- Create a set of standards for both organization and processes
- These standards can involve schedules, charts, lists, etc.
- Make easy to follow rules for how and when tasks must be performed
- Train, Train, Train => Common knowledge
This step is about establishing a regular and continuous practice of maintaining tidiness, orderliness, cleanliness and safety (S1~S3). If standardization is not done, things go back to the way they were before the first three S's.
Equipment:
- Make standard tools for each department / function/ machine
- Make standard storing techniques throughout department / plant
- Doing so will result in decreased overhead [inventory] and eliminate confusion when switching between lines or departments
Techniques:
- Make Sort, Storing and Shining a daily habit
- Set the rules to make 5S a part of everyone's job
- Assign responsibilities for Sorting, Storing, and Shining
- Integrate Sort, Storing and Shining into regular work activities
Doing so will eliminate potential friction between co-workers and ensure the complete 5S system works.
Standardization
- Develop Standard Operational Procedures (SOPs) and monitoring checklists
- Display marking of safety signs
- Garbage segregation system (infectious/non-infectious, recyclable), following the Infection Prevention and Control / Healthcare Waste Management Policy
- Doing further color coding and zoning for storing / parking equipment
Standardization is essentially "the bridge" between Shine and the final step of 5S, Sustain. By standardizing the approach to 5S, it can ensure organizational efforts are sustained in the long run. Failing to standardize procedures can lead to work becoming sloppy over time and a loss of efficiency.
Begin to standardize 5S operations by making the process more than a word-of-mouth agreement. This is the time to implement a clear, universally understood system so that employees are certain about what they are expected to do. Print out 5S audit sheets that can be used by whoever is checking an area on a given day. A checklist that asks specific questions about the work area can help ensure that processes are carried out as intended. Some questions on the checklist may include:
- Are all tools in their correct place on the shadow boards?
- Have power tools been unplugged with their cords properly stored?
- Are the necessary supplies in place for the next worker who will begin a shift at that station?
Training Steps
Standardize uses three steps to make sure that each employee knows what he needs to do, when he needs to do it, and exactly how to do it.
- Make sure each employee knows his responsibilities. They should have a clear understanding of their daily and weekly Sort, Set to Order, and Shine tasks. Their responsibilities should be clearly written out on a checklist or a chart so they can be easily accessed throughout the day.
- Make it a part of their daily routine. If you train your employees correctly, they will execute the steps of 5S without even thinking about it. "That wrench is out of place. Its home is here."
—or—
"I know the next tool I need is the screwdriver because my tools are stored in the order that I use them." No extra thought is needed; employees flow through their daily routine because they can see that it makes sense. - Periodic evaluation. Once the steps are in place, you can evaluate performance at regular intervals. You can either form a committee made up of employees from different departments or assign evaluation to department supervisors. Either way, you will need a system to ensure tasks are consistently getting done. Standardize is essential to the success of your 5S implementation.
References:
- Pojasek RB. Five S's: A tool that preparres an organization for change. Environmental Quality Management (Autumn 1999) pp.97-103. www.epa.gov/lean/
- Creative Safety Supply 5S Training and Research Page. www.creativesafetysupply.com/content/education-research/
- Creative Safety Supply 5S Guide. www.ksre.k-state.edu/agsafe/announcements/
- Ministry of Health, Lilongwe, Malawi. Health care quality improvement manual for in-service training. February 2019 (Final Draft)