Six Essential 5S Lessons for Leaders 05Aug08:Layout...

----L E A D E R S H I P F E AT U R E

by Rick Brimeyer

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2008 PDG, Inc. All rights reserved.

How to Avoid Common 5S MistakesSix lessons learned from a proven Lean leader

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L E A D E R S H I P F E AT U R E

As a plant manager who oversaw two distinct and rather successful Lean transformations, I’m almost ashamed to admit thatI missed some pretty fundamental issues relative to 5S. With thebenefit of hindsight, I can now clearly see that my understandingof this basic tool was remedial at best, detrimental at worst. It isnow evident to me that my limited knowledge of 5S certainly impacted the rate of progress and possibly the degree ofimprovement attained. In this article I’d like to provide you withthe advantages of my lessons learned so that you and your organization can travel to a higher level at a faster rate. Listedbelow are six lessons to enhance your organization’s use of thisvital Lean tool.

Lesson No. 1: 5S is not ( just) about housekeeping

My initial comprehension of 5S was that it was simply a method for improvingorganization and housekeeping. I figured that it was typically the first tool introduced in a Lean transformation because it was easy to wrap one’s mindaround, and was relatively safe in that no person’s job was impacted too drastically.

On the benefits side, 5S resulted in an immediate visual impact, and eliminatedthe waste and frustration associated with employees searching for needed items.Thus, I saw it simply as a momentum builder. While 5S is indeed a tool for improving workplace cleanliness, limiting it to this only is akin to classifying theCathedral of Notre Dame as simply a church.

Whenever I introduced the topic of 5S during new employee orientation, I usedthe analogy of cleaning a home closet to simplify and demystify the strange andexotic Japanese terms. “What’s the first thing you do when you clean a closet athome?” I would ask.

“I’m almost

ashamed to admit

that I missed some

pretty fundamental

issues relative to

5S.”

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“Take everything out and decide what you’re going tokeep,” a brave soul would almost always answer.

“Great! That’s Sort or Seiri,” I confirmed. “What wouldyou do next?”

“Put it back nicely?” someone would volunteer.

“Maybe dust and vacuum first?” another would suggest.

“Right! That’s Showcase or Seiso,” I’d approve.

“And next?”

“Now put stuff back nicely,” the second student would repeat.

“Yes! That’s “Set in Order or Seiton. And next?”

At this point the room generally fell silent. I then explained that the fourth S, Standardize or Seiketsu, mightinvolve creating special storage locations for everything inthe closet, and making it visual so that it was fairly obvious where everything belonged.

I would then make a rather futile attempt at explaining thefifth S, Sustain or Shitsuke. I’d describe inviting the otherinhabitants of the house, my wife and three kids, up to myclean closet and imploring, “You all see this nice cleancloset…keep it that way!” I’m pretty sure I even told alame joke

about “Shitsuke” being what the supervisor from Toyotacursed when he stubbed his toe on an engine block thathad been left laying around.

Thus I did my part in perpetuating the misunderstandingof 5S which exists in over 90 percent of North Americancompanies.

The reason the room fell silent after listing the first threeSs is because that is exactly how we behave in NorthAmerica. We sort out the items we no longer need and designate them for the next trip to the local charity or theupcoming garage sale. We knock down the cobwebs, wipethings down, and then put things back neatly…and thenwatch as the status slowly degrades until it reaches a pointrequiring us to repeat the entire process months later.

To fully appreciate the fundamental nature of 5S to anyLean transformation, I find it is useful to start with a littlearithmetic:

3S + 2S = 5S

The first three components of 5S are indeed about housekeeping. The fourth and fifth Ss, however, are aboutestablishing a culture of discipline around Standard Work.It is this reason that 5S is a foundational tool for all Leantransformations. Without establishing a culture thatdemonstrates the ability to establish Standard Work andsustain improvements, all future Lean progress will ultimately go for naught. In fact, some Japanese sensei believe this so strongly, that they refuse to let clients takethe next step in the process until they have successfullydemonstrated 5S for two years.

Executive Takeaway:

5S is about housekeeping and organization, but it is evenmore about Standard Workand instilling the discipline needed to sustainfuture improvements.

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Lesson No. 2:

5S is simple…but it’s not easy

The ideals of 5S are not complex: Keep only what’s needed at the jobsite; keep it clean; storeit in the most convenient location; establish clear, visualexpectations for everyone to keep it in that condition; andhold people accountable to those expectations.

But let’s not confuse simplicity (the lack of complexity)with ease (requiring little attention or effort). Tiger Woodsmakes swinging a golf club look easy. The mind canquickly comprehend how a good stroke looks, but anyone who has played golf knows it is anything but easyto make one’s own body duplicate Tiger’s. And, eventhough we may occasionally hit a good shot, we know itrequires significantly more effort to do so with any degreeof consistency.

The key word here is consistency. In the incredibly competitive environment of a professional golf tournament, a single bad hole over four days of play caneffectively eliminate one from contending for the championship. The need for such a high level of consistency is what makes it so tough to win.

Likewise, what makes 5S sustainment so difficult is theconsistency with which it must be applied. In short, eachand every instance of nonconformance that is identified

must be addressed. Anything short of that allows for doubtand mixed messages to creep into the workforce. One company was so good at this that a leader would divertfrom a customer tour to coach observed instances of 5Snonconformance.

A factory or office successfully practicing 5S makes it lookeffortless. But, just as Tiger has invested endless hoursworking on his game, the successful 5S organization hascommitted to constant sorting, shining, and setting inorder. More importantly, those organizations have thecourage to risk episodes of interpersonal discomfort whena team member fails to live up to agreed to standards.

Undoubtedly, in addition to his dogged discipline, Tigerwas born with various traits that make him the world’smost successful golfer. Fortunately, all of the skillsrequired for a flourishing 5S organization can be learnedand successfully applied if the desire exists. No innatetraits are required.


Executive Takeaway:Like almost all things requiring discipline (healthy diet, exercise, saving),5S is easy to understand but difficult topractice. Communication should not over-simplify the challenge. Ensure the organization understands the importanceand magnitude of the effort. Start small,recognize successes, and leverage to largerareas.

Lesson No. 3:

5S is not an event, it’s a process

Organizations often kick off their Lean implementations with basic training and perhaps a short 5S kaizen focused on the initial cleanup of a scoped area. “Before” and “After” photos are taken to document the significant change, andalmost everyone leaves feeling like they’ve accomplished something.

Those good feelings, however, quickly erode to skepticism if Standardize andSustain are not practiced. The result is that the condition of the area steadily degrades, pulling down employees’ pride and enthusiasm with it. The entire Leaneffort can be perceived as another Program of the Month.

While a 5S kaizen event is a possible trailhead for a continuous improvementjourney, great care must be taken in planning the event to ensure that all fivecomponents are adequately emphasized. Often, 5S kaizen agendas allot 80-90percent, sometimes more, of the scheduled time to Sort, Showcase, and Set inOrder. Standardize and Sustain are treated as afterthoughts. This reinforces the myth that 5S is onlyabout housekeeping and sets the continuous improvement journey offon a precarious first leg.

A better allotment is to spend anequal amount of time on the finaltwo components as is spent on thefirst three components. Dedicatedtime should be assigned to createclear, visual standards to document expectations. Photos ofboth acceptable and unacceptablelevels should be included. In addition, agreement should bereached on how team members will satisfy expectations: Will 5S time be designated each shift? Does adequate timeexist within machine cycles to perform the necessary task?

4


After


Before

5

An adequate portion of the agenda should also be devoted to developing the Sustain process. Team members must articulate their expectations of eachother and practice holding each other accountable.Standard Work for supervisors is recommended sothat their role is clear in addressing out-of-controlsituations. An audit process and visual metric tomonitor sustainment by the team and their supervisor must be developed, including leadership’s duty to hold the supervisoraccountable.

Finally, an agreed-to system should be established for making improvements to the initial standards as team members identify betterlocations for storing items, more efficient methods for cleaning, etc.


Executive Takeaway:Review 5S kaizen pre-work to ensure the appropriate time and emphasisis placed on the Standardize and Sustain components. Reinforce the importance ofthese components in kick-off comments,during the event, and at the report-out. Recognize improvements by refrainingfrom “Mission Accomplished” type comments. Take an active role in auditingthe audits.


“Team members must articulate

their expectations of each other and

practice holding each other

accountable.”

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Lesson No. 4:

5S success depends almost entirely on leadership

Progressive leaders may often roll up their sleeves to help during the initial cleanup portion of an event. In reality, however, leadership’s realwork begins when the initial cleanup is completed.

That’s because only leadership can ensure that a culture valuing standardization and sustainment is established within their organization. Until those values are imbedded within the workforce, pursuing other Lean tools which have an even greater impact on how work is accomplished (change-over, one-piece flow,TPM) is fruitless.

For this reason it’s important that all leaders, from front-linesupervisors to the senior leadership team members, understand theirrole in a continuous improvement transformation. While a basic understanding of Lean principles is important, a clear image ofleadership’s responsibilities in the Lean environment is absolutely vital.

One manager, upon hearing of the importance of auditing for improvement sustainment complained, “I’m not interestedin becoming a babysitter!” One can only wonder how someone in a leadership role capable of making such a remarkcould succeed in any organization, Lean or not. The point is, a key leadership responsibility in any setting – business,athletic, charity – involves holding people accountable to the ideals and goals of the organization.

If the organization has not previously established a healthy results-oriented culture, leaders should be trained on coaching and holding employees accountable prior to embarking on 5S. Properly interacting with employees to providefeedback, both positive and negative, is the heavy lifting of being a leader.

Hopefully an organization eventually matures to a point where team members hold each other accountable to agreed-to standards. This level will never be reached without leadership first modeling the behavior.

Executive Takeaway:Before beginning 5S efforts,train all members of theleadership team on accountability and coaching,including practicing via roleplaying. Communicate clear expectations to all membersof leadership. Finally, expectleaders to hold others accountable.


“Properly interacting with employees to provide feedback, bothpositive and negative, is the heavy

lifting of being a leader.”

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Lesson No. 5:

Each 5S component has a common pitfall (learn to avoid them)

My experience with 5S implementations has revealed that there are very commonmissteps. By being aware of these mistakes, the prudent leader can proactively design an implementation to ensure that their organization’s execution is successful.

In the Sort phase, companies often underestimate the critical nature of an effective,ongoing Red Tag process. It’s very hard for some people to part with items they believe have value, even though that value may not pertain to the area undergoing5S. A working Red Tag process offers these folks a means for getting the item out oftheir area, while still recycling it to a place where it can add value.

A common flaw in the Showcase phase is not setting a highenough standard for the team. As a result, many Showcase effortsgo no further than 409 cleaner and rags. The goal is to restorethe area to a good as new condition and may involve new painting, lighting, and flooring in addition to cleaning.

Leaving more space than required to store only necessary itemsis a frequent oversight with the Set in Order phase. There’s sometruth which can be applied to the work area from Boston’s Irreversible Law of Clutter which states, “In any household,junk accumulates to fit the space available for its storage.”

In the Standardize phase, I often see standards that are toovague to be useful for anyone other than the author(s) of thestandards. Clear standards should include visual examples ofboth acceptable and unacceptable levels of adherence.

Finally, leaders often make the unfounded assumption in theSustain phase that all team members are on board and excitedto comply with the new level or organization. The sad truth isthat some people are very comfortable living in total disarrayand return to it each day after work.


Executive Takeaway:

Learn from other’s mistakes:•Sort – Develop a bullet-proof Red Tagprocess•Showcase – Provide a clear expec

tationon the level of improvement desired…andthe appropriate budget to allow it

to happen•Set in Order – Use creativity to minimize space which can accumulateclutter, e.g. replace a table which h

olds afixture with a stand to hold the fi

xture•Standardize – Use someone from outside the work area to interpret standards to ensure clarity•Sustain – Audit from Day 1 and ensure violators are held accounta

ble(including Supervisors)

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Lesson No. 6:

5S isn’t important…it’s essential!

The most common rationale for 5S is that an organized workplace improves safety, quality,productivity, and morale. These are good arguments,and they were enough to convince me that 5S was important and worth doing. But now, with the benefit of more than20 years of experience, I know that 5S is more than important, it’s essential for continuous improvement. Here’s why:

Standardize and Sustain are discipline dependant ideals. It’s easy to Sort, Showcase, and Set in Order, but to maintainthe efficiencies that are created, people have to behave differently than they did in the past. It would be nice if behaviors would just change automatically, but it usually doesn’t work that way. It takes influence to change behaviorsthat have developed over time. It isn’t always easy, but it can be done by leaders who have the skills and courage to doso.

So here’s my point. Leaders who know (or learn) how to Standardize and Sustain by instilling discipline are wellequipped to effectively utilize many other essential tools for continuous improvement. Why? Because so many Lean toolsare also discipline dependant. Here are a few examples:

� When we create Standard Work we identify the best practices and document them as the standard for everyone to follow. Will they follow them just because we have created a standard? Probably not. As with 5S, we have to ensure people are following the standards in order to sustain the improvements we make. It’s not a given.

� Kanban is a fantastic tool to improve supply chain performance, but like 5S and Standard Work, it requires discipline. Kanban cards must be moved at the right time and get filled in the right order for the system to work. Calculations must be regularly reviewed. These actions, while simple, are essential and require discipline.

� With Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), we identify what needs to be done proactively and routinely to ensure that equipment is reliable and productive. People who are assigned TPM tasks are essential to the success of the TPM program. Their behavior needs to change after the TPM event has been completed.

“The most common rationale for

5S is that an organized workplace

improves safety, quality, productivity,

and morale.”

People often refer to 5S as a tool, and in many respects it is. The beauty of this tool is that when we learn to use it well, we learn the key to success for many other tools.

Summary:

5S is deceptively simple, appearing to be intuitive and practical on thesurface. However, anyone who has tried to implement 5S knows thatit brings its fair share of challenges. Leaders need to understand that5S is just as much about Standard Work and discipline as it is about housekeeping and organization. Furthermore, leaders must acceptthe responsibility, learn and apply new skills and behaviors to instill Standard Work and discipline in their organization for 5S tosucceed. This is no small task. In fact, failure to adequately utilizeStandard Work and create discipline is why the vast majority of5S initiatives fail.

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Executive Takeaway:Standardizing and sustaining5S require discipline, and discipline will create the opportunity for improvementsfar beyond 5S. Use 5S to learnto change behavior by setting expectations, providing feedback,and holding people accountable.Then apply those same skillselsewhere.

At PDG, we help our clients continuously improve their operational performance through Lean, Six Sigma, and organizational development. We provide both technical andcultural know-how that allows our clients to achieve substantial, sustained, year over year improvement whilethey learn to become self sufficient over time.

Our 5S portfolio contains virtually everything an organization needs to effectively implement and sustain a5S system. It contains the knowledge, experience, tools,and lessons learned from over 75 years of combined 5S experience.

The 5S portfolio:

• 5S Implementation System• 5S Field Guide for Leaders• 5S Coaching• On-site 5S Consulting• 5S Essentials for Leaders• 5S Basics

To learn more, contact us at 866-404-7221 or e-mail Tom [email protected] or Rick [email protected]

About PDG’s 5S Por t fo l io

The 5S Field Guide for Leaders is filled with how-to information collected from leaders of successful 5S initiatives. It goes far beyond the seminars and textbooks, getting to the real issues that leaders face when applying the5S principles. Each chapter is filled with insights and best practices that will help you understand what you must do toachieve and sustain 5S results. The 5S Field Guide for Leaders is available in paperback or CD audio.

5S Essentials for Leaders is a training session that clearly defines what leaders must do to achieve success with 5Simplementation and sustainment. The module is approximately four hours in length and covers topics such as supporting 5S events, effective auditing, holding people accountable, the leader’s role in 5S, and much more. 5S Essentials for Leaders is available for purchase with a facilitator’s guide or we can do the training for you.

The 5S Implementation System is everything an organization needs to implement 5S. It includes all of the 5S materials and presentations that our consultants use with our clients during 5S implementations. It also includes fivecopies of the 5S Field Guide (four paperback and one audio CD), the 5S Essentials for Leaders training module, andfour hours of coaching with a PDG consultant.

5S Coaching is designed for the do-it-yourselfer who needs a little help. We will provide coaching on any topic dealing with 5S, including sustainment, accountability, event leadership, employee engagement and buy-in. Your 5Scoach can be with you when needed, to help you solve the most difficult challenges you face as you implement 5S.

On-site 5S Consulting is customized to meet your needs and starts with an on-site assessment. One of our consultants will spend time with you understanding what you want to achieve and where you have experienced successes and challenges. From there, we will design and present a solution that will get you what you want.

5S Basics is a narrated slideshow that teaches 5Sfundamentals. It can be used by individuals or groups and is agreat way to provide self-paced learning for participants priorto 5S events. People who use the 5S Basics module will learnwhat 5S is, why it’s important, how to effectively do all of theSs, and what team members need to do in order to sustain 5Sresults. 5S Basics is available in English and Spanish.

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