5S is a workplace philosophy that comes to us from Japan.
The name 5S comes from 5 Japanese words that start with the letter "S"
It is a structured and disciplined method of organising and running the workplace, be it a factory or an office or a service sector activity like hotel or hospital or a bank, for improved productivity, safety, quality at reduced cost and higher efficiency.

They are the 5S Mantra

If all our recommendations are fully followed, we expect the following :

• Freeing of work space for productive work -- in cities where Office space is extremely costly, this means a significant monetary saving.

• Reduction in search time of documents and other items (A 5S office is expected to retrieve any document in less than one minute !)

• As a result of the above, much faster response times to Customer Requests

• Visible and distinctive improvement in House keeping

• Significant reduction in throughput time of production and despatch

• Reduction in number and duration of machine breakdowns

• Reduction in material handling damages

• Reduction in product rejections caused by a dirty environment

• Generation of a much "safer" and more "hygienic" working environment

• Significant reduction in loss due to damage and misplacement in storage

• Reduction in consumption of consumables

• Tremendous improvement in morale of the entire workforce and a healthy build - up of "pride" in one's work-place

Some of the major practitioners of 5S in India include the Aditya Birla, TVS and Tata Groups, most of the Auto and Auto ancillary units, Banks and Hospitals and various others. The 5S Institute has worked with a vast range of organisations from Engineering, Chemical, Ceramic Tiles, Banks, Steel, Hospital, and even 2 of the country’s major High Courts !

This is not very clearly known or documented though it is widely believed that it is also part of the famous “TPS” i.e. Toyhota Production Systems. The Japanese Guru of 5S is commonly held to be Hiroyuki Hirano, whose Book “5 Pillars of the Workplace” first published by the Productivity Press in 1995 is considered a seminal work in this area

(the following is extracted from : http://www.qualitycoach.net/5pillars.htm)

This book describes how the 5S`s--organization, orderliness, cleanliness, standardized cleanup, and discipline--foster efficiency, maintenance, and continuous improvement in all areas of the company.

Presented in a thorough, detailed style, 5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace explains why the 5S's are important and the who, what, where, and how of 5S implementation.

In this important sourcebook, JIT expert Hiroyuki Hirano provides the most vital information available on the visual workplace, a critical but often overlooked area of continuous improvement. This book describes how the 5S`s--organization, orderliness, cleanliness, standardized cleanup, and discipline--foster efficiency, maintenance, and continuous improvement in all areas of the company, from the plant floor to the sales office.

"It's too simple!" is the response when people hear about the 5S's, which are often thought of as simple tools for industrial housekeeping. Simple, yes, but if ignored, the results may be disastrous. When executives inquired, "What kind of rationalization policy should I adopt to make sure my company survives into the 21st century?" Hirano answered, "The 5S's." Why? Because a company that cannot successfully implement the 5S's cannot expect to effectively integrate JIT, re-engineering, or any other large-scale change.

Publisher's Message

The book before us is 5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace: The Sourcebook for 5S Implementation. I consider Hiroyuki Hirano, the author, to be a genius and the 5S's to be the most important step for productivity improvement and safety today. Let me explain what I mean.

Products and processes today involve very close tolerances. Variability must be fully controlled. The physical work environment is critical in the drive for high quality, low cost, and speedy delivery. Think about the Indy 500 in which, thanks to precise teamwork and organization, a car can be serviced in the pits in only 14 seconds. The computer industry has created "clean-room" work environments to produce the required precision and purity in production. Now growing consumer demand for quality products is forcing people from other industries to rethink their workplaces.

Will product improvements see the light of day (or night) in filthy plants? Can we expect people in dismal environments to work at their maximum potential? Can uncluttered minds with fresh ideas function in cluttered work-places? The answer is obvious-- and the solution so simple.

Organization. Orderliness, Cleanliness, Standardized Cleanup, and Discipline are needed. This is what Mr. Hirano calls the "5S's" -- simple activities that can be difficult to implement. And this is what is required for companies to survive in the years ahead. Americans too often expect high drama from an idea when what is needed is simplicity--and a solid foundation to sustain good work.

There are several like The 5S Institute (info@the-5s-institute.com), QCFI, Kaizen Institute, and a host of other individual consultants with experience in this area.

This is a function of

• the physical area involved,
• the present condition of the area where 5S is to be carried out,
• the number of senior people the organisation is able to deploy, along with the consultant, for implementing 5S and the number of hours per week that the internal team is able to devote to 5S implementation

The 5S institute has done a range of implementation from fairly small office areas involving some 40 to 50 persons working there to fairly large manufacturing units having a large number of large sheds and workforce strength of 1200 and above.

As on date the minimum time taken for any assignment has been 4 calendar months (during which period, The 5S institute consultants devote approximately 4 to 6 days per month at the site) going up to 12 calendar months for larger units.

There are two kinds of costs to 5S implementation :

• The professional fees of the consultant which depends on
  1. the duration of the assignment (as explained above)
  2. the fee structure of the consultant
• The current condition of the Unit where 5S is being implemented which may call for corrective action, as identified by the 5S exercise. These costs typically relate to :
  1. Repair / Modification / New Procurement of shelves, racks, storage systems
  2. Cleaning / Overhauling / Painting / Polishing of equipment
  3. Repairs of various kinds of leakage
  4. Repair / replacement / new procurement of firefighting equipment and other safety items like Goggles, Safety shoes, Gloves, Ear Plugs etc.
  5. Labeling / Making of Direction & Location Boards
  6. Cost of temporary manpower required to be hired from outside for the initial task of sorting/segregating, which at the start of the exercise is usually a major effort and cannot be done by the employees in the course of their regular work ; of course, such work needs to be closely supervised and monitored by the company employees and subsequently, personally carried out by them, on their own. However, for the initial effort, some temporary additional manpower needs to be budgeted for.

The 5S institute has done a range of implementation from fairly small office areas involving some 40 to 50 persons working there to fairly large manufacturing units having a large number of large sheds and workforce strength of 1200 and above.

As on date the minimum time taken for any assignment has been 4 calendar months (during which period, The 5S institute consultants devote approximately 4 to 6 days per month at the site) going up to 12 calendar months for larger units.

Never. 5S is a continuous input that the organisation must carry on with, forever. If it stops, because of a “sense of having achieved a lot” then things will soon slide back to their original condition.

The beauty of 5S is that as you continue to with it, every day you will identify a new possibility of improvement and up gradation ; this is what will enable you to add distance between you and your nearest competition and since competition never ends, neither does 5S.