The Great Library of Alexandria
The 5S Methodology
A Free Beginner’s Guide for Understanding and Applying the 5S Maintenance Procedures
Use of this website assumes that you have read the legal statements -
Doctrina Nam Laurus
(Learning for Success)
Go to the Home and Introducing the 5S Methodology pages for links to other sites with free introductory material for 5S.
Introducing the 5S Methodology - 2
Why is 5S needed?
For many years now industry has recognised that good housekeeping is fundamental to a safe working environment.
Over the years productivity has become more efficient through the use of planning, organisational and system tools that include:
- MRP – Material Requirements Planning
- MRPII – Manufacturing Resource Planning
- JIT – Just In Time
- TQC – Total Quality Control
- Kanban – A signalling system to trigger an action, e.g. replace stock
- TPM – Total Productive Maintenance
- QFD – Quality Function Deployment
- Kaizen – An incremental approach to Continuous Improvement
- Lean Manufacturing – Optimising productivity
Although it is beyond the scope of this guide to specifically discuss any of the above methodologies, they are mentioned here because the 5S methodology influences all of them and is a key element in several of them.
Workplace Inefficiencies
Effective tools (like the above) are needed to assist the move towards an organised workplace, which is critical in today’s world of focus on safety and competitive industrial practices. As things don’t improve automatically, organisational tools can help to reduce stress and the temptation to take shortcuts on the job.
If there are inefficiencies in the workplace and the demands of the production schedules do not recognise the problems, shortcuts are often considered just to get a job done. Probability will eventually catch up with those who do not take time to do things the correct way.
When an injury or problem occurs we typically ask why the prescribed operating procedures were not followed. Factors like the stress of getting the job done, not finding the right tool, having to walk too far to do something properly or having to wait are easily overlooked causal elements.
It’s also common to find that the person did not know the correct way to do the task. Management often resorts to more training, warnings and use of personal protective equipment to deal with the situation.
An Enlightened Approach
A more enlightened approach is to organise the workplace where employees can do a
job quickly and safely. Sounds good, but how can this be achieved with the pressure
of deadlines and the ever-
A process proven for decades in the Japanese manufacturing industry, initially adopted by top US companies and now world wide, offers a simple solution. The process is known as 5S and it can be applied in any environment. 5S is also fundamental to establishing and maintaining planned and preventive maintenance programs.
This introduction continues on the next page.
