Times Are Tough - The Tough Get 5S
Sometimes it can seem as though everything is falling apart all around you. Your competitors are cutting prices. Your suppliers are raising prices. Your customers are looking for higher quality and on top of that have decreased their orders... and it's always hard to find good employees. It would be nice if there was a simple technique you could use to help address all these problems.
There is. It is called 5S.
5S is a simple concept that involves Five Steps... that's why it is called "Five S." The basis of 5S is getting cleaned up and organized, but doing it in such a way that the result is decreased costs (through the reduction of waste) and increased quality. It can even help turn marginal employees into good performers. How is this accomplished?
One of the foundations of 5S is strong visual communication... the use of signs and labels to communicate information directly at the point of need. For example, this means having all tools marked so their proper storage location is immediately and clearly understood. This makes it easy for tools to be returned to where they belong, making it easy to find them when they are needed. It seems simple and to be nothing more than common sense... and it is. The problem is, without a program such as 5S in place many of these simple things are missed.
5S provides a systematic way to get cleaned up and organized. It is not unusual to hear about facilities that were planning to build more warehouse space, for example. Then they implemented 5S with the result being that their existing warehouse space became half empty. They saved the capital cost of a new building and had excess space!
If you are looking at taking advantage of the power of lean manufacturing techniques, 5S is a good place to start. It is easy to understand, does not cost much to implement, and it can have tremendous benefits.
There is. It is called 5S.
5S is a simple concept that involves Five Steps... that's why it is called "Five S." The basis of 5S is getting cleaned up and organized, but doing it in such a way that the result is decreased costs (through the reduction of waste) and increased quality. It can even help turn marginal employees into good performers. How is this accomplished?
One of the foundations of 5S is strong visual communication... the use of signs and labels to communicate information directly at the point of need. For example, this means having all tools marked so their proper storage location is immediately and clearly understood. This makes it easy for tools to be returned to where they belong, making it easy to find them when they are needed. It seems simple and to be nothing more than common sense... and it is. The problem is, without a program such as 5S in place many of these simple things are missed.
5S provides a systematic way to get cleaned up and organized. It is not unusual to hear about facilities that were planning to build more warehouse space, for example. Then they implemented 5S with the result being that their existing warehouse space became half empty. They saved the capital cost of a new building and had excess space!
If you are looking at taking advantage of the power of lean manufacturing techniques, 5S is a good place to start. It is easy to understand, does not cost much to implement, and it can have tremendous benefits.
Labels: 5S, lean manufacturing, visual communication
posted by Steve Hudgik @ Friday, October 31, 2008
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