In short then 5S Kaizen offers us an integrated approach to Kaizen implementation. Using the 5S model as the basis, 5S Kaizen helps us achieve rapid improvements whilst installing a way of working that will stand the test of time and root itself in our organizational culture.
Implementing 5S Kaizen
Implementing this method follows the same steps as those listed above; Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardize and Sustain. However besides focusing on only the housekeeping aspects of each stage, 5S Kaizen uses this opportunity to introduce other tools and techniques to improve the quality of the exercise and to enhance the potential benefits it offers.
To begin with, a team containing members of staff at all levels should be drawn up who will essentially lead the program through its five stages. This team should not only contain those members from the area under review but also others from above and below them in the supply chain in order to bring a fresh pair of eyes to the project. We can all get caught up in old ways of working, so much so that we are unable to “see the wood from the trees” - or in our case the waste from the value - and that is why others need to be included in the change to bring a new point of view on matters.
This team will then allocate space for holding "red tagged" items. These items are those whose existence within our immediate environment has been called into question. The name red-tag comes from the color of the ticket, or tag, that was placed upon them so as to make identification instant and highly visible. After such a space has been set aside, then the job of tagging and removing unused, broken and unnecessary equipment begins.
As this stage focuses primarily on removing waste it may be worthwhile to introduce you to the types of waste, or “muda” as it is called in Japan, we should watch out for during our exercise. A name that has become synonymous with waste removal is that of Taiichi Ohno. This man, who worked for Toyota and who is accredited with developing the Toyota Production System, identified seven types of waste. This is by no means a complete list, even Ohno-san acknowledged there were others, and you too may find more as you progress in your understanding of lean and kaizen, but for now this is the list than has gone down in lean history:
Overproduction.
Excessive Movement.
Over processing/handling.
The waste of waiting.
Excessive transportation.
Repairs/rejects.
Excessive inventory.
After removal, these items are stored for an agreed period of time to determine if they are indeed unnecessary and the level of their usage. Obviously broken equipment is not stored but thrown out immediately and items belonging to others are returned to their rightful owners.
Another tip to keep in mind when sorting the waste is the “one is best rule.” This rule means that all replicated items are to be removed to their correct locations. Hence we leave one set of pens (if different colors are needed), one set of tools and one jotter on which to write. Doing so helps to keep the workplace clean and waste free.
Straightening the Flow
Once the red tagging has been completed, or is about to be finished, the team then moves on to the job of redesigning the workplace. Obviously large machinery will stay put, unless there is a strong reason for it to be moved, but for everything else, desks, chairs, filing cabinets, storage cupboards, etc. can be moved as best suites the environment.
Often, and over many years, items appear and their positions determined as need dictates. If there is a space spare that's were it goes with little thought given to the flow of work and whether the location of the new piece of equipment or furniture will hinder or ease the movement of work units throughout the department. Therefore we find in old established departments, a lot of work moving back and forth, retracing their steps on many occasions and hindering the overall flow of work and hindering the departments efficiency and productivity. Straighten is therefore the re-engineering stage of 5S Kaizen, where the items removed in the previous step cannot be returned until their location has been clearly identified.
Another aspect of Straighten is the re-engineering of processes and the redesigning of job functions to improve quality. Simplifying processes by removing wasteful activities helps overall improvement. Locating needed items within arms length of the operative and implementing the “30 second rule” - every item of equipment or piece of work can be retrieved in just 30 seconds - helps to keep the worker focused on the job at hand by lessening distractions.
The main function of Straighten is to implement improvement at an operational level and any ideas from those doing the work on a day-to-day basis should be sort. One central thought in Kaizen is that the “experts” are those who do the job and are the best qualified to offer suggestions. As Konosuke Matsushita said once, “Many little brains are better than a few big brains.”
