All professions and industries have their terminology and jargon. The three letter acronyms and alphanumeric combinations. But what adds to their allure, can also end up creating a barrier to the uninitiated.
Manufacturing is no different. Lean manufacturing with its 5S, CI and JIT has its own language. Throw in some Japonisms like poka yoke and gemba and things grow more baffling still.
I believe that this mixture of alphanumerics, acronyms and Japanese terms make a simple idea, such as 5S, incredibly complex.
So let’s begin by going back to basics. 5S is a Japanese management technique for workplace organisation and cleanliness. 5S can be anglicised as 5C or CANDO (see box). Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter what you call the system. You can coin your own in-house acronym – use whatever gives you the best chance of workforce buy-in to the tool at your site.
There are no hard and fast rules as to exactly how 5S should operate, but merely an outline system that can be amended to suit the particular workplace.
How 5S can get you off to a flyer
So, I hear you say: ‘I have introduced a 5S system, I have a tidy workplace, so what are the benefits beyond the shopfloor looking spic and span to my business?’.
Well, a 5S programme amounts to so much more than just a tidy workplace. Get the system right and you can expect benefits across maintenance, safety, staff morale and your supply chain to name just a few areas.
Let’s begin with the paybacks inside the factory walls. An immediate advantage of a 5S environment is you bring to light potential operations problems early. Oil from a leaking machine or a loose nut on the floor from a critical piece of equipment, for example. Both may go unnoticed in a dirty work environment, but they are impossible to miss in a 5S workplace. As another example, when visiting a Japanese chemical plant, I became involved in a two-hour investigation as to why a small bag of material was in the workplace. The investigation showed it had not been added to a batch of material. This bag would not have been noticed in a cluttered plant and supplied to a customer in a defective state. These two examples show how 5S can also assist in any Total Productive Maintenance programme (TPM), and in turn improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), and contribute to quality.
Enhanced production efficiency is another plus. A well organised workplace, free from clutter and ‘a place for everything and everything in its place’ is inherently more efficient. The team members know where to find everything and don’t spend time looking for tools and other materials.
Order can also add a level of protection against accidents. A clean and tidy workplace contributes towards safety, by reducing tripping and slipping hazards, for example. The physical environment isn’t the only thing that starts to shine with the application of 5S. It’s intriguing to witness the mind-sets of your people also begin to brighten.
Improvements in morale, teamwork and general pride in the workplace – all accompany a well-executed 5S programme. As a manager you are looking to encourage team members take ownership of their area. This in turn facilitates 5S being the launch pad for other CI tools and techniques. If you can get it right, the biggest benefit of 5S is initiating culture change that is required to kick-start any lean/CI programme. 5S lays the foundations of your continuous improvement programme. Ignore it and your future efforts are inherently fragile.
The benefits beyond the factory
It seems strange to think that a workplace organisation tool could bring benefits beyond the immediate factory environment. But, get it right and that’s exactly what 5S can do. One immediate external benefit is improved customer confidence. Most companies have formal customer audits or informal customer visits. If visitors can see a clean and tidy workplace they will have confidence that the organisation is well managed, the workforce is engaged, and the product quality is good. 5S sets your customer visit off to a positive start straight away. At Fujifilm, we used the term: ‘You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression’.
Conversely, if a customer drives into the visitors’ car park and sees litter, and cigarette butts all around. And, when they step on the shopfloor they see a disorganised factory they will immediately start to doubt the management’s ability. 5S offers a simple method of enhancing the site’s image and selling the company.
But, if 5S is so simple the why does industry research indicate that 80% of programmes fail (http://tinyurl.com/jlgd4sm) to be sustained and revert back to business as usual.
In my experience of running a factory this is usually down to four main factors.
1)Poor communication: when a 5S programme is first announced, most people in the workplace will ask: ‘what is in it for me?’. So as a management team, you need to sell those benefits at the outset to ensure that personal buy in. Unfortunately, a lot of 5S systems are sold to the workforce as a head office initiative, or part of the Toyota Production System, replete with Japanese terms. Those that start off on this path are usually doomed to failure.
2)Poor implementation: the early adopters amongst the workforce will see the benefits of 5S and grasp the opportunity to create a well-managed, clean and tidy workplace. You must identify these ‘change agents’ and make their area a pilot for any 5S programme. Remember that slow and steady will win the race. So many programmes start with a big bang approach across the whole site. These programmes invariably fail because the work is perceived as a management edict. There is a golden management rule that to sell is better than to tell. People are usually happy to grasp ideas sold to them by their colleagues than to have a new initiative imposed upon them from above.
The team members will quickly see if management have imposed a system that doesn’t fit their workplace. It will then fall into disrepute. As an example, if shadow boards for tools are not suited to your environment, then don’t use them. Allow the team to come up with another method of workplace organisation.
3)Lack of time and resource: at the launch of a 5S programme, you need time to allow the team to declutter their area. Task could include cleaning and possibly painting machinery, installing yellow lines and proper signage, setting up rotas and displaying them etc. In a busy workplace this may require overtime. Also, some minor investment may be required, in signboards, tape, yellow lines etc.
Once the 5S system is up and running, a five to ten-minute time period might be needed at the end of the shift to perform 5S duties. Managers are sometimes reluctant to invest this resource, preferring a day to be allocated to cleaning-up prior to a major customer visit. A 5S programme, once set up properly, should be part of the daily life rather than a last gasp activity ahead of supplier visits. Any time spent initially on the programme will be repaid many times over further down the line.
4)Lack of management stamina: human nature being what it is, any system needs reinforcement to ensure it is sustained. Ask the question of your managers: ‘Why should the teams be interested in anything if they see that senior management are not interested in it?’. Team leaders and their teams have a lot to deal with on a daily basis in maintaining production schedules, meeting quality and cost targets and dealing with 101 other things. 5S will quickly go off their radar if they see that senior managers, after preaching the 5S programme, rarely visit the workplace and show interest in it.
You can show your interest by taking regular gemba walks. Gemba is another one of our Japanese terms. One that roughly translates as ‘visit the workplace’.
Yet again, the term itself doesn’t matter, it can be called MBWA (Management By Walking Around), senior management sign offs, or even, GOYA Management (as in Get Off Your A**e Management).
Gemba walks should be to show interest, enquire, and discuss issues with the team in a positive manner. They should not be negative or dictatorial in style. There is a saying ‘everyone is an expert in their own square yard’. By showing interest and enquiring, invariably the team members will tell a manager the problems and, with some gentle encouragement, how they propose to solve them.
It is amazing how so many managers sit in an office, glued to their computers, pouring over spreadsheets, but rarely visiting the workplace. They then appear upset that their 5S programme has failed.
There is a thought process that 5S should be self-sustaining and if the culture is right should not require involvement of management. In an ideal world this is true, but the management should show interest and continually review the system. When organisations start on their CI programme, 5S is the first place to start. It is relatively easy to understand, once the jargon has been removed and offers quick benefits. Most importantly, 5S can promote workforce engagement, as the teams will see the benefits to them. Once you have an engaged your workforce, the continuous improvement journey will really gain momentum.
The tangible evidence for is clear. A recent Gallup survey showed that companies with an engaged workforce were 21% more productive, had a 41% improvement in quality/safety standards and a 37% reduction in absenteeism than those with poor workforce engagement. Crucially they were also 22% more profitable.
So, 5S is a whole lot more than a clean and tidy workplace. Performed well, it can be the launchpad for a safer, more efficient and more profitable factory. So GOYA and start engaging your workforce in this five-star improvement tool.
