What Is 5S Visual Management

5S visual management is defined as an improvement process originated by the Japanese to create a workplace that supports company-wide integration of workplace organization, standardization, visual control, visual display, and visual metrics.

Honda and Toyota acknowledge that 25 to 30% of all quality defects are related to safety, orderliness, and cleanliness. Clean, safe, and efficient must become the expectation for conducting daily processes.

Why Implement the 5S Visual Management?

Because it is a good starting point for all improvement programs. 

The techniques for 5S were originally applied to production operations and have recently been extended to safety and office activities. 5S visual management pictures is a key foundation principle for creating the lean enterprise because the concepts of organization and orderliness are focused on achieving cost reductions, waste elimination, zero defects, safety improvements, and accident reductions.

The savings that can be generated will add significant savings to annual expenses. For example, if every employee in a company of 100 employees could eliminate $5 of waste each day during the year,the company could realize a cost savings of $125,000 on an annual basis.

The Five Principles of 5S are:

Seiri (sort) means to separate needed tools, parts, and instructions from the unneeded. The goal is to keep only what is required and eliminate everything else.

Seiton (set in order) means to neatly arrange and identify parts, processes, and tools for ease of use.

Seiso (shine) means to clean, shine, and inspect the workplace by eliminating contamination.

Seiketsu (standardize) means to require as the norm sort, set in order, and shine activities daily to keep the workplace in perfect condition and also to make use of visual control systems to maintain compliance with the established standards.

Shitsuke (sustain) means to maintain the 5S gains by training and encouraging workers to form the habit of always following the first four S's.

By Applying 5S You Will :

• Reduce workflow problems, increases product quality and productivity, as well as improves communication.
• Improve workplace safety by eliminating hazards and establishing compliance to work standards.
  
• Align employee efforts with goals and strategies for eliminating waste.

• Improve appearance of the facility and expectation for compliance to maintain that condition.
  
• Establishes standards for operating equipment and conducting processes.
  
• Reduce training time for new employees. 
  
• Improve quality from preventing defects and errors from occurring.

• Reduce changeover time
  
• Reduce tool search time
  
• Increase floor space
  
• Reduce lead time and cycle time Improve morale and pride in the workplace.
  
• Reduce materials handling
  
• Decrease work flow distance
  
• Reduce equipment breakdowns yields better equipment utilization

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Quality Assurance Solutions
Robert Broughton
(805) 419-3344
USA
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