Any well-run workspace relies on efficient and clear communication between people and areas. Clearly defined areas show where things belong, so clear floor markings could be a way for your workplace to stay organised, standardised and optimised.
5S methodology is a technique used in automotive manufacturing to help keep things running smoothly by using symbology and efficient communication. Developed by Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, the 5S method was created to help with just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing methods. In this piece, we will discuss one way 5S can be implemented into the floor plan of your work area.
Floor markings are a great way to communicate the intended use of an area without taking up space. 5S Floor Markings adopt an easy-to-follow colour coding designed to help warehouses, workshops and factories increase safety and efficiency.
They do so by using the following colour codes:
- White Tape: Storage
- Green, Blue or Black: Raw Materials
- Orange: Inspection
- Red: Tagging or Scrap
- Red/White: Caution
- Yellow/Black: Hazards
Let's discuss the 5S principles further and see how 5S floor markings contribute to efficiency and communication for these industries.
What Are 5S Floor Markings?
If you are responsible for, or work in areas that need clear signage, understanding 5S method floor markings will be essential for workplace efficiency and safety. These principles apply to the manufacturing and logistics industry predominantly, but also apply to any area of heavy machinery use.
Colour-coded 5S floor markings use a method of Lean Management and Visual Communication designed by the automotive industry to help them create efficient workspaces. The 5S’s stand for five Japanese words (Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, Shitsuke) that characterise the various actions of:
- Sort (Seiri) - Define what needs to stay and what needs to be removed.
- Set in order (Seiton) - Once organised, which items are to be in which section? Are these sections used optimally for their intended purpose?
- Shine (Seiso) - Efficiency can be reduced if an area isn’t tidy. Make sure waste is stored in one area and not left in each section, causing delays.
- Standardise (Seiketsu) - Standardise these principles across your business.
- Sustain (Shitsuke) - Ensure these principles are sustained across your business.
These 5 principles guide industries to become Lean, reducing wasted time and energy, lost to inefficiency. A great way to do this is by issuing floor signage and symbols across your business by using 5S floor markings.
Your 5S Floor Marking Colour Guide
We use coloured floor table for the uses outlined below:
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Tape Colour
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Primary Use
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White
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Designated the storage of any bins, racks, fixtures, or other facility items.
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Green, Blue or Black
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Typically used interchangeably near raw materials, finished goods and works in progress.
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Orange
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A noticeable colour to represent items, supplies, or materials being held for inspection.
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Red
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Outlining the red tag holding area, but it is also useful for any scrap or rework piles.
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Red/White Stripe
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Great for outlining caution for moving vehicles and outlining walkways.
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Yellow/Black Stripe
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Yellow/Black is great for outlining further hazards within a specific area.
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We offer 15 different colour codes, allowing you to offer different indicators towards your staff's behaviour in the workplace. These colour codes can be paired with Coloured Labelling of issuing intent within these areas.
For further guidance on 5S method floor markings, read our Practical Knowledge section where 5S has been used successfully in the past.
How To Use Floor Markings & Examples
Floor markings can be used in several ways around your warehouse:
Delimiting Storage Areas
The below example shows a possible way to mark storage areas. The individual spaces within the storage areas are colour coded according to function. The colour coding ensures a quick overview for all members of staff within your warehouse. This is particularly important as visual communication plays an important part in 5S.
To find out more about Visual Communication and how it can save you time and money, whilst reducing workplace accidents, visit our methodology page.
Functional Areas
Mark out where machinery will go or a place for workways with 5S floor tape - helping keep your space organised. When allocating functional areas, ensure that there are no more than two adjacent marking strips, as any more could significantly impair awareness.
Spacing Around Objects
When attaching floor markings, ensure that there is at least 30-50 mm of space around the object to be identified. This reduces the risk of damage to the floor markings when loading and unloading.
Whether adding a border around dangerous machinery, or planning out your new workspace floor plan, you can use adhesive floor tape to help space your objects, or spaces, accordingly. Because tape can be removed easily, you can make as many changes as you need without making anything permanent.
What Are The Advantages of 5S Floor Markings?
The advantages of 5S floor markings are seen in any well-used floor-based signage. Making signs flat to the floor removes the risk of trip hazards, but also gives a direct indication of intent.
Orgatex’s floor markings offer the above as standard across our Floor Marking Symbols, Floor Marking Tape and LongLife ClearView Self Adhesive Floor Windows.
Floor Markings For Clear Designation and Intent
A sign on a wall can sometimes give off an unspecified meaning. Floor markings can clearly indicate an area that is suitable for a specific use, or to indicate where something belongs.
Here at Orgatex, we designate floor tape for the following uses:
- Marking paths and walkways.
- Sectioning your workspace, or testing out a new proposed workshop layout.
- Designated storage areas.
- Designated red tagging area.
- Create aisles or provide direction.
Floor Markings For Safety
A great way to improve the risk of trip hazards is to place markets directly on the ground where they present no hazard of tripping those who walk over them. They also remove the possibility of hazards to people's heads by being raised overhead.
Specific colours or symbols can be encoded onto the floor of your workplace to ensure the correct safety message is communicated. Refer to our recent investigation into workplace signage and how workplace signage offers efficient communication by reading Workshop Safety Signs: Your Ultimate Guide.
How Should You Apply & Remove Floor Markings?
Applying floor markings is simple, however, proper application of floor markings should always be adhered to as improper use can lead to trip hazards. Similarly, proper removal of floor markings should always be taken into consideration to remove sticky leftovers from floors.
Orgatex Longlife Floor Cleaner
To ensure your floor markings stay adhered to the surface, clean your floors with Orgatex’s Longlife Floor Cleaner. This substance makes floors grease, dust or oil-free and adherent to the adhesive side of the tape, reducing hazards caused by improperly applied tape. You can use this cleaner to keep your tape stuck to the floor longer as it is specially designed in tandem with our Longlife tape.
Orgatex Longlife Remover
Our tape is designed to not come loose once it is down. However, we have created a solvent to remove all sticky residue left behind from adhesives should you wish to update the layout of your workplace.
The Orgatex Longlife Remover is ideal for removing residues and preparing substrates. It will easily get to work on tiles, stone floors, glass and ceramics, ensuring no residue is left behind once your tape is removed.
When Should You Implement The 5S Methodology?
Implementing 5S methods can be undertaken at any time with incremental changes. It is important to let your staff understand the meaning of each floor marking. As discussed above, each colour should be used to codify intent for that particular area.
Some symbols are issued and standardised by the Health and Safety Executive, in which case the signs intended use should always be adhered to. We review the process of Visual Communication and the importance to use standardised symbols and colours in our ultimate guide to workplace safety signs and symbols.
In other cases, you might want to implement your own coding depending on your industry’s needs.
Implementing 5S Floor Markings With Orgatex
Implementing colour codes and floor symbols is made easy and helps you define areas of intent in your workplace. Our labels are easy to implement and can be removed without the use of solvents or repainting. Consider LongLife markings for areas of frequent use or Heavy Duty Floor Marking Symbols for areas where pallets or forklifts are used.
All the 5S Floor Markings available at Orgatex are;
- Made from PVC,
- Fully adhesive,
- Easy to apply,
- Tread proof and suitable for forklift use,
- Available for further customisation.
Speak with our team today to see how Orgatex can help you keep your workspace operating efficiently and safely with the use of floor markings according to the 5S method.
