5S Visual Workplace - Foundation for Employee Involvement

Traditionally companies working on a Lean Transformation start by implementing 5S into their workplace. They spend endless hours patrolling and scoring only to find things slipping back to the way it was before. Why do 5S projects fail? And, What does it take to successfully implement a 5S program that will truly continuously improve over time?

5S projects are seemingly simple, companies want to be neat, clean, visual, and safe. Managers like the impression it gives customers when they walk through the plant, but most companies fall into a trap. They believe that 5S is easy and that it will be implemented swiftly and without problems. 5S can be easy if it is done correctly, not one S at a time, not one department at a time, but with a properly executed strategic approach to a high performance visual workplace.

5S needs to be employee driven! No ifs, ands, or buts. If your employees are not involved, engaged, and motivated to participate in 5S you may as well work on something else. When employees own the 5S implementation you will find ways to not only clean up your workplace and make visual controls, you will also find that the employees will want to come up with new ideas for improvements. Try implementing an employee suggestion system along with your 5S efforts and use this system as a driver for continuously improving the workplace. It is also important to remember implementing 5S or Lean ultimately has to result in a change in human behavior. Not only the front line employees but also the management, think about the many years of habits that are built up. If management is always worried about production numbers then that is where your employees will focus. There is a fine line to balance production and lean, but it's well worth the effort. What is the message your management staff is sending the shop floor? Do you have a strategic plan for your 5S and Lean implementation? Have you communicated the plan, and walked the walk?

In my next post I will break down the 2 phases to a 5S implementation.