1. Introduction
The application of the Five S has become a critical and fundamental element in any company with the pretense of being competitive. According to the famous consultant Hiroyuki Hirano, one of the questions most asked by senior managers is about the rationalization policy that must be implemented in companies so that they can survive in the coming decades. Question to which he responds with the phrase "The Five S". Companies that fail to implement 5S are likely to fail in their attempts to implement large-scale rationalization as well. Not only are the 5S the foundation on which a company must affirm its survival, they are also part of the corporate culture. 5S make improvements without spending a lot of money, so managers find them extremely attractive.
The 5S have a wide application, in the case of offices and sales services, as well as in factories, companies and service entities, as well as in companies dedicated to primary operations, and of course in public organizations.
The 5S are useful whatever the system of production of goods and services adopted by the company. Contributes to aspects that go through:
- Safety, quality, productivity, production times and delivery times, costs, motivation, maintenance of equipment and facilities, discipline, satisfaction levels, continuous improvement, and profitability
Although the implementation of the 5S is fundamental for a Just in Time production system, its objectives, tools and operation are necessary and applicable to any type of activity and production system of goods or services.
There is no factory that makes things right without a strong 5S foundation. Nor is there a service company that can be productive and highly efficient without an effective application of the 5S. The Five S is a necessity to be able to compete in the markets, but it does not guarantee the success of the company. In the same way that an athlete must be healthy to compete, this only allows him to participate in the competition, but does not ensure that he is among the first.
A company with good application of the Five S achieves both efficiency and effectiveness.
2. Benefits of the Five S's
Many companies and especially factories believe that they are successfully applying the Five S's, but experience shows that there are few factories that are properly arranged and in order. As popular as the words Seiri (Organize) and Seiton (Order) may become, there are few organizations where staff understand what they mean and implement them accordingly. Most people interpret those words as fixing things by putting them in neat rows.
The Five S's correspond to the first letter of the Japanese words Seiri (organize), Seiton (order), Seiso (cleanliness), Seiketsu (standardized cleanliness), and Shitsuke (discipline). These concepts are in the foundations and foundations to achieve zero defect, cost reduction, safety and zero breakdowns.
Most factory workers and office personnel are used to seeing “searching” for things as part of their job. They look for parts, cars, tools, templates, forms, vouchers or documentation. The more things they search, the more their productivity is reduced, and the more obsolete the organization becomes. Neither staff nor managers are aware of the hidden costs and losses found in the daily searches that take place in companies.
Staff often don't realize that they spend five minutes searching for templates, tools, fixtures, and carts in a lengthy, hour-long fixture change procedure. But when the factory implements tool changes of less than ten minutes, those five minutes of search time suddenly turns out to be an obvious waste.
The facts are simple:
- A organized, orderly and clean factory has higher productivity A well organized and cleanly organized factory makes fewer defective products A well organized and cleanly organized factory delivers more on time
The same is valid for office work, hospital services, maintenance and repair workshops, construction sites, a school, a transport and logistics company, or a public entity.
The serious and systematic implementation of the Five S generates, directly or indirectly, the following benefits:
- Benefit 1. Reduction in tool change and setup times, which allows diversification in the production of goods and a greater number of services. Benefit 2. Zero defects provide higher quality. Benefit 3. Zero waste reduces costs. Benefit 4. Zero delays leads to reliable deliveries. Benefit 5. Zero accidents promotes safety. Benefit 6. Zero breakdowns means better maintenance. Benefit 7. Zero complaints means greater confidence. Benefit 8. Zero red numbers mean higher profitability and corporate growth.
3. Meaning of the Five S's
Seiri means proper organization or arrangement. Proper arrangement involves clearly distinguishing between what is needed and should be kept, and what is not needed and should be removed. Surprisingly, this very simple concept is too easily misinterpreted. At first it is hard to distinguish between what is necessary and what is not. People tend to be like storage rats. They surround themselves with things thinking "Maybe I need it for the next jobs." They look at an unnecessary machine and say "We will leave it, we will use it for something." As this happens, stocks, machines, tools, forms and folders continue to pile up and interfere with the organization's activities and processes. This leads to the generation of massive waste that pervades the entire company.
Among the waste generated by the lack of an appropriate arrangement we have:
1. Unnecessary inventory causes extra expenses related to it.
2. The factory or offices require more storage and shelf space, and space begins to run low.
3. When unnecessary internal transport occurs, extra pallets and carts are required.
4. Greater number of shelves implies higher purchasing costs and management and personnel expenses.
5. It is difficult to differentiate between what is necessary and what is not.
6. The stored items become obsolete due to design changes, limited lifetimes, expiration dates, changes in regulations, among others.
7. Stocks of work in progress that are unnecessary lead to quality defects, and increased financial costs.
8. Unnecessary equipment is a hindrance to production activities.
9. Excess materials, shelves and machines complicate the design of a better layout.
Seiton means to order. Ordering involves ordering the necessary items in a way that they are user-friendly, and labeling them so that anyone can find them and pick them up for use. The keyword is anyone. Order is essential because it eliminates many types of waste in production, service or office activities. These include wasteful searches, due to difficulty in using items, and due to difficulty in returning them. The waste of time spent on searches often occurs both in factories and offices.
It is necessary to emphasize the idea that everyone should be able to easily understand the order of things in the factory. This is very important, so that you don't have to become a veteran before you understand where things are.
The following is an exemplary list of the types of waste and the types of problems that can be avoided by the correctly implemented order (seiton).
1. Waste of movements: the person sent to bring a car cannot find it.
2. Waste of searches: no one can find the key to open a locked cupboard containing necessary tools.
3. Waste of people energy: a frustrated worker resigns himself to not finding a necessary pattern after searching in vain for half an hour.
4. Waste of excess stocks: the drawers of the table are cluttered and full of pencils, pencils and other office supplies.
5. Waste of defective products: the storage sites for different parts have been moved without notifying the operator, so that the operator takes the wrong part without warning and uses it in production.
6. Waste of unsafe conditions: boxes with supplies have been left in an aisle, causing someone to trip and crash.
Seiso, whose meaning is cleaning. Cleaning implies having absolutely clean floors and walls and keeping things neat and in order. The fundamental thing is to keep clean the floors, machines, instruments, tools, supplies, products in process and finished, or for sale. Finding ways to avoid dirt, dust and clippings in the shop is critical to this. It should be clear that it is not a question of carrying out cleaning at the end of the day, workplaces must be continuously clean, since this is essential both to achieve better levels of quality, as well as in terms of safety and a better maintenance of machines and equipment. Of course, all this in turn has a reduction in the costs of processes, products and services.
Cleanliness constitutes the third pillar of the Five S's, a component that involves removing dust, filings, grease, oil and any type of dirt from workplaces. When cleaning an area, it is inevitable that some inspection of machinery, equipment and working conditions will also be carried out. As a consequence, cleanliness also means inspection.
Factories that do not practice cleaning suffer from the following types of symptoms:
1. The windows are so dirty that very little light filters through even on a sunny day.
2. Some areas have poor lighting and work tends to lose efficiency in those places.
3. The hallways are dark and therefore unsafe.
4. Defects are less obvious in messy and dirty factories.
5. Customer trust is eroded when they see dirty floors and puddles of water or oil.
6. Puddles of water and oil cause slipping and damage.
7. Personnel should avoid puddles of water and oil while working.
8. The machines are so dirty and covered in grease that it is difficult to observe their oil levels and temperature indicators.
9. Machines do not receive sufficient maintenance or checks and tend to break down frequently.
10. Machine breakdowns not only cause problems for downstream processes but eventually delay deliveries.
11. Machines that are not sufficiently maintained tend to malfunction from time to time, which can be dangerous.
12. Scattered filings and clippings on the floor can cause damage.
13. Having chips all over the environment can damage people's eyes.
14. Equipment that is not kept clean tends to produce more defective items.
15. A factory that is tolerated build-up of chips, clippings, dirt, and dust leads to low staff morale.
16. Cluttered work tables in offices make it impossible to implement organization and order, making work less productive.
17. Willingness to work is weakened when floors and walls are dirty.
Seiketsu is standardized cleaning, which can be defined as the state that exists when organization, order and cleanliness are properly maintained. The seiketsu integrates organization, order and cleanliness into a unified whole. What good is the implementation of organization, order and cleanliness if conditions constantly deteriorate? It is not about tidying up tools and supplies, or cleaning up the workplace at the end of the day or before an inspection visit. It is about constantly keeping workplaces clean and tidy, without accumulating unnecessary elements.
Shitsuke involves making a stable habit of proper maintenance of correct procedures. The time and effort associated with establishing proper order and arrangement would be wasted if we don't have the discipline to maintain them. Shitsuke (discipline) is important because without it, the implementation of the first four phases would quickly deteriorate.
When discipline is not applied correctly it is observed that:
1. Unnecessary elements begin to accumulate as soon as the implementation of the Organization is completed.
2. Although the implementation of the Order has been well planned, tools and templates are not returned to their designated places after use.
3. Even if the equipment gets dirty, little or nothing is done to clean it.
4. The elements are allowed to be located in the passage routes, causing people to stumble and injure themselves, or hinder the work.
5. Dirty or improperly lubricated machines start to malfunction and produce defective items, or lead to stoppages in activities.
6. Dirty, poorly lit, and disorganized workplaces lower employee morale.
4. Resistances in the application of the Five S
In many companies there are resistances that interfere with the full application of the 5S, being they of various characteristics. Some of the most listened phrases are:
Resistance 1. "It is necessary to maintain the equipment without stopping"
The Management, faced with the pressures to deliver the products that are manufactured in a timely manner and in sufficient quantities, do not easily accept that a job is more productive when it is kept safe, in order and clean. Cleaning is considered a time-consuming job, but the benefits of helping to eliminate breakdown causes such as abrasive dust, oxidation, and sources of contamination are not appreciated.
Resistance 2. “The workers do not take care of the workplace; so why waste time? "
If employees do not have the resources or goals are not set to improve work methods, it will be difficult for the operator to take the initiative. Workers are sure to appreciate the benefits, as they are the ones who are directly affected by the lack of 5S.
Resistance 3. "There are urgent orders to waste time cleaning"
Order and cleanliness are often neglected when urgent work needs to be done. It is true that production priorities sometimes press so hard that other activities have to wait; however, the 5S activities should be seen as an investment to achieve all the orders of the future and not just the punctual ones required for the moment.
Resistance 4. “I think the order is right; so let's not waste so much time… "
Some people consider that only the visible and aesthetic aspects of the equipment are sufficient. However, we have already seen that the 5S should be used to identify deep problems in the equipment, since it is the operator's contact with the machine that allows the identification of breakdowns or problems that can become serious failures for the equipment. Cleaning should be considered as a first stage in the preventive maintenance inspection at the plant.
Resistance 5. "It is cheaper to hire cleaning from an external company"
The worker who does not know how to operate a piece of equipment and who is hired only to clean, prevents the knowledge of the equipment's status from being used by the company and consequently being lost. Day-to-day contact with machinery helps prevent problems and improve information for expert maintenance technicians, and increases the operator's knowledge of the behavior of processes.
The implementation of the Five S requires a commitment from the management to promote their activities, for example from supervisors and permanent support from those responsible for the work sites. The support of the management with a permanent watchful eye on the performance of its collaborators, the encouragement and recognition is essential to perpetuate the improvement process. The importance that managers and supervisors give to the actions that operators must carry out will be key to creating a culture of order, discipline and progress.
In the first place, it is necessary for top management to assume the objectives of the program as their own. Managers must show clear signals of their support and set an example of what they preach. Otherwise, they can speak what they want, but they won't listen.
The second factor to consider is creating a system that encourages repeatability and revisions. Since training and discipline are supposed to make good habits automatic, a system is required that encourages persistence of activities and checks their effectiveness. For this, it may be necessary to thoroughly review current procedures and situations, and rethink everything from the beginning.
Third, a motivating strategy must be designed to keep everyone aware of the results of their efforts. Common wisdom says that you get what you deserve, but rewards and criticism are often controlled by the will of people in power. Rather than just repeating the phrase, it is better to create structures that incorporate the principle of getting good results for doing good things, so that people get what they deserve.
5. Ten basic principles to implement the 5S
I. Always keep in mind that the real goal is a well-ordered production line with regular flow. Never allow the 5S process to become an end in itself.
II. To prevent the process from getting stuck, first get rid of all excess work-in-progress stock. If U-shaped production lines are installed and maintained, organization and order follow naturally.
III. Distinguish between necessary and unnecessary elements, and immediately get rid of the latter. Excess stocks are the main unnecessary elements.
IV. Eliminate waste that comes from searching for things. The secret of order is to position the elements according to their frequency of use and make sure that they easily return to their assigned place.
V. Everyone has to take responsibility for the removal of particles and cuttings, including controls. This will keep the floor clean and polished.
SAW. Cleaning is an occasion to inspect all parts of the equipment. Machines should be labeled indicating their tendency to break down, and should be cleaned and inspected every day.
VII. The toilets and showers must be better than the ones employees have at home. This creates a clean atmosphere throughout the plant.
VIII. Electrical cables must not hang from the ceiling. The production line will be more orderly if the cables enter or leave the machines through the sides.
IX. Administrative departments should also be arranged in U-shaped lines, providing an easily observable 5S example.
X. If management strongly supports and exemplifies the first 4S, the fifth S, discipline, will follow naturally.
6. Conclusions
The Five S should not be a fad or the program of the month, but a behavior of daily life. Therefore, every company with aspirations to improve its levels of quality, costs, times, satisfaction and productivity must emphasize an optimal implementation and follow-up in the application of the Five S.
It is necessary to repeat it again, the Five S should not only be applied to industrial activities, but also in maintenance and repair workshops, shops, warehouses of supplies and finished products, bank or insurance offices, legal or accounting firms, sanatoriums and hospitals, construction companies, mining activities, and government offices among many others.
The Five S's are the first step in the pursuit of continuous improvement, cost reduction, and quality improvement. Anything that implies a lack of organization, order and cleanliness leads to the accumulation of increasing waste and unproductiveness.
A company with aspirations to be more effective and efficient cannot fail to apply the Five S's in all its areas and processes. The 5S are a fundamental piece in the achievement of a greater motivation and discipline of the personnel in the jobs.
7. Bibliography
- The 5S. Order and Cleanliness in the workplace. Francisco Rey Sacristán. FC Editorial. 2005. How to implement Kaizen in the workplace. Masaaki Imai. Editorial McGraw Hil. 1998 The Five S Plus. Lefcovich, Mauricio León. www.monografias.com. 2004.
