5S: A Japanese Secret of Success

5S: a Japanese secret of success

Here is material on the Japanese 5S method, genuinely useful for anyone studying or hoping to work in a Japanese company environment.
5S is the name of a method for managing and organising the workplace. It is an abbreviation of 5 Japanese words: Seiri (整理 Sort), Seiton (整頓 Set in order), Seiso (清掃 Shine), Seiketsu (清潔 Standardise), and Shitsuke (躾 Sustain).

What these 5 words mean:
Sort: Seiri means classifying and organising items in order. This is the first step a business needs to take in practising 5S. The main content of S1 is classifying and removing what is not needed, which may be sold off or reused.

Set in order: once the unnecessary items have been removed, the next job is to organise what is left efficiently, so that things are easy to find, easy to see, easy to take out and easy to put back.

Shine: clean regularly and keep the workplace clean through an overall clean-up and daily cleaning of machinery, equipment and the work area. S3 aims to improve the working environment, reduce risks and accidents and at the same time improve the accuracy of machinery and equipment (which dirt and dust affect).

Standardise: keep checking and maintaining the 3S above. By developing S4, the 3S activities are gradually improved against the standards that have been set, moving towards complete 5S in the business.

Sustain: this means training people and building a habit, a discipline and a way of working for everyone in carrying out 5S

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