Want to learn more about what a 5S audit entails? Find out how to put the five S approach into practice with these five steps: sort, set, shine, standardize, and sustain. Promote order and safety in the workplace with a mobile app for performing 5S audits with Lumiform.
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A 5s audit is the evaluation of how well the workplace is adhering to safety and cleanliness standards. Its philosophy inspires a workplace that is clean, organized, safe, and decluttered. The idea is that if a workspace meets these criteria, then it will leave employees free to maximize their productivity, creativity, and flow.
If you were wondering where lean management techniques, Total Quality Management, and Kaizen approach came from, then you should get introduced to 5S audit. It served as a foundation for the Japanese working culture and was developed as part of the Toyota Production System (TPS), just the same as Poka Yoke and the Kanban board. A checklist evaluates the introduction of the five S method at your workplace.
A checklist will cover these five steps:
Clutter has been scientifically proven to decrease productivity. It’s distracting, slows one down, and causes stress. It’s a mental and sometimes physical obstacle between the pen and the paper and finally checking off a bulleted item on the to-do list.
Not only is it an eyesore, but it leaves a bad impression on customers or clients who visit to do business or be business. Too much paper, merchandise, or books will leave people feeling overwhelmed and confused about what course of action they should take.
Having a constant visual reminder of the workload is not helpful to the majority of people who don’t work well under pressure. Instead, tasks need to be compartmentalized so stress can be reduced and work can resume. And that starts with tidying up the office.
These five principles will help to avoid waste and to create a safer and more effective work environment, similar to the goals of a Job Safety Analysis. Get a more comprehensive understanding of what this methodology entails and learn how to introduce it to your own workflow below.
1. The History of the 5s method
4. How to introduce 5S in manufacturing
6. The purpose of the 6th “S”?
8. 6 advantages of the 6s method
9. How to use the 5S method more efficiently with a digital tool
For a deeper understanding and as proof of the effectiveness of this method, it is important to know the origins and background of this method: The 5s method is part of the Lean method and is therefore considered a continuous optimization process.
The principle was developed in the early 20th century by the Japanese Taiichi Ono, who significantly influenced the production philosophy of Toyota. What is innovative about the method is its minimalist and cyclical approach and the clear encouragement of employee participation. After all, employees are largely responsible for the implementation and maintenance of the method.
In its most basic form, a 5s audit rates how clean, tidy, and organized the office or warehouse is. It’s scored on a scale from zero to three, three being the best and zero being the worst. Companies can make up their own system for scoring since it is fairly straightforward and will follow the same premise. You should try to do a check at least once a month and more frequently if you fail the audit.
Here’s an example of how you would perform an audit of housekeeping:
General Information
Define the type of work: Cleaning, tidying and organizing the office.
Take a picture of the workspace and attach it here:
ADD PHOTO
Use these score criteria for your inspection:
Is the ground free of unwanted objects?
3 2 1 0 NA
Are tops and insides of all cupboards, shelves, tables, etc. free of unwanted objects?
3 2 1 0 NA
Are objects deposited according to frequency of use?
3 2 1 0 NA
Are walls clear of old posters, calendars, pictures etc.?
3 2 1 0 NA
Is there a general clutter-free appearance?
3 2 1 0 NA
Attach photo(s) of red tagged objects.
ADD PHOTO
Are direction signs in place to all plants from the entrance onwards?
3 2 1 0 NA
Do all pieces of equipment have identification tags?
3 2 1 0 NA
Are all rooms, cubicles and comparable areas clearly numbered or identified?
3 2 1 0 NA
Are special areas for garbage/rejects/waste, etc. divided?
3 2 1 0 NA
Are switches, fan controls, etc. labelled?
3 2 1 0 NA
Are all cables, wires, pipes etc. clean and orderly?
3 2 1 0 NA
Is colour coding applied effectively for simple identification?
3 2 1 0 NA
Is there an appearance of orderliness?
3 2 1 0 NA
Is it easy to find any item/document without delay?
3 2 1 0 NA
Find and allocate a place for all the supplies required for your work.
Some areas around the office need extra attention. There’s a nice color coding system in place, but some of the labeling is damaged or missing. The office is overall fairly organized. Supplies can be procured in a timely manner although it could be faster.
Are cleaning schedules available and displayed?
3 2 1 0 NA
Are floors, walls, windows doors etc. maintained at a high level of cleanliness?
3 2 1 0 NA
Is use of adequate cleaning tools evident?
3 2 1 0 NA
Are machines, equipment, tools, furniture maintained at a high level of cleanliness and their maintenance schedules displayed?
3 2 1 0 NA
Is there a general appearance of cleanliness all round?
3 2 1 0 NA
Is a regular checklist used to systematise 5s methods?
3 2 1 0 NA
Are standard checklists applied to regularly examine 5S?
3 2 1 0 NA
Are labels, notices etc. systematised?
3 2 1 0 NA
Do pathways have a standard size and colour?
3 2 1 0 NA
Are pipes, cables etc. colour coded?
3 2 1 0 NA
Is there a system in place for how and when the 5S activities will be performed?
3 2 1 0 NA
Does management provide assistance to the 5S programme by identification, resources and leadership?
3 2 1 0 NA
Has the first 3S become a part of everyday work?
3 2 1 0 NA
Do workers show positive engagement in 5S activities?
3 2 1 0 NA
Are 5S posters and 5S points of work reminders presented?
3 2 1 0 NA
Are training and other programs performed to sustain the workplace system?
3 2 1 0 NA
Any recommendations?
I would recommend better, intercompany communication from leadership to enforce organizational practice. This would include hanging more posters advertising the method on the wall and clearer, color-coded scheduling for cleaning and hygiene.
Overall Rating:
Pass Fail
Name and Signature of the Inspector:
John Smith
The 5S can streamline production and increase efficiency during the manufacturing process. However, safety is the number one priority and can also be applied in this sphere. It can now otherwise be referred to as 6S—sort, set, shine, standardize, sustain, and safety. It comes in especially handy in the manufacturing industry for these reasons.
First of all, 5S checklist can be used to inspect how the Sort principle is being implemented. In other words if the workplace is being organized properly. For example, a template can be useful to check if special tags are put on the machines and if the working and non-working items have been sorted correctly.
A checklist is also handy to watch the Set in order function. Ensure that you prepared your workplace sufficiently by proper cleaning and addressing the maintenance issues once they occurred.
Of course, the Shine aspect is also important. Machines should not only function properly but also be clean and free of dirt and grime. Maintaining hygienic working conditions is also important for the health of machine operators.
To implement Standardize in manufacturing, it is required to put specific rules in place so that the employees have no choice but to go LEAN. For example, it can be regulated that one workplace should generate no more waste than the amount stated in the quota.
Once your workers have finished with Standardize, they will be able to move on to Sustain. This is a slightly more complicated phase since it means that the employees will need to turn this practice into part of their routine.
The thing one should keep in mind is that introducing LEAN principles is going to be challenging, especially in companies that have only been producing one product for decades. In these situations, it’s unlikely employees will make the switch overnight. However, providing educational resources such as short seminars, emails, announcements, booklets, etc. could be more than enough to accelerate the process and convince your workers that the LEAN principles are worth implementing.
The level of practical implementation of the 6S lean method is a reliable indicator of the existing potential. Lots of companies are starting to make use of lean practices which means striving for maintaining a zero waste environment.
An enterprise can follow 3 different concepts as total quality management, 6 Sigma, or 6S system. 6S (also known as 5S + safety) serves to increase, optimize and maintain productivity and safety in the workplace. It is based on the 5S methodology.
This simple but effective method creates a fundamentally structured work environment. In this way, you create the optimal conditions in your company for a focused workflow and a sustainable safety culture for your employees.
The principles of the 5s lean method are primarily used in manufacturing to cut down on wasteful practices. The concept is to increase efficiency and reduce the time, effort, cost, and materials that goes into the manufacturing process.
This method combines the basic principles of 5s and lean manufacturing so that no time, energy, or effort goes to waste. Every part of the workday, from the moment you step through the front door to each swing of the hammer, is replete with purposeful action: every movement has a purpose and every action has a target.
Think of the word ‘lean’ in this context to mean the trimming down of excess work. It’s a bit paradoxical in nature—you reduce the amount of work to increase productivity which, in turn, gets more work done—but it makes sense to create these shortcuts. You wouldn’t handwrite every company memo by hand complete with a stamp and envelope when you have a perfectly good computer equipped with an email to get it done in a fraction of the time.
To talk about training employees in this methodology, you can introduce the five pillars in phases. That might look like doing step one on Monday, step two on Tuesday, and so on and so forth until the practice becomes a part of everyday work life.
The last S stands for Safety. The reason why this element was included is that safety is crucial at the workplace. It has a direct influence on employee productivity, job satisfaction, and the reliability of the work environment, in general. Therefore, it is considered that providing safety warnings and work guidelines at the point of necessity can have a huge impact on the work cycle.
For example, every company of any size must ensure they have an emergency fire exit and a fire extinguisher, first aid stations, and safety showers, etc. Also, it is important that the essential protection equipment is placed in an easily reachable area and ready for immediate usage. This means that 5s principles in warehouses are especially relevant .
6s Lean or 5s + safety is more than just cleaning up! This is about a consequent and continuous process improvement. Implementing 6s can result in several serious mistakes, such as using the method once or communicating incorrectly with your employees. Find out how to implement 6S Lean in manufacturing and other industries. The following three tips will help you to implement 6s in a step-by-step and meaningful way.
Here you will find the main advantages of implementing 6s Lean for your company in a nutshell:
Use Lumiform's mobile app to conduct digital 5s inspections, report issues on the fly, and quickly assign corrective actions to responsible colleagues. Take photos of items that are no longer needed, notify your team or suppliers of upcoming changes, and schedule inspections to consistently increase the productivity of your production.
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