Solving Problems with Five S Disciplines

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About this lesson

The Five S disciplines can be used to organize the workplace and support and sustain the problem solutions by reducing the likelihood of confusion and rapidly exposing process degradation.

Quick reference

Solving Problems with Five S Principles

The Five S principles can be used to organize the work place and support and sustain the problem solutions by reducing the likelihood of confusion and rapidly exposing process degradation.

When to use

Five S Disciplines should be applied during the Improve stage of the Lean Six Sigma project. Once the improvements are complete, the Five S Disciplines should also be complete.

Instructions

The implementation of the Five S disciplines will help to sustain the Should-Be process in the Control phase of a Lean Six Sigma project. These disciplines are implemented through training and practice until they become habits. There is a preferred sequence of implementation of these disciplines so that each one builds upon the previous ones. Japanese terms for these disciplines are sometimes translated slightly differently; however, these terms are the most common translations.

Sort (Seiri)

Everything at the workstation is sorted into those items that are needed at the workstation – such as the items being processed, procedures, and tools; and items that are not needed at the workstation. All of those items that are not needed are removed and either returned to their correct location or disposed of appropriately.

Set in Order (Seiton)

The items remaining after the Sort discipline is applied are organized in a manner that lets them be easily put into use at the workstation. This organization is with the process activities in mind so that procedures and tools that are used together are located near each other. This too allows streamlined flow through the process step.

Shine (Seiso)

The workplace is cleaned. All tools and equipment are repaired, cleaned, and calibrated. Sources of contamination are removed from the workstation. In an administrative environment, this is often referred to as a “clean desk” policy. With this discipline in place, the workstation can be inspected and audited at a glance by the operators and supervisors.

Standardize (Seiketsu)

This discipline establishes the best practices for a workstation and ensures they have been incorporated into all the procedures and practices. This will also include training operators on these practices. In many cases, it also includes the creation of shadow boards or other organizational aids to ensure that every tool or procedure is located in a standard place – making it easy to find the item.

Sustain (Shitsuke)

These disciplines are not intended to be one-time events but daily habits and practices. Therefore, a program for sustaining them also needs to be implemented. This includes ongoing training, especially for new hires. It also includes periodic audits to guard against the possibility of bad habits creeping back in.

Hints & tips

  • These disciplines are more about culture than they are about a specific work practice. The organization must adopt this culture – top to bottom – for the program to achieve maximum benefits.’
  • These disciplines are not meant to stifle creativity, innovation, and continuous improvement. Don’t turn them into bureaucratic sledge hammers that are used to beat people into conformance. If someone has a suggestion for an improvement, let them try it to see what happens. But they can still do it in an organized manner.
  • Many organizations create a Five S competition between work cells as a way of building enthusiasm for the program.
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  • 00:05 Hi, I'm Ray Sheen.
  • 00:07 Another set of principles to use when developing your solution to improve this
  • 00:12 process are the five S disciplines.
  • 00:16 Let's look at what these are and how to apply them.
  • 00:18 Problems are sometimes caused and nearly always exacerbated by confusion.
  • 00:22 A confused and disorganized workplace will have a hard time implementing a solution
  • 00:27 to the problem.
  • 00:27 In contrast, a clean and orderly workplace makes it easier to see a problem and
  • 00:31 easier to know that your implementation of a solution is effective.
  • 00:36 The five S disciplines are set of workplace organization principles.
  • 00:40 They were developed in the Japanese automotive manufacturing industry.
  • 00:44 Unlike the five Poka Yoke principles where you could pick and
  • 00:47 choose which ones to apply, the five S disciplines all need to be applied and
  • 00:51 they need to be applied in a particular order.
  • 00:53 I will go through each discipline on the remaining slides.
  • 00:58 And my Japanese is very poor, so I'll just use the English equivalent for
  • 01:02 these disciplines.
  • 01:04 The first discipline is sort.
  • 01:06 In this discipline, we sort the work product and work aids such as tools,
  • 01:10 procedures, fixtures, along with old soft drink cans and
  • 01:14 coffee mugs into separate piles.
  • 01:16 Then we go through each pile or stack to get rid of anything that is not needed to
  • 01:20 do the work assigned to that workstation.
  • 01:23 We take the remaining sort of stacks and segregate them as preparation for
  • 01:27 the next discipline.
  • 01:29 The benefit of the sword discipline includes the removal of potential
  • 01:33 obstacles that could interfere with what must actually be done at that step.
  • 01:37 In addition, with fewer distractions, we're likely to be much faster and
  • 01:41 we'll do the work with fewer errors.
  • 01:44 The next discipline is to set in order.
  • 01:47 We now take those sorted stacks and
  • 01:49 organize everything in a logical order to accomplish the work.
  • 01:52 We consider how the work is done at that workstation and
  • 01:55 arrange everything in the typical process flow.
  • 01:59 This way we can take advantage of any streamlining that was done as part of
  • 02:03 redesigning the process steps for tack time or flow.
  • 02:06 This also includes arranging work items so that we know what to work on first,
  • 02:10 normally using a first-in, first-out approach.
  • 02:13 However, if it's Kanban scheduling, then organized by the urgency of the Kanbans.
  • 02:17 The benefit from this discipline is the reduction in non value added time,
  • 02:22 there is less wasted effort doing unnecessary handling and movement.
  • 02:26 Also there is less waste because less time is spent looking for things and
  • 02:30 trying to get organized, and this will help reduce wasted time trying to
  • 02:34 understand the priorities of work and what should be done next.
  • 02:37 It should be obvious when I have set things in order.
  • 02:40 The third discipline is shine.
  • 02:43 This is sometimes translated as sweep or scrub, but whatever word you use,
  • 02:47 the discipline is the same, and that is to completely clean the workplace.
  • 02:52 It includes removing sources of dirt and contamination in the workplace.
  • 02:56 Ultimately, you want to be able to walk up to the workstation with a quick visual
  • 03:00 inspection, know the status of every work item and
  • 03:03 whether things are going well or not at that workstation.
  • 03:06 Now, I realize this depends upon the operation,
  • 03:09 it's easier in some settings than others.
  • 03:11 But even in an office environment,
  • 03:13 this would look like the implementation of a clean desk rule.
  • 03:17 The benefits from this discipline include, improve safety for
  • 03:20 everyone since there are fewer potential contaminants or spills.
  • 03:24 This is also true for work product, it's less likely to be damaged or contaminated.
  • 03:28 Also, there's likely to be a longer life on the equipment if it's being cleaned
  • 03:33 regularly.
  • 03:33 And as with all the other disciplines,
  • 03:36 this will make it easier to identify problems.
  • 03:38 The fourth discipline is to standardize.
  • 03:41 So far we have sorted everything out, organized the workplace and cleaned it up.
  • 03:45 Now it's time to standardize so it can create good habits for ongoing work.
  • 03:50 This means we incorporate the best practices from our industry or
  • 03:52 organization.
  • 03:54 This includes best practices for how to organize, clean, and
  • 03:57 maintain your workspace.
  • 03:58 It is normally at this point that we also create shadow boards showing the location
  • 04:02 where all equipment or other work items should be located when not in use.
  • 04:07 Doing this, eliminate sources of variation.
  • 04:09 And remember that, when Six Sigma analysis variation is bad.
  • 04:12 The benefits at this point are about reducing uncertainty and
  • 04:16 ensuring that the best practices for the work are being used.
  • 04:19 This should reduce errors and speed the processing due to greater efficiencies.
  • 04:23 And, of course, with those two items, we also get lower operating costs.
  • 04:27 This brings us to the last S discipline, sustain.
  • 04:31 This is just what it says, continually do the first four S disciplines until they
  • 04:35 have become an ingrained habit.
  • 04:38 Since it is a habit, operators should only be told to do this,
  • 04:41 they know how to do this.
  • 04:43 Now realize that this might be unrealistic, which is why sustain is
  • 04:47 included in the five S disciplines, the five S's must be trained.
  • 04:51 New operators need to learn the five disciplines and
  • 04:54 practice them under the eyes of an experienced practitioner until they
  • 04:58 demonstrate that they what is expected.
  • 05:00 Also, there should be periodic and unannounced five S audits for
  • 05:04 all locations in the operation, including management offices and conference rooms.
  • 05:08 Without the audits, people will likely develop some sloppy habits over time.
  • 05:14 And the benefits of the sustained discipline are that the implementation of
  • 05:17 the practices really stick, even with new people coming on board.
  • 05:21 And that means all the benefits discussed on the earlier slides are then realized.
  • 05:25 The five S disciplines support and sustain the problem solution
  • 05:31 by reducing confusion at the time of implementation and beyond.
  • 05:36 This will lead to faster cycle times, fewer errors, and less variation.

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