5S Methodology

Organise the workplace to improve your team’s efficiency and save money on operational costs

Buy Quality Products To Implement the 5S Methodology

What Are the Benefits of 5S in the Workplace?

The 5S system brings an easy-to-implement and thorough structure to the workplace, which helps to improve your team’s efficiency, and promotes organisation. Key principles of the 5S methodology, including sort, set in order, shine, standardise, and sustain can bring a number of benefits to your organisation:

  • Creates a clean and organised environment that all employees work towards
  • Promotes self-discipline among employees in the form of keeping workspaces tidy, putting tools back where they belong etc
  • When a space is organised and clutter-free, identifying potential dangers and hazards are easily identified and can be resolved quickly
  • By eliminating waste in several areas, efficiency will improve along with reduced downtime, and staff morale will increase 
  • Company image will improve overall which could lead to increased employee retention and business growth

How Should You Implement 5S?

There can be many ways to implement the 5S technique depending on your industry and how your business works. Below we outline the5 stepsyou should follow to optimise your workplace in the context of a warehouse:

Sort

This is the most important step to achieving success with the 5S method. ‘Sort’ includes tidying, organising, and decluttering your spaces – sometimes easier tackled one area at a time. Sell or throw out broken, old, and unused tools, and sort through all shelves and storage areas. A technique used when ‘sorting’ is something many refer to as ‘red tagging’, which you can find out more about in the FAQs below. 

Set in Order

Once you are left withonlythe things you use regularly for production, get your space in order by giving everything a home. Usehanging signs, clearlylabel areasand containers to ensure everyone is encouraged to put things back where they belong. When thinking about where to store items, think about where they get used most, how frequently they need to be accessed, and how easy they are to access by the right people. When organising, you may also want to inspect whether or not tools could benefit from maintenance or repairs.

Shine

Cleaning may not be at the forefront of your staff’s mind, and it’s something we commonly see go amiss in warehouses and manufacturing workplaces. Not only will your workplace look great all of the time, but making cleaning and organisation a priority sets a standard of behaviour within your team, who will aim to meet your high expectations. Implement a regular cleaning schedule for all areas of your workplace, and delegate different tasks out to team members if it’s needed.

Standardise

You could help to standardise your processes and behaviours by holding regular training sessions with your whole team, adding labels to areas, colour coding warehouse spaces, and signposting processes in areas of high footfall. All of these actions will ensure all team members are regularly reminded of the practices in place, and new people joining the team will also be able to pick them up quickly. 

Sustain

Your whole team, from the most senior manager down to a general floor worker, must take ownership of the practices put in place in order to keep seeing the benefits of 5S. You should be agile in 5S by regularly reviewing and amending your processes as necessary. Involving your team in this process will help to increase buy-in. Kaizen could be considered alongside 5S as a method of continuous improvement from your team. 

Buy Products To Help You Implement 5S From Orgatex

Here at Orgatex, our expertise lies in supplying a range of 5S products along with the advice needed to implement your own 5S program. Shop everything from hanging signs, container labels and document holders, to visual pockets for containers. All of the products included in the 5S range are built to last, made from durable materials that can withstand areas of high footfall and daily use. 

Each business is unique in the way they work, which is why we offer bespoke advice, tailored to your exact needs. We can recommend the best products for your warehouse, as well as tips on how to make the most of them. Please get in touch with our team to find out more.

Buy 5S Methodology Products From Orgatex

If you have any questions about the 5S methodology and how it works, read our frequently asked questions below. If the question you have isn’t answered, please feel free to contact a member of our team, who will be happy to advise.

5S Frequently Asked Questions

What is Red Tagging?

Red tagging is a fantastic technique that many organisations use when carrying out the ‘sort’ area of 5S, helping to remove unused and unnecessary items. During this exercise, employees are encouraged to literally ‘red tag’ an item that they don’t think serves a purpose. On the tag, they will outline a reason, their name, and the item’s name, as well as the date of tagging.

Tagged items go into a ‘red tag area’, which is located somewhere visible in the warehouse. Items placed in the red tag zone will stay there for a set period of time (from a week up to a month) before they are disposed of. This gives employees time to speak up if they actually need that tool or item. Items in the red tag area at the end of the set time frame either get donated, sold, or thrown away.

Who Developed the 5S Method?

The 5S method was developed by the founder of Toyota, also known as Sakichi Toyoda. The technique was developed as a way to help with just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing. Toyota was also responsible for the development of Kanban.

What Does 5S Stand for in Lean?

The five S’s stand for sort (Seiri), set in order (Seiton), shine (Seiso), standardise (Seiketsu), and sustain (Shitsuke).

What is the Difference Between Lean and 5S?

Lean is the overarching goal for many organisations to create a more efficient and productive work environment. 5S, much like visual management and Kanban, is one of the techniques used to get there.

Is Kaizen the Same as Lean (5S)?

Kaizen, also known as continuous improvement, is not the same as lean. However, Kaizen is one of the key principles of lean manufacturing as it focuses on eliminating waste, improving productivity, and creating a culture of ‘changing for the better’.

What Are the 5 Principles Of 5S?

The 5S technique refers to a system implemented in the workplace to reduce waste through improving flow which, in turn, helps save money on operational costs and improves team efficiency. The 5 principles of the 5S method correspond to japanese words Seiri (sort) , Seiton (set in order), Seiso (shine), Seiketsu (standardise) and Shitsuke (sustain).

How Is 5S Success Measured?

When implementing the 5S technique within your workplace, the best way to measure success is to define measurable goals at the beginning of your process which will demonstrate whether the strategy is working or not. This could be a profit or person-based goal, but whatever you choose make sure to tailor it to the goals you are looking to achieve through the 5S technique.

Is 5S Lean Or Six Sigma?

When conducted correctly, following all the necessary steps the 5S technique can be considered to fit both within the lean management methodology and the 6S technique. All principles in the 5S methodology are also in the 6S methodology so these align almost perfectly together. Whereas the 5S method often goes hand in hand with lean management, the 5S’ are often the first steps taken to create a lean management environment, through reducing waste and creating more efficient processes.

What Is the Difference Between 5S and 6S?

Both the 5S technique and the 6S technique are similar in the sense that they are both processes aiming to increase productivity and efficiency concerning operational costs and production. However, the 6S method adheres to all the principles of the 5S method (sort, set in order, shine, standardise and sustain) whilst also adding the principle of safety within the process.

What Is the First Step Of 5S?

The first step in the 5S process is Seiri (sort), this is where you organise any unnecessary clutter to help promote a more efficient working environment. This could be separating tools and materials and removing anything unnecessary to that area. 

Find More Lean Methods

Find More Lean Methods