5S is very important in ensuring quality, safety, and efficiency in automotive instrument cluster, dashboard speedometer, and EV instrument cluster production companies in India, which are major players in the automotive parts industry.
Sort (Seiri)
Get rid of all unwanted items at the workplace. Categorize into 3 groups-“scrapped”, “can be used by other departments”, “can be used in future”.
Set in Order – Seiton
A place for everything and everything in its place. No unidentified object in the zone should be there.
Shine (Seiso)
Clean the workplace and keep it clean. Rust, dust, broken, faded paint should not be seen in the department.
Standardize (Seiketsu)
Develop procedures, guidelines, schedules, and checklists that will help maintain the first three S’s, which are Sort, Set in Order, and Shine.
Sustain (Shitsuke)
Develop discipline and habits to follow the established standards, conduct regular audits. Encourage everyone to maintain the 5S, train them, and allow display before-after stories.
How to Implement 5S in a Factory?
Divide the Factory into Zones
Divide the entire factory area into different zones, assigning one zone leader to each zone and making them responsible for all activities related to 5S within their area.
Involve All Team Members
Ask every zone leader to engage each team member within the zone with the 5S activities. Properly train everybody on 5S in order for them to understand the principles and benefits of 5S.
Shoot “Before” Photographs, Documenting Progress
Start by taking “before” pictures of each area. Create a tracking sheet to which these photos are attached. Identify gaps, work on closing them, and then update the sheet with “after” photos so improvements are clearly visible.
Implement 5S Step-by-Step
Start with 1S (Sort) and progress through 2S (Set in Order), 3S (Shine), and so on, up to the full 5S sequence.
Develop Zone-Specific Procedures
Each zone leader should prepare a written procedure for their zone. This should include:
- 5S activity timings: daily, weekly, etc.
- Cleaning schedule for 1S red-tag area
- Responsibilities of sub zone leaders and each member
- 5S trainings
- Any other points that is important or related to 5S can be written in this
The zone leader should be encouraging and motivating everybody consistently to follow the procedure and understand the benefits of 5S.
During 5S, also focus on Safety: raise discrepancy in Safety incident report format where you find the safety issue.
Establish a common space for reusable materials
Set up a common area where items that are still useful can be placed so others can reuse them if needed.
Prepare an Audit Plan and conduct audit
Develop an audit plan along with a list of auditors. Regularly perform 5S audits, provide feedback, and request improvement where necessary.
Also Read : How Indication Instruments Improve Safety
Benefits of 5S in factory
Space saving
One of the first things you notice with 5S is the sudden increase in space.
You instantly see good floor and storage space by sorting out unwanted materials and organizing the workplace.
Increase productivity
When everything has a place and everything is in its place, then work becomes smoother and faster. Teams do not waste their time rummaging for tools or documents.
Productivity increases because people can focus on their tasks, instead of wasting time in order to find materials, tools, or documents in surroundings.
Improve quality
A clean and organized workplace reduces issues automatically.
It is easier to detect problems earlier, follow procedures correctly, and maintain quality consistently.
Time saving
A lot of time is just wasted looking for things.
With 5S, that time saves
Tools, materials, and documents are placed at their location and clearly labelled, so that finding them will be easy and save time. The time saved will be utilised in more production.
Company beautification
A well-organized workplace gives pride to the employees as well as confidence to the visitors.
Clean floors, organized racks, pallets, storage area; cleared marking gangways/walkways of every assembly line, fans, and lights in symmetry. A healthy environment makes the company look good and disciplined.
Attract new customers
Every customer wants that the organisation they are visiting should be well organised, clean and everything systematic-all these things send positive feedback of a companies’ environment.
Reduce accidents, improved safety, and machine life.
5S reduces workplace accidents because, while doing 5S, any unsafe condition observed raises a Safety Incident Report, or machines and tools requiring repair or any leakage found is sent to maintenance, which reduces accidents and improves the life of machines and tools. Clear pathways, labeled zones, properly stored tools, and mean very less chance of hazards. A safe workplace gives confidence to the employees.
Positive zone environment
5S improves bonding within the zones; as it involves everyone in 5S related activity, it creates a positive environment, works together, everyone takes ownership, and improves the zone.
Low cost
5S helps in reducing the 7 kinds of waste and non-value-added jobs that save cost and improve efficiency.
FAQs:
Can 5S improve employee morale?
Yes, 5S can boost morale by creating a cleaner, safer, and more organized work environment, reducing stress, and increasing pride in the workplace
How does 5S impact quality in manufacturing?
5S improves quality by ensuring that only the necessary tools and materials are used, minimizing the chance of errors due to clutter or disorganization.
