The 5S system is a key component of Lean Six Sigma. Developed at Toyota, the 5S approach creates safer, more efficient workstations that allow employees to improve and sustain higher productivity. The term 5S refers to the five steps of the system.
- Seiri (Sort)
- Seiton (Straighten or Set in Order)
- Seiso (Shine)
- Seiketsu (Standardize)
- sh*tsuke (Sustain)
The idea that drives 5S is to have a place for everything and everything in its place. It’s considered a foundational pillar of Lean and a key method for eliminating the Eight Wastes of Lean, improving both processes and customer satisfaction. It also gives employees control over their workstation and the responsibility for keeping it clean and efficient.
An Overview of 5S
Each 5S step focuses on a different aspect of making workstations more clean, efficient and safe. Taken together, they can make a workplace less stressful, cut down on wasted time and help employees become more productive.
Seiri (Sort)
A 5S project starts with sorting at the workstation. This involves going carefully through every item and eliminating those that do not add value to the process or help an employee accomplish their daily tasks. Simply removing unneeded items can immediately declutter a workstation. This process involves every area of the workstation, including in, on and underneath the desk.
Seiton (Straighten or Set in Order)
In this step, employees set up a system to organize their workstation, using only the items needed to do their jobs. The general premise is to place frequently needed items within easy reach while storing less needed farther from where the employee sits or stands. Some workstations benefit from having labeled areas where specific items go, allowing employees to see at a glance where things are and what might be missing or in low supply.
Seiso (Shine)
With everything in its place, employees can now easily clean and further tidy their area. This also is the time to make any changes needed after using the system that employees set in order in the second step. Continuous improvements and adjustments are part of the 5S process.
Seiketsu (Standardize)
During this step, employers develop safe and efficient practices they can put into place to maintain the gains made with the first three steps. This is the step where employees become responsible for finding ways to maintain 5S at their workstation. This step often is more successful if employers create daily, weekly and monthly tasks and goals.
sh*tsuke (Sustain)
This step involves making a commitment to sustaining 5S and striving to make improvements. It’s helpful to take a picture of the workstation after it’s been completely set up to use as a guideline. An annual audit also can help determine what has worked, what hasn’t worked and what changes are needed.
Use: If you have ever gone out into the garage for spring cleaning and have looked at the mess and didn’t even know where to begin, you can appreciate the value of a 5S methodology. You start with sorting everything. Put everything into hom*ogeneous piles. Then, you find a place to put everything, but more importantly you want to make it so that everything has a place, and everything is in its place. Included in the 5S methodology is cleaning. That is the shine/sweep step. You then standardize best practices. And you would want to have a conscientiously-applied program to sustain the arrangement.
FAQs
5S is a cyclical methodology: sort, set in order, shine, standardize, sustain the cycle. This results in continuous improvement.
What are the 5S terminologies? ›
By implementing a lean 5S system - sort, set in order, shine, standardize, sustain - organizations can create a clean, well ordered, and disciplined work environment.
What is the correct sequence of 5S in Six Sigma? ›
The five words in 5S represent the five steps to accomplish this goal. They are sort, set, shine, standardize and sustain. Lean bases the words on the original Japanese: seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu and sh*tsuke.
What are the 5 words in 5S and its meaning? ›
5S is a five-step methodology that, when followed, creates a more organized and productive workspace. In English, the 5S's are: Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain. 5S serves as a foundation for deploying more advanced lean production tools and processes.
What is 5S and examples? ›
In both Japanese and English, 5S denotes the acronym of the five steps starting with the letter S. Seiri (Sort), Seiton (Set in Order), Seiso (Shine), Seiketsu (Standardise), and sh*tsuke (Sustain).
What is the primary purpose of 5S? ›
5S is designed to decrease waste while optimizing productivity through maintaining an orderly workplace and using visual cues to attain more consistent operational results. 5S refers to five steps – sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain (also known as the 5 pillars of a visual workplace).
What are the 5S in Kaizen? ›
The 5S methodology in Kaizen is based on the initial letters of five Japanese words: Seiri (Sort), Seiton (Straighten), Seiso (Shine), Seiketsu (Standardize), and sh*tsuke (Sustain). This approach was originally developed to improve efficiency by organizing operations and workspaces.
How do you use 5S in the workplace? ›
5S is a systematic way of organizing workplaces by eliminating waste, improving flow, and reducing the number of processes where possible. It applies the five principles: Sort (seiri), Set in order (seiton), Shine (seiso), Standardize (seiketsu), and Sustain (sh*tsuke).
How to implement 5S in the workplace? ›
What is a 5S program?
- Sort: Separate necessary things and get rid of anything that isn't needed. ...
- Straighten: Take the remaining things and organize them. ...
- Shine: Clean and inspect the work area. ...
- Standardize: Create processes and standards for the first three steps.
Six Sigma has many tools that will work to improve production and efficiency in any type of business. Today, we are going to highlight the 5S tool and why it is so important. The 5S tool is a great system for handling workplace organization.
Because the two strategies share some underlying principles, many believe them to simply be different iterations of the same methodology. Six Sigma and 5S are indeed separate methods of improving efficiency. Here's a look at what the two strategies entail, how they differ, and which one might better suit your goals.
Is 5S the same as Lean or Six Sigma? ›
While Lean helps in making processes more efficient, Six Sigma helps in finding the root cause of problems, and 5S helps in removing items that are no longer needed – helping keep the business streamlined and organised.
How to remember 5S? ›
Let's quickly explore the purpose of each of the 5S pillars.
- Seiri (sort) This first step is about eliminating any item that does not need to be present on a workspace. ...
- Seiton (set in order) ...
- Seiso (shine) ...
- Seiketsu (standardize) ...
- sh*tsuke (sustain)
5S is a workplace organization methodology that focuses on creating a clean, organized, and efficient work environment. Kaizen is a continuous improvement philosophy that emphasizes making small, incremental changes to improve processes and products over time.
What is the 5S implementation plan? ›
The 5S stands for Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardise, and Sustain - guiding principles that form the backbone of this technique. The 5S methodology involves creating a well-organised, clean, and safe workspace through systematic processes. The first step is to Sort, eliminating unnecessary items.
What is 5S for kids? ›
It refers to five Japanese terms that describe the steps in the 5S system for visual management. Each term begins with an S. The Japanese acronyms 5S are Seiri (Seiri), Seiton, Seiketsu and sh*tsuke. The five Ss in English translates to Sort, Set in Order, Shine Standardize, and Sustain.
What does 5S stand for set in order? ›
For those who do not know about 5S, it is a program that helps companies reach maximum efficiency. The program stands for sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain.
Where does the 5S term come from? ›
The Japanese methodology 5S is depended on five various pillars: Seiri (Sort), Seiton (Set in order), Seiso (Shine), Seiketsu (Standardize) and sh*tsuke (Sustain). In past, 5S was known as the Toyota Production System, which was developed by Taiichi Ohno and Eiji Toyoda with Japanese industrial engineers in 1950.
What are six 5S? ›
The five S's represent the five steps, based on the original Japanese words of seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and sh*tsuke, but translated into English to sort, set, shine, standardize and sustain.
