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.
Using 5S for Waste Management
The five steps of 5S can be readily applied to the requirements of waste management at anytime.
Categories of Waste
Fundamental to the successful implementation of 5S is recognising the thing we call Waste. To accomplish this, you can identify the problems using the following seven categories or forms of waste known by the acronym COMMWIP. This is explained in the following table.
Seven Forms of Waste |
Examples of Waste |
|
Correction |
Re- |
|
Over- |
Running unneeded copies |
|
Movement of Material |
Taking more steps than necessary to complete a task |
|
Motion – excess for people |
Material being routed through many steps |
|
Waiting |
Waiting to do work or items waiting on a process |
|
Inventory |
Old office or business supplies that no longer have value but are still being stored |
|
Process / Procedure – lack or faulty |
Re- |
There are examples of waste all around us that are just taken for granted. Once you gain an understanding of a problem, you can begin to identify waste encountered everywhere in your daily lives.
Benefits of Waste Control
Good waste management and control can see over a 50% improvement in inventory, but with the application of 5S there are many other benefits. These include:
- Improved organisational efficiency
- Reduced waste in all forms
- Cutting hidden and direct costs
- Cutting down employee frustration when, the system doesn’t work
- Improved speed and quality of work performance
- Improved safety
- creating a visually attractive environment
Visual Workplace and Waste Control
The visual workplace established by the implementation of 5S helps to reduce or eliminate many different kinds of waste in the workplace.
For example, proper signs may stop numerous people from having to ask directions. Proper labels for tools, equipment and supplies may help you to choose the correct part during maintenance, thus reducing the risk of an injury because something could fail later.
Good visual controls really help to reduce shortcuts.
The 5S Methodology and Waste
The only potential shortcomings of the 5S methodology are short term and manageable.
Regularly painting and cleaning machines and equipment could lead to increased use of paints and cleaning supplies. Paints and cleaning supplies may contain solvents and / or chemicals that can result in air emissions or increased waste generation.
Disposing of unneeded equipment and supplies creates a short-
