what is 5 S and how to implement it at home or office

5 S

5S is a system for organizing space to perform work effectively and efficiently it can be applied at home or at office or in an organization.

When we go in the history of 5S , it began in Toyota motor company in 20th century as a part of lean manufacturing along with many other tools like kaizen, kanban, jidoka, poka yoke etc. This is also called  foundation of Toyota Production System. It started in Japan in Toyota but now accepted world wide by many company and organization . But the questions is, can we implement 5S at our home ? My answer is Yes why not , the main advantage of this system is that we can apply it at our home with no or less cost. But for that we need to understand the concept of 5S.

What is 5S ? 

The 5S methodology is a systematic approach to workplace/ organization. This method includes the five steps of Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain.  

Five S are 5 Japanese word used to describe the steps of the 5S system. Each term starts with an S. In Japanese, the five S's are Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke. In English, the five S's are translated as Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain.  

What is it mean? 

Japanese Word	English Word	Explenation
Seiri	Sorting	Short out materials and Remove all unwanted material. keep only items which needed to complete tasks. implement This action to all the operation and work of a work space to determine which are needed and which can be removed. Everything that is not required to complete a work process should be removed from the work area
Seiton	Set in Order	all items should be organized and each item should have a designated place. Organize all the items according to their requirement on workplace so they make tasks easier for workers to complete. place items in such locations where people will not need to bend or make extra movements to reach them. and also locate them according to frequency of there uses as frequently used item near to work station
Seiso	Shine	keep workplace areas clean. This means cleaning and maintaining the newly organized work space. It can involve routine tasks such as mopping, dusting, etc. or performing maintenance on machinery, tools, and other equipment.
Seiketsu	Standardize	Create a set of standards for both organization and processes. In essence, this is where you take the first three S's and make rules for how and when these tasks will be performed. These standards can involve schedules, charts, lists, etc.
Shitsuke	Sustain/ self discipline	Sustain new practices and conduct audits to maintain discipline. This is achieved by developing a sense of self-discipline in employees who will participate in 5S. All the above activity should be followed at regular interval

How it can be implemented? 

To implement it first start with sorting of item . then set them in order than cleaning and then making standers and sustaining or self discipline 5S is not a list of action items that has to be done once or has to be reviewed at an interval. Instead, it has to be practiced as a daily activity, which requires concentration, dedication and devotion for sustaining it 

Steps involved in implementing of 5S

Seiri or Sorting-

removing unnecessary items

To start this Ask these questions:

1.Is this item needed?

2.If it is needed, is it needed in this quantity?

3.If it is needed, how frequently is it used?

4.If it is needed, should it be located here?

and remove all the unnecessary item

Seiton / Set in Order

1.Make sure that all unnecessary items are eliminated from the workplace.
2.Taking into account of the work flow, decide which things to put where.  

3.Use Why-why to decide where each item belongs. 

4.Make a clear list of items with their locations 

5.Identify all needed items with labels 

Seiso/ Shine

1.Adopt cleaning as a daily activity and as a part of inspection 

2.Find ways to prevent dirt 

3.Clean both inside and outside on daily basis

4.Keep a log of all places/areas to be improved 

Seiketsu, or Standardize

1.Check that the first three S’s are implemented properly 

2.All team activity documents/check lists should be publicly displayed on a 5S board

3.Make a routines and standard practices for regularly repeating the first three 5’s 

4. Create a maintenance system for housekeeping. Make a schedule for cleaning of the workplace.

Shitsuke, or Self-Discipline

1.

Everyone in the workplace should treat it they would their own home

2. Dedication, commitment, devotion and sincerity are needed in implementation of 5S on daily basis.

3. Inspections of first three S’s should be done and the results displayed  regularly.

4.Everyone must make it a part of their daily work.

with the help of these simple steps we ca implement 5 S in our organization or at workplace it can also be implemented at home also with the same steps it will help us to manage our daily work of help us to manage our kitchen items. or simply we can say we didn't need to waste time on find key on daily biases.

-AC