Tips and Tricks for Implementing 5S
In Lean and Six Sigma, 5S is a fundamental yet straightforward topic. Anyone familiar with the Toyota Production System, Total Quality Management (TQM), Lean, or Six Sigma knows about 5S. Academically, it takes about 30 minutes to learn about 5S. However, implementing 5S in practice often becomes a challenging task for team leaders and their teams. The question is, why does it become so difficult to implement? Here are some reasons:
- Lack of Understanding the Philosophy of 5S: 5S stands for Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain. Each word represents a concept that must be implemented in a way that practitioners change their own behavior first. However, project teams often point fingers at others to change their behavior instead of changing their own habits.
2. Need to Learn More About It:
Searching the web yields limited and often repetitive information about 5S. To gain a deeper understanding, read books like “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo, “Goodbye, Things” by Fumio Sasaki, or “Less is More” by Jason Hickel. These books discuss sorting and setting in order in personal life, providing many ideas on how to implement 5S.
3. Project Duration:
5S is not just implemented; it is practiced. It is a habit-changing tool, and you cannot change your or your team’s behavior within a month or even six months. Behavior should change gradually, and the duration should be longer—around three years.
4. Do One Step at a Time:
After 16 years of experience, I have learned that implementing 5S all at once doesn’t work. Start with sorting at your workstation, within your team, or within your organization. Find sorting techniques and implement them one by one. Repeat this process to make a significant difference within 2-3 months, then proceed to Set in Order. Follow this approach for the remaining 3S steps in the same manner.
5. Don’t Bother Others:
5S is meant to improve team efficiency. However, if your team members become annoyed when asked to perform 5S activities, change your implementation approach. No one should be annoyed during this journey. Take others’ viewpoints, consider psychological impacts and expectations, and proceed slowly with implementation.
Implementing 5S can be challenging, but with the right approach, it can lead to significant improvements in efficiency and workplace organization.