6S

To Create a Workplace suited for Visual Control and Lean

Production

The Six Ss Is not Six Sigma

A highly disciplined process that focuses on developing and delivering near-perfect products and services

6S is Sort, Straighten, Shine (Scrub), Safety, Standardize, Sustain 5-S… in Japanese factories Focus: orderliness 6th S added in some US companies… Safety Combines orderliness with safety / ergo Overall intention: CLEAN, SAFE, ORDERLY First step on Lean Journey

Visual Factory/Office

1st Level: See the Shop/Office Basic 6S 90% never get beyond this point

2nd Level: See the work In 5 Seconds, can you see what’s

going on?

6S Think of 6-S as a repeating action

sequence: 1: SORT OUT - get rid of what’s not needed 2: STRAIGHTEN - organize what belongs 3: SCRUB - clean up, see and solve

problems 4: SAFETY - make the work area safe 5: STANDARDIZE - assign tasks, track

visually 6: SUSTAIN - keep it up (audit and insist)

Remember… This applies to all areas (value-adding and

administrative) Basic "6-S” is part of establishing any cell

Sort GET RID OF WHAT’S NOT NEEDED

Start with a red tag campaign Tag everything that looks disorderly or

unsafe Be ruthless (90% of the time you'll be OK,

you'll get over the 10%) If in doubt throw it out If still in doubt, send it to a “red tag area”

for resolution You should be removing truckloads of

items… be tough (sometimes you’ll need to ask for forgiveness later!)

Straighten ORGANIZE WHAT BELONGS

Create a place for everything Meet with shop/office personnel on what

should be where Deal with the open red tags from the

"Sort Out" step: Organize parts and material Resolve things you were afraid to throw

out Write off or sell off obsolete materials

Straighten

Straighten

Straighten

Straighten

Scrub CLEAN UP, SEE AND SOLVE PROBLEMS

Make the work area absolutely clean Clean everything (equipment, floors,

walls…) Paint everything (equipment, floors, walls…) Look for problems…

Leaks? Loose or missing items Unsafe conditions Causes of messes or problems… Quality issues

Solve problems (root cause), take corrective action (prevent)

Scrub

Safety MAKE THE WORKPLACE SAFER

Look for unsafe conditions Look for potential for unsafe acts Look for difficult tasks (are they

ergonomic?) Try the jobs yourself… where could

you get hurt? List the opportunities Resolve them

Put creativity before capital and put safety first!!!

Safety

Standardize ASSIGN TASKS AND MANAGE

VISUALLY Who will do what to keep the area

clean, safe and orderly? Agree on daily and weekly tasks Establish a visual management

system for these tasks

Can you tell at a glance if the tasks have been done?

Standardize

Sustain KEEP IT UP (AUDIT AND INSIST)

Develop audit checklists for office and for shop floor

Assign the audit role to someone outside the area

Track the audit results (a bit of friendly competition?)

Hold yourselves accountable for sustaining

Sustain - Maintain The Gains Create checklist for

entire area & all items within the area

Use checklist daily or weekly as appropriate

Once a year have Examiners perform independent review

Fix and clean daily Continue to train &

heighten awareness Remember you are

World Class! Act like it.

Sustain - 6S Scorecard0 = No evidence that 6S is being

considered for implementation1 = Some evidence of 6S being

started 2 = 6S is partially implemented

(some gains are evident)3 = 6S has been implemented but

not self-sustaining4 = 6S has been implemented & is

self-sustaining (standard throughout)

5 = 6S is entrenched; efforts have resulted in high achievements

6 = “Out-of-the-box”; Area is doing extraordinary things, above & beyond the norm

Sustain - 6S Scorecard0 – 20 = Some organization,

needs much improvement

21 – 40 = Signs of 6S in place, good organization, needs more time to mature

41 – 60 = 6S implemented, signs of maturing, not self-sustaining

61 – 80 = 6S implemented, system is self-sustaining

81 – 100 = 6S is entrenched with high achievements

100+ = Extraordinary, over-and-above, “outside-the-box”

Visual Management Make normal / abnormal conditions

obvious with Floor and surface marking Shadow boxes Samples Visual indicators Obstacle height limits Lights and sounds Arrows, zones, stickers Scoreboards Labels and tags

For Shops Remove unnecessary items All cleaning material stored in a neat manner Floors clean of debris, oil and dirt Bulletin boards updated, straight and neat Easy access to emergency equipment, highly visible Items on floors are in clearly marked areas Aisles are clear and kept free of material Storage of boxes is square, neat, orderly Machines, tools, equipment kept clean Nothing on top of machines or cabinets Documents and binders stored in a neat manner Tools, jigs, fixtures, details are labeled, shadowed,

identified, easy to reach Shelves, benches, desks kept free of unused objects,

including files and documents

For Offices Remove unnecessary items, minimum personal items Cleaning equipment stored in a neat manner Floors clean and free of debris and dirt Bulletin boards are updated, straight and neat Easy access to emergency equipment, stored in a prominent

manner Nothing on the floor but furniture, CPU, recycle bin and

garbage can Office layout posted at each entrance, name and task/position

outside cubicle/office Office equipment and furniture is functional and in good repair Paper, cabinets, and bins squared up, centered and at right

angles, PC wiring is routed and secured/clamped Desks, surfaces, cabinets, chairs cleaned weekly Nothing on top of overheads or cabinets, nothing leaning

against walls or columns, everything labeled Documents and binders stored in a neat and orderly manner Shelves, cabinets, desks kept free of unused objects, including

files and documents

Acknowledgements

“Lean Thinking” by James Womack and Daniel Jones

“Toyota Production System” by Taiichi Ohno

Simpler Business System, www.simpler.com