Most Lean initiatives start out with a 5S system to get things cleaned up and organized as one of the first steps toward continuous improvement.

Your Systems2win Lean Tools include several professionally developed Excel templates for 5S Assessment, Red Tags, and Sustainment.

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tools

5S Tools

Not just one 5S Checklist, but an entire suite of Excel templates to make it much easier to implement several of the most difficult challenges of any Lean 5S System.

5S Checklist
for Lean Manufacturing and Lean Office

also known as 5S Assessment Checklist, 5S Audit Checklist, or 6S Checklist

Purpose of the 5S Audit Form

Use your 5S Assessment template (5S.xlsx) to measure and improve 5s workplace organization, instill 5s philosophy, and evaluate success of your lean 5s system.

Training for your 5S Checklist template

See online training for how to use your 5S Assessment template

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5S Scorecard template

Use your 5S Scorecard template (5S.docx)
if you prefer to use a very simple Word template.

(Most users appreciate the useful advanced features of the Excel template)

5S Standard template

Purpose

Use your 5S Standard template (5SStandard.xlsx)
to clarify expectations for 5S workplace organization and housekeeping, and/or to serve as a "before and after" storyboard.

How

1. Personalize your working document

   by selecting your desired section headers and team roles from the drop down lists

   For example, this might be a 'before and after' storyboard.
   Or it might depict the standards for what the work area should look like during working hours and after final cleanup has been completed at the end of each work day.

2. Edit

   inserting pictures, and writing written descriptions

3. Print and post

   in a highly visible place in or near the Work Area

RedTag

5S Red Tags and Red Tag Log

Purpose of 5S Red Tags

Use your 5S Red Tags template (5SRedTag.xlsx)
to provide a systematic approach to your Sort activities.

Every employee should be trained

Before disposition...

the Team Leader approves the suggested Action,
and an entry is made into the Red Tag Log for that Work Area.

If there is ANY doubt...

the item is moved into the temporary Red Tag Storage area, where it can be easily retrieved if the item proves necessary after all.

When items are moved from Red Tag Storage,

the Red Tag Log is updated to record the ultimate disposition.

5S Sustainment Checklist

Your Systems2win 5S tools come with two Preventive Maintenance Checklists.

Preventive Maintenance Checklist

Preventative maintenance checklist for tasks that occur on a monthly cycle or greater.

Usually performed by a central Maintenance Department.

5S Sustainment Checklist

Preventative maintenance checklist for tasks that occur on a daily, weekly, or monthly cycle.

Usually performed by the process operator.

See the online training for how to use your Preventive Maintenance templates

More Lean Management Tools

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Training

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What is 5S?

aka 6S, 5S system, program, methodology, principles, process, standards, lean 5S...

A 5S System uses 5S methodology to organize the workplace, reveal problems, and sustain improvements.

See training for how to get started with your 5S system.

When you are training your people, these are the core components of the 5S methodology.

Sort (Seiri)

The 5S process for workplace organization usually starts out by sorting the useful from the unnecessary. The only things that should remain in a work area are the parts, tools, and instructions needed to do the job.

Systemize aka Straighten, or Set in Order (Seiton)

Everything has a place; everything is in its place.

This is also a good time for your team to create a visual scorecard, Jidoka andon lights, floor paint, kanbans, and other visual controls described in your Lean & Kaizen Training PowerPoint template. (eventTraining.pptx)

Sanitize aka Sweep & Shine (Seiso)

Do an initial spring cleaning.
Maybe painting, scouring, sweeping, washing, rinsing, scrubbing, and whatever else is needed to make your work place shine.

Use cleaning as a method of inspection. Cleanliness reveals problems.

Standardize (Seiketsu)

In the Standardize phase of Lean 5 S, routine cleaning becomes a way of life.

Preventative maintenance is routinely performed, perhaps with planning and scheduling and some responsibilities done by your central maintenance department, and as much routine maintenance as possible performed by the people that know that work center better than anyone else.

Sustain (Shitsuke)

Shitsuke is when five S becomes a routine way of life. Root causes are routinely identified and dealt with. The Systems2win 5 S forms and the Standard Work Audit are very familiar to everyone — both supervisors and the workers that have come to appreciate the benefits of Five S and Lean methods.

What is 6S?

Safety (the 6th S)

Some companies name it a 6S program — to emphasize safety — but the fact is that safety is inseparably intertwined with every one of the traditional 5 categories.

An uncluttered workplace is a safer workplace. A well maintained piece of equipment is a safer piece of equipment. A clean workplace is a safer workplace. The Deep Horizon oil spill would not have happened if the workers had followed their Standardized Work.

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why5S

Benefits of Lean 5S

When a lean newcomer first hears about the concept of 5S workplace organization,
a common reaction is to ask:

"Who cares whether my workspace is clean and in order?

I've got far more important work to do.

Why don't you just leave me (and my 'organized mess') alone?"

If the only purpose of Lean 5S was to attempt to convert everyone into military-style brass polishers,
then the practice would have died long ago.

The reasons to keep your work area clean and in order are more subtle:

1) An organized workplace reduces wasted time

Have you ever watched a video of someone doing their job, and they disappear from the screen for several minutes? Wandering around looking for some misplaced tool, material, or supply?

Or maybe the worker still remains 'in the picture', but you notice their work flow getting interrupted and slowed down as they search for some... misplaced... something... that they know they "just put down"... somewhere... nearby...

2) A clean workplace reveals problems

and problems can't be resolved until they are revealed.

In an unclean workplace, it is hard to notice things like

"When did that machine start making that noise?" or
"When did that start leaking oil?"

3) Encouraging people to reveal problems is a huge culture change

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benefits

Benefits of 5S Tools

Ready to use

Your leaders can be immediately productive, rather than wasting time re-inventing tools.

Professional charts, red tags, and reports

Every employee and visitor will see your 5S charts posted on your public bulletin boards.

What image message do you want to send?

Professional testing and debugging

Free downloads often look good at first glance, until you need to debug them.

When you find a bug, who are you going to call?

Professional technical support

Even if your IT Department is capable of supporting a home-grown tool,

is that what you want them doing?

Professionally written help and on-line training

Pop-up help, leaning exercises, lean glossary, training web pages, training videos...

All of that "ease of use stuff" that your in-house person says he could do if he had time

Easily personalized — "it's Excel"

Even if you are an expert Excel programmer... why start with a blank workbook when you could start with an already excellent tool that is easily personalized?

Easily personalized — "it's Systems2win"

Easily change rating scales, drop down lists, rating criteria, 5S or 6S...

And YOUR personalized 5S rating criteria are automatically found and transferred every time you upgrade.

Professionals use professional tools

Have you ever noticed the difference between the tools used by a journeyman vs. a handyman?

Your deliverables are a measure of your professionalism. It's your career. They're your deliverables.

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start

Training is always the first step

And because 5S is often the first introduction to the entire concept of Lean continuous improvement,

patient attention should be given to ensure that people's fears, misconceptions, and questions are fully answered.

Most importantly, management must convincingly lay to rest the fear of "improving ourselves out of a job."

See online training for your Job Security Promise template (JobAssurance.docx)

After initial 5S training

Every lean leader has their own favorite way of implementing an initial workspace clean up.

The essential thing is to have the workers evaluate every tool and machine, every pile of materials and supplies, every piece of instructional paper... to decide what is actually used, and how often.

• This can be done by marking any suspect item with a red tag, and then moving it out of the area into a temporary holding area (just in case it really is needed)...
• It can be accomplished by holding a mock auction, where the workers "bid" to plea their case for why an item should be kept.

The end result is to Sort the useful from the clutter.

Depending on the volume and complexity of the initial clutter,

Sort can be its own phase, or you might have time to move right into an initial round of Straighten and Shine.

Be sure to take before and after photos

And use your 5S Standard template (5SStandard.xlsx)
to show off those photos in a compelling storyboard format

and then distribute and socialize your highly visual success story far and wide to begin generating enthusiasm for your Lean program.

Office5S

How to Sustain your Lean 5S System

Most Lean initiatives start out with 5S training as one of the earliest initiatives,
and there is a flurry of enthusiastic cleaning and organizing.

The real test, however, is how well the new ways "stick" over time.

The success of your 5s system is often an excellent predictor
of the probable success of your greater lean manufacturing initiative.

Once you have "picked the low-hanging fruit" of the first 3 phases of 5S,
you will soon be challenged with the tougher 4th and 5th phases...

Standardize and Sustain

Your success or failure with Standard Work will determine the success or failure of your entire lean program.

The 5S templates featured on this page are really just the beginning.

There's no sense in even beginning a new flavor-of-the-month initiative if your top management is not sincerely committed to seeing this through for long-term cultural transformation.

And to do THAT...
you're going to need to look ahead at the 2 toughest phases of any 5S system:

5) Sustain

5S isn't (successfully) implemented in isolation.

The Shingo Prize teachings make it clear...

The typical Lean Journey usually starts with using one lean tool to solve one isolated problem

(5S is a common starting point)

and then IF that initial small project is successful...

the usual, expected, and desired path is to become exposed to (and competent with) many other lean tools and methods... eventually evolving into integrated synergistic lean systems

 

That's what Systems2win offers...

templates, self-paced training, and systems for sustained continuous improvement

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Reading

Suggested Reading and Resources for

Lean 5S Tools and Systems

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These 5S templates come with with an entire suite of Continuous Improvement Tools

 

to empower every team member to improve every process