.Check whether it is necessary to keep stock.ImplementationDefine a layout (furniture arrangement) that is functional and safe. Functional is an arrangement in which the workflow happens without wasted time; safe is one in which people, materials and equipment move without obstacles.Make surplus items available to other people and departments.Arrange for the sale or scrapping of what is no longer useful.Replace whatever is missing.To replace or add furniture, first use what other areas have discarded.Eliminate duplicate documents.Discard outdated papers that are not useful.Before discarding documents, check whether any law requires them to be kept on file.Define the destination of each group of documents.Define how long each group of documents stays in its place and who is responsible for keeping it up to date.Adjust stock levels to the consumption needs of each item.Monitor stock consumption and costs in order to reduce them gradually.MaintenancePrepare a floor plan with the basic dimensions and the arrangement of furniture, devices and equipment. This plan will be the basis for keeping the changes made and for audits.Write a procedure to guide changes needed in the future.Define who, when and how consumables will be replenished (replenishment plan).Write procedures to guide the addition and removal of devices and their location in the overall layout.Define the service life of tools that wear out and establish replacement procedures.Establish ways of controlling consumption, to build a history and adjust consumption levels.Define minimum and maximum stock levels for each consumable item.Seiton – sense of organization (set in order)Now that we have separated the material that is really needed from what can be discarded, it is time to organize and arrange the workspace.The goal here is to make materials easy to find, avoiding wasted time. Imagine a large factory with no set place to keep the tools used every day: every time one of them was needed, time would be lost looking for it. So you need to do the following:Define where each material should be stored. For this, use the tip from the first S, the classification into immediate, routine and occasional use: items in the first group are kept closest to where they will be used, and so on.Put labels and tags on shelves and cabinets, identifying which tools are kept there. This makes access, storage and inventories easier.Label the tools as well. This helps workers know where each tool should be put back after use.The figure below shows seiton applied to a workshop tool board: each tool has its own fixed place on the board, in sight and within reach. In many workshops, the board also has the outline of each tool drawn on it, so an empty spot immediately shows what is missing.How to organize toolsYou probably already practice seiton without knowing it. Don't you create folders on your computer to sort files by category? That is seiton. Here we aim to:define a place for everything and keep everything in its place;store similar or related objects in the same place;use space intelligently, without cluttering walkways;define the layout with the best flow in mind, marking and signposting it;identify and label everything in a consistent and visible way, with standardized names, to make searching as easy as possible.In an organized environment, everything is found quickly and easily: documents, materials, tools and other objects. No time is lost, waste of resources goes down, errors drop and productivity rises. That is the benefit of seiton.Applying seitonPreparationStandardize the names of devices.Group items by type, nature, function or application.Discuss widely with the people involved the best way to arrange items, where to store them and how best to pack them.ImplementationPut the chosen arrangement into practice, including storage and packing.Signpost the locations, indicating groups, subgroups and items.Arrange by size and in sequence.Teach users to follow the adopted standards correctly.MaintenanceCreate a periodic check sheet to make sure the arrangement is kept.Define who is responsible for checking and how often, and prepare these people for the task.Seiso – sense of cleanliness (shine)The third S, seiso, was translated as the sense of cleanliness. It is not just about cleaning up. Cleaning the workstation is also inspecting it: while cleaning a machine, the operator notices a leak, a loose bolt or wear that would otherwise go unnoticed. And, more than cleaning, seiso seeks to find out why the place gets dirty and to eliminate those sources of dirt.There is a paradigm shift here: cleaning is no longer seen as a task only for the cleaning staff and becomes part of everyone's work. In other words, operators themselves are responsible for part of the cleaning of their workstation.Keeping the workplace and equipment in excellent condition contributes to everyone's well-being and safety and to higher productivity. Here the maxim applies: BETTER THAN CLEANING IS NOT GETTING DIRTY! Try to:find and eliminate the sources of dirt;educate people and define procedures so as not to make things dirty;clean everything you use right after using it;keep desks, drawers, cabinets and equipment in general clean.As the workplace improves, the level of safety and people's satisfaction at working in a clean place both increase.Applying seisoPreparationIdentify the forms of dirt.Plan actions to eliminate the effects (clean).Identify the causes and sources of dirt.Plan actions to eliminate the sources and causes identified.ImplementationImplement the blocking actions defined in the action plan and check their effectiveness.MaintenanceCreate procedures with the blocking actions that proved effective in removing the causes of dirt.Prepare people to follow the procedures.Seiketsu – sense of health, hygiene and standardization (standardize)The fourth S was translated as the sense of health and hygiene, and also as the sense of standardization. It deals with the conditions that affect people's physical and mental health and turns what was achieved in the first three S into a standard.After applying the first three stages of the program, it is time to standardize and continuously improve activities. This stage requires perseverance: if people's behavior and the routines that generate dirt do not change, we will soon be back to the situation before 5S.So, with seiketsu, we are able to keep the utilization, organization and cleanliness achieved with the first three S (seiri, seiton and seiso).Besides the workplace, personal grooming tends to improve: so as not to stand out in a clean and pleasant environment, people end up adopting healthier habits regarding their appearance and personal hygiene.At this stage, rules should be written that detail the day-to-day 5S activities and each person's responsibilities. With standardization, anything that departs from the standard becomes evident to everyone, and each person starts to reflect on old habits and change them, improving the way they work based on what they see around them.Applying seiketsuPreparationIdentify risk factors in the workplace.Identify the sources and possible harmful effects on people.Identify the positions exposed to each risk.Identify the number of people exposed and the average exposure time for each risk.Measure the risk factors.Identify the need for personal and collective protective equipment (PPE and CPE).Identify the causes and draw up an action plan to block the causes, eliminate the sources of risk or reduce their effects.ImplementationTake measures to reduce the effects or eliminate the risks.Write emergency procedures.Measure the risks after the blocking actions and assess the improvement.Update the risk map of the work area.MaintenanceMake sure everyone knows the procedures.Simulate emergency situations periodically, as training.Set up a system of periodic checks on compliance with the standards.Shitsuke – sense of self-discipline (sustain)After the first four S comes the one many consider the hardest: shitsuke, translated as self-discipline. Harder than tidying and organizing the workplace is keeping it that way. The gains from the previous stages must be maintained.How many times have we tidied up our workplace, or even our bedroom, only to find the same mess back a few days later?The requirements of this sense are:commitment from those involved: for that, everyone needs to understand the benefits and their role in the 5S program;education, patience and responsibility;respect for the established rules;communication of goals and results achieved, which helps keep people motivated and, consequently, engaged in the program.In general, this sense increases discipline: people start doing what has to be done, the way it should be done, even when no one is watching, and come to truly live the philosophy of continuous improvement.Applying shitsukePreparationCreate a nonconformity check sheet based on the first four senses.Establish how often the areas will be assessed.Set an assessment calendar.Define a criterion for forming the assessment teams (auditors).ImplementationFollow the assessment program rigorously.Use PDCA to solve the problems identified.Track the assessment scores on a chart over time.Use the report of observed nonconformities to drive improvements.MaintenanceChange standards and procedures as soon as the root cause of problems is identified.Communicate the new standards widely.Train people.In a storeroom, there is a drill in perfect condition that no one has used for two years, taking up a shelf next to the workbench. Under 5S, what should be done and under which sense?Answer: Seiri: remove it from the workstation and take it to the disposal area, where another department can use it or it can be sold — the sense of utilization removes everything that does not need to be there, even if it is in good condition. Labeling (seiton) only makes sense for what remains after seiri.A factory held a big 5S campaign and was left spotless, but three months later the mess was back. Which senses mainly failed?Answer: Seiketsu and shitsuke, which standardize and sustain what was achieved — the first three S put the workplace in order; without standards, periodic checks and self-discipline, it goes back to how it was. 5S is continuous, not a one-off event.Examples of 5S applied in factoriesThe video below (in Portuguese) is a good example of how Toyota applies 5S.5S being applied in a factory (in Portuguese):This class on 5S (in Portuguese) is also worth watching:
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