How many times, when leaving home already late, have you wasted even more time looking for your wallet, your house key, or your car key? Why does this happen? It is evident that this problem is caused by disorder, the accumulation of things that are no longer used, and the lack of a proper place to keep your belongings.Making a comparison with a production line, think of a maintenance worker who cannot quickly find the tool needed to adjust a machine. Just like in the example from your personal life, this problem certainly stems from the same causes listed above. In the factory environment, this loss of time creates waiting for the equipment, consequently causing reduced productivity and higher unit production costs.Working in clean environments, with adequate lighting, and with noise levels within standards increases the employee’s self-esteem and, consequently, productivity. Today we will talk about 5S, a philosophy that makes it possible to keep your work environment clean and organized.History of 5SIn Japan in 1950, factories were dirty, disorganized, noisy, dark, and productivity and quality were low. Needing to create market advantages and no longer being just a “copier” of products, Japan needed to change this story. And this is where 5S comes in, a simple but very powerful philosophy that should be the foundation for any quality program. In other words, it is this philosophy that we should start with. It would be impossible, or very difficult, to implement a quality management system (QMS) without first implementing the philosophy of 5S.5S became incorporated into Japanese culture, and today it is passed from father to son and in schools, not being restricted only to use in work environments.Once, Kaoru Ishikawa was asked: “Where should one start a quality management program in a company?” Professor Ishikawa promptly replied: “Start by sweeping the factory!”“What do you mean, Professor Ishikawa?” asked the interlocutor, adding: “Do you mean that we should sweep the company, removing those who are not competent or have low performance?”Then Ishikawa explained that sweeping the factory meant removing dirt from the floor, cleaning the spaces, keeping things organized, creating an environment conducive to people thinking, looking for things, and practicing good ways of doing things.Concept of 5S5S is a quality management program developed in Japan in the 1950s, aimed at improving aspects such as organization, cleanliness, and standardization. But why is it called 5S? Its name, 5S, comes from five Japanese words that begin with S: seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketso, and shitsuke. In Brazil, these “S” are called senses (of organization, order, cleanliness, standard, and discipline).The 5S and the senses in PortugueseSeiriThis is our first S. In Brazil, we translate it as the sense of use or the sense of organization. Do you remember when we talked about the accumulation of things at home that could make it hard for you to find your car keys? It is time to solve this problem. This sense helps us separate what is necessary from what is unnecessary.From the point of view of the work environment, seiri consists of analyzing the workplace and classifying all items (objects, materials, information, etc.) according to criteria of usefulness or frequency of use, and then removing from the environment everything that does not need to be there.Note that “everything that does not need to be there” is a very broad set and does not involve only broken equipment. There may be materials and equipment in perfect working condition that, for some reason, are no longer used.Another important detail is the classification of materials even among those that are still considered necessary. Keep in mind that we cannot keep them all at the workstation, so we need to prioritize them. We can classify them into three types:a) Immediate use: these should stay at the workstation. For example, a tool for constant machine adjustment.b) Routine use: these are not used as frequently. Thus, they can be kept a little farther away.c) Sporadic use: these can go days without being used.For this reason, they may be stored even farther from the workstation. In this way, with the start of the sense of use, useless materials begin to emerge, and these should be removed to a “disposal area.” In this area, all your material must be properly identified. The disposal area is not synonymous with mess, because in this area there is a lot of material that may be useful for another department or may be sold. Therefore, disposal should be organized and items should be easy to locate.At this stage, it is important to analyze and separate what is necessary from what is unnecessary, eliminate tools, cabinets, shelves, and excess or unused materials, and eliminate outdated control data, for example.The expected benefit is a reduction in waste and an increase in space to work with what truly adds value to the sector’s activities, bringing to light its real improvement needs.Applying SeiriPREPARATION• Identify WHERE each task in your process is performed.• Ensure that each task is performed in an appropriate location prepared for it.• Discuss with the people involved.• Identify each furniture item, listing them.• Include the asset number in the list, if there is one.• Assess the real need to have them. Keep only what is necessary and justifiable in the workplace.• List all devices.• Check the use of the devices, that is, why they exist, how often they are used, how many people use them, etc.• List all existing and used documents.• Check the use of the documents, that is, why they exist, why they are there, what their purpose is, how often they are used, how many people use them, etc.• List the raw materials existing and consumed in the area.• Check their application and consumption.• Verify the need to maintain stock.IMPLEMENTATION• Define a layout (furniture arrangement) that is functional and safe. Functional refers to an arrangement in which workflow develops without causing wasted time. Safe is an arrangement in which the movement of people, materials, and equipment is unobstructed by obstacles.• Make excess items available to other people.• Promote the sale or scrapping of items that are no longer usable.• Arrange for the replacement of whatever is missing.• To replace or add furniture, first take advantage of the disposal of items from other areas and people.• Eliminate the multiplicity of documents.• Discard outdated papers that are not useful.• Before discarding documents, check whether there is specific legislation that requires them to be kept on file.• Define the destination of each group of documents.• Define the retention period for each group of documents in its proper place and indicate who will be responsible for its updating.• Adjust inventories to the consumption needs of each related item.• Monitor inventory consumption and costs in order to reduce them gradually.MAINTENANCE• Prepare a floor plan with the basic dimensions and arrangement of furniture, devices, and equipment. This plan will serve as a basis for keeping the changes made and for audits.• Develop a procedure to guide the changes that may be necessary in the future.Define who, when, and how the consumable items will be replenished (replenishment plan).• Develop procedures to guide the inclusion/exclusion of devices and their location in the overall arrangement.• Define useful life, in the case of wear tools, and establish replenishment procedures.• Develop procedures to guide the inclusion/exclusion of devices and their location in the overall arrangement.• Establish forms of consumption control to build a history and adjust consumption levels.• Define minimum and maximum stock levels for each consumable item.SeitonNow that we have separated the material that is truly necessary from that which can be discarded, it is time to organize and arrange the workspace.The objective here is to make it easier to find materials, thus avoiding wasted time. Imagine a large factory where there is no defined place to store everyday tools. Each time they were requested, there would be wasted time. Therefore, you need to do the following:1. The first step is to define the place where materials should be stored. For this, we can use the tip from the first “S”, when talking about immediate, routine, and occasional use. Thus, the materials of the first group should be stored closer to the places where they will be needed, and so on.2. Apply labels and tags to shelves and cabinets, so as to identify which tools are stored there. This will facilitate access, storage, and inventories.3. Label and tag the tools as well. This will help the worker know where the tool should be stored after use.The figure below shows the application of seiton in a mechanical workshop. Note that the tool board is already drawn with the shape of the tools in the correct place where they should be stored.How to organize toolsYou certainly already practice seiton without knowing it. Don’t you create folders on your computer to separate files by category? Well, you are applying seiton. Here we seek to:• define a place for each thing and allocate each thing to its place;• store similar/related objects in the same place;• make intelligent use of all spaces, avoiding leaving empty spaces;• define the layout with a focus on the best flow, marking it and signaling it;• identify and signal everything coherently and visibly, making searching as easy as possible and respecting the rules of our grammar.We know that, in an organized environment, everything can be found quickly and easily: documents, materials, tools, and other objects. No time is wasted and resource waste is reduced, errors are minimized, and productivity increases. This is the benefit of seiton!Applying SeitonPREPARATION• Standardize the names of the devices.• Group by type, nature, function, or application.• Widely discuss with the people involved the best way to organize, the storage locations, and the best way to package items.IMPLEMENTATION• Put into practice the defined organization method, including storage and packaging.• Signpost the locations indicating the groups, subgroups, and items.• Organize by size and in sequential order.• Educate users to correctly use the adopted standards.MAINTENANCE• Prepare a periodic checklist to ensure permanent order.• Define those responsible for the inspection, the frequency, and prepare these people for it.SeisoOur third S, seiso, has been translated as a sense of cleanliness. It is not just about cleaning, but about keeping an environment always clean. Think about it carefully: this may be the hardest part! Tidying your room one day may be easy, but keeping it tidy all the time is one step further. That is what we are dealing with in seiso.Here, there is a paradigm shift, because cleaning must stop being seen as a task for the cleaning team and become incorporated into the work of all employees. In other words, the equipment operator himself is responsible for part of the cleaning of his workplace.By keeping the work environment and equipment in excellent clean condition, you contribute to everyone’s well-being and safety, as well as to increased productivity. Here the maxim applies: BETTER THAN CLEANING IS NOT GETTING DIRTY! Look for:• discover and eliminate sources of dirt;• educate and define procedures to avoid getting dirty;• clean everything you use immediately after use;• keep tables, drawers, cabinets, and equipment in general cleanThus, with the improvement of the work environment, the level of safety and employee satisfaction from working in a clean environment will increase.Applying SeisoPREPARATION• Identify the forms of dirt.• Plan actions to eliminate the effects (clean).• Identify the causes and sources of dirt.• Plan actions to eliminate the identified sources and causes.IMPLEMENTATION• Implement the blocking actions defined in the action plan and verify their effectiveness.MAINTENANCE• Create procedures involving the blocking actions that have proved effective in removing the causes of dirt.• Prepare people to follow the procedures.SeiketsuThe fourth S was translated as a sense of standardization, hygiene, and health. It aims to standardize behaviors, bringing comfort to the physical and mental health of employees.After studying the first three stages of the 5S program, we must move on to standardization and continuous improvement of activities. This stage requires perseverance, because if there are no changes in people's behavior and in the routines that generate dirt, we will soon return to the initial situation, before the implementation of 5S.Thus, with seiketsu, we are able to maintain the organization, tidiness, and cleanliness achieved through the first three S's (seiri, seiton, seiso).In addition to the work environment, personal grooming also ends up improving, since employees, not wanting to stand out from the clean and pleasant environment, end up adopting healthier habits regarding appearance and personal hygiene.At this stage, rules should be created to detail the 5S activities that will be carried out on a daily basis and each person's responsibilities. With standardization, anything that deviates from the 5S becomes evident to any employee, who then begins to reflect and change old habits, improving the way they work according to what they see happening around them.Applying SeiketsuPREPARATION• Identify risk factors in the work environment.• 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 values of the risk factors.• Identify the need for PPE/EPC.• Identify the causes and develop an action plan to block causes, eliminate risk sources, or reduce their effects.IMPLEMENTATION• Adopt measures to reduce the effects or eliminate the risks.• Develop procedures for emergency action.• Measure the risks after blocking actions and assess improvement.• Update the risk mapping of the work areaMAINTENANCE• Make sure the procedures are known to everyone.• Periodically simulate emergency situations as a form of training.• Establish a periodic verification system for compliance with standards.ShitsukeNow that we have gone through the first four phases, or the first four S's, I dare say that ahead of us lies the most difficult one: shitsuke, which is translated as self-discipline. In other words, what I mean is that more difficult than tidying and organizing the work environment is maintaining it that way. Thus, the gains obtained in the previous phases must be maintained.How many times have we organized our workplace, or even our room, and a few days later the same mess was already back again?The natural requirements of this sense are:• commitment of those involved: for this, everyone needs to understand the benefits and their roles in the 5S program.• education, patience, and responsibility;• respect for the established rules;• communication of goals and results obtained: this helps keep employees motivated and therefore involved in the 5S program.In general, this sense increases discipline, as people begin to do what has to be done and the way it should be done, even when nobody is watching, thus truly living the philosophy of continuous improvement.Applying ShitsukePREPARATION• Create a nonconformity checklist based on the first four senses.• Establish a frequency for evaluating the areas to be subjected to the fifth sense.• Define an evaluation schedule.• Define criteria for forming evaluation groups (auditors).IMPLEMENTATION• Follow the evaluation program carefully.• Use PDCA to solve the identified problems.• Use a control chart for monitoring.• Use the report of observed nonconformities to drive improvements.MAINTENANCE• Change standards and procedures as soon as the root cause of the problems has been identified.• Widely publicize the new standards.• Promote training for peopleExamples of 5S applied in factoriesThe video below is a good example of how Toyota applies 5S.5S being applied in a factoryThis 5S lesson is also worth watching:
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