Using 5S to Increase Performance in the WorkplaceBy Brice Alvord

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5S requires a top-down commitment from senior management to the operator level. Without this any 5S program is doomed from the outset. Also there needs to be an infrastructure such as QCDSM in place for sustainability and continuous improvement (time and resources, ideas scheme etc.) to ensure the programs meets your goals and expectations.

5S must be properly understood by everyone in the organization. It is not simply a clean up exercise and if it is portrayed that way then the program will only achieve the second "S" and will be considered a failure. It simply works only when management understands that 5S is fundamental to good performance rather than secondary to it. 5S only succeeds in environments where there is discipline and self regulation in place to ensure that performance standards are maintained and followed.

Standards need to be maintained through a simple daily auditing system of different areas, or zones, with a person or small team being responsible for each.

Even with all this in place, long term sustainability will only be possible if the system is continually measured and improved. The QCDSM program ensures this will happen on a daily basis. In addition to QCDSM, members of senior management must carry out periodic inspections of each target area. One common error by senior management is never being visible on the factory floor.

5S provides the foundation for improving performance through continuous improvement. It focuses on:

Increasing quality by removing waste from the workplace. Provide reduction in operating costs by reducing non value added activities. Improving delivery by by simplifying processes and removing obstacles Improving safety through improved housekeeping and identification of hazards

Provide an environment where continuous improvement is embraced through workers problem solving and suggestions, thereby improving morale.

Simply put, 5S works best if the implementation of the program is based on the 5S Performance Improvement Formula:

P=Q+C+D+S+M

Where;

P - Increase productivity. Q - Improve product quality. C - Reduce manufacturing costs. D - Ensure on-time delivery. S - Provide a safety working environment M - Increase worker morale.

Making sure that everyone keeps up the daily 5S discipline is a management problem. It may be the responsibility of the 5S team leader, but it is also driven and supported by the auditing and tracking system that is used to measure conformance to the 5S process. The structure of the QCDSM process ensures a disciplined approach is carried out on every shift day in and day out.

Expectations:

You should be able to achieve substantial levels of performance improvement with a structured approach to carrying out day to day 5S activities.

1. Measurement of performance can occur in many ways and at many levels such as overall factory performance and work team productivity. Overall plant performance is the most important from a competitive viewpoint but many other factors can influence this other than 5S. When employing a structured system like QCDSM, expect a typical increase of about 15%-50%

2. An organization's concern for safety can be a significant contributor to morale and pride.It can be measured with Lost Time Injury rates or other measures of safety performance. Up to 70% Reduction

3. Cleaning out the junk will sometimes open significant space by itself. If an analysis and localized re-layout of departments is part of the 5S effort, there may be significant

savings. However, such space savings must be consolidated into larger blocks of space to be useful. 5%-60% Reduction

4. Absenteeism results from many causes but pride and morale are two of the more important. Improvements in absenteeism, if other factors remain constant, can be assumed as resulting from increased pride and morale. 20%-50% Reduction

5. If 5S teams prepare before-and-after spaghetti diagrams, they can measure reductions in walking distance. There are, however, other motion savings at the micro level (reaching, bending, etc.) that are more difficult to measure directly. 20%-50%+ Reduction

6. The rigor, discipline and analysis inherent in the QCDSM approach to 5S implementation can contribute to the development of the Continuous Improvement mindset. This occurs when constantly looking for and implementing improvement becomes a part of the job. One way to measure this is with the QCDSM Idea/Suggestion program. Expect the number of suggestions per employee is tracked and reported to management. Number of Suggestions 1500%+ Increase

If you wish to get more out of your performance improvement budget, reducing the amount that you spend and increase the likelihood that these investments will positively impact your company's performance over time, use a structured system like QCDSM to manage and maintain your 5S program. Without a focused approach to 5S implementation like QCDSM, your improvement efforts will eventually die.

Brice Alvord has over thirty years experience as an internal and external performance improvement consultant and business coach. Mr. Alvord has extensive experience in designing and developing performance based training programs that get results. He holds a BA in Sociology/Psychology from Central Washington University and an MBA degree from City University of Seattle. He is the author of over two dozen books on continuous improvement and training.

5S Leads to World Class PerformanceBy Brice Alvord

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The key to world class performance is found in a simple but effective program called 5S. 5S is all about creating a more effective workplace that is well organized, free of clutter, and organized so that you can easily find things. It is also incredibly clean.

This program is known as the 5S program, it is called this because the basic elements begin with the letter "S". These elements are:

1. Sort 2. Set In Order 3. Shine 4. Standardize 5. Sustain

The 5S methodology is simple but effective. It works in companies of sizes. It also provides the foundation of many other continuous improvement programs.

People practice the five pillars in their everyday lives. When we keep things like our toiletries, wash cloths and towels in convenient and familiar place, we are practicing the first two pillars - Sort and Set In Order. If our home environment become cluttered and disorganized we tend to function a lot less efficiently.

It is unfortunate that few companies are as standardized with 5S routines as is the daily life of a well organized person. In the workplace it is just as important as in the daily life of a person that effective routines for orderliness be maintained to ensure the smooth and effective flow of operational activities. Sort and Set In Order are the foundation for improving throughput, decreasing inventory and reducing operating costs.

Keep in mind that:

A neat and clean workplace has higher Quality A neat and clean workplace has higher productivity and less Cost A neat and clean workplace meets Delivery requirements better A neat and clean workplace is a Safer place to work A neat and clean workplace has higher Moral

SORT

The purpose of Sort is to remove all items from the workplace that are not needed for current production or clerical operations. When you are first getting started, this can be a difficult task as it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between what is needed and what is not.

People have a tendency to hang on to parts, materials, tools, etc thinking that they may need them later on. Often times extra inventory and inappropriate tools and equipment are left in the work place, this has a tendency to accumulate over time and gets in the way of production activities. This leads to a gradual build up of waste over time. The key to this is a process for evaluating the necessity of an item using a process called "Red Tagging". This process will greatly reduce the risk of disposing of items that may be needed later.

Set In Order

Set In Order is defined as "arranging needed items so that they are easy to use and labeling them so that they are easy to locate and put away. You should always implement Set In Order with Sort.

Once you have thoroughly Sorted everything, all that you will have left will be the items necessary to support production. Your next step will be to make it obvious where these items belong and in what quantity so that people can quickly find them and or return them.

SHINE

The third element is Shine. This wiping down machinery and equipment, sweeping floors and making sure that everything is clean. It is also about inspecting machines and equipment for proper operation and possible damage or needed repair.

Shine has a definite impact on producing defect-free product, by preventing dust, dirt, and debris form accumulating in the workplace.

STANDARDIZE

Standardize differs from the first three pillars which can be thought of as activities. It is the method that you use to carry out Sort, Set In Order, and Shine. Standardize is related to these three activities, however it is most closely related to Shine. It occurs when you keep machines and their surrounding areas free of dirt, debris, and oil. In other words it is the condition that exists when shine is appropriately practiced for some time.

SUSTAIN

Sustain means making the first four pillars a habit by maintaining correct procedures and processes. You will find that the first for pillars are relatively easy to implement if you and your fellow employees will commit to sustaining the desired 5S conditions. If you do, you will find

that your workplace will enjoy high productivity and quality while reducing unnecessary waste and high cost of operation.

BENEFITS OF 5S

Your organization will experience many benefits from implementing 5S. These benefits include:

Improved quality zero defects Decreased cost through reduced waste Improved delivery through less production delays and downtime Increased morale because of a cleaner, healthier workplace Increase safety because of reduced hazards.

Program Implementation

The key to an effective 5S program is proper planning and implementation. This can only occur if you employ the use of a 5S implementation team. This team must be properly trained and given sufficient resources and management support. The most effective planning and implementation comes about when the team is coached or guided through the process in a workshop environment. Another key is selecting a small target area to start with and get the program running properly before rolling it out to the entire company.

Brice Alvord has over thirty years experience as an internal and external performance improvement consultant and business coach. Mr. Alvord has extensive experience in designing and developing performance based training programs that get results. He holds a BA in Sociology/Psychology from Central Washington University and an MBA degree from City University of Seattle. He is the author of over two dozen books on continuous improvement and training.

If Your Are Focused on Efficiency - You Lose!By Brice Alvord

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Efficiency is not the best measure for improving the bottom line. As Eliyahu Goldratt demonstrated in his epic novel -The Goal, efficiency can actually sink your company. Much more needs to be considered such as how effective is your equipment in meeting your strategic goals?

Efficiency means that you apply people on the line and they are measure by how much of the time they are working. As Goldratt pointed out, they can be 100% applied, producing as many widgets as possible in a given time frame and not contribute positively to the bottom line. Goldratt's focus is on increasing through-put, decreasing inventory, and decreasing operating costs. His definition of through-put differs from most engineers, to him, through-put is what goes through the process and is then sold. If it is not sold, it is inventory.

Overall equipment effectiveness is a measurement used to indicate how effectively machines are running. Unlike some uses of the efficiency measure, OEE monitors the machine or process that adds the value, not the operator's productivity. It gives a complete picture of the machine's "health"-not just how fast it can make parts, but how much the potential output was limited due to lost availability or poor performance.

A machine's overall effectiveness includes more than the quantity of product it can produce in a shift. When we measure overall equipment effectiveness, we account for efficiency as one factor:

Performance - A comparison of the actual output with what the machine should be producing in the same time.

In addition to performance, however, OEE includes two other factors:

Availability - A comparison of the potential operating time and the time in which the machine is actually making products

Quality - A comparison of the number of products made and the number of products that meet the customer's specifications

Measuring OEE is strictly about improving the equipment or process. It is not an approach for criticizing people. Used as an impartial daily snapshot of equipment conditions, OEE promotes openness in information sharing and a no-blame approach in handling equipment-related issues.

These key differences highlight the importance of OEE as a balanced measure that helps support improvement and profitability. OEE can help you reduce the price of your products while maintaining your margins. It helps reduce operating costs and is a key component of improved through-put. Efficiency on the other hand masks real performance and can contribute negatively to through-put, inventory and operating costs.

Brice Alvord has over thirty years experience as an internal and external performance improvement consultant and business coach. Mr. Alvord has extensive experience in designing and developing performance based training programs that get results. He holds a BA in Sociology/Psychology from Central Washington University and an MBA degree from City University of Seattle. He is the author of over two dozen books on continuous improvement and training.

When Accountability Doesn't WorkBy Brice Alvord

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Most managers and politicians do not understand the difference between accountability and responsibility. Responsibility merely points out the person who is to be held responsible for failure or success. It is often set in place to be able to find blame rather than to be able to ensure that the system or process works as intended. Accountability on the other hand is all about what was or was not done to achieve goals or objectives. It focuses on the system or process.

Under a system of accountability, the person who is responsible for the goals and objectives give an account of his/her actions in the pursuit of those goals and objectives. Effective accountability requires a strong sense of purpose coupled with dialogue and negotiation between the person who will be accountable and his/her manager(s).

Defining Sense of Purpose

Purpose must be derived from the shared vision of the organization and from the obligations of the organization and its managers to the stakeholders of that organization. The vision defines what is possible and what the leadership of the organization would like to accomplish. The obligations define the mission of the organization. The two must work together along with the value system of the organization. Without one or more of these three key elements, the system can not function properly nor can it achieve its potential.

Too often, organizations rely on a committee or even a consultant to write a vision for them that sound good and has all of the platitudes that someone in management thinks will impress their clients. I once worked with a president of a company who loved to make a big point of the company's vision to clients. One of the lines in the vision statement was: "Realizing that our employees are our most important asset..." The trouble was that this company was a service company providing consultants to clients. Its model required a high rate of chargeability for each of those consultants. If a consultant was not working on chargeable work for two weeks, they were laid off. Their employees were definitely NOT their most important asset, or they would have done more to ensure that they stayed with the organization.

A vision must come from senior management and be communicated to the entire organization. In addition for it to become a shared vision, employees must enroll in that vision rather than "Buy In" to it. "Buy-in" involves coercion and the employees will not be as committed to it as they would be if they enrolled in the vision. Enrollment is a choice based on the idea that there is something for the employee in the vision. Unless the employees are committed to carrying out the vision, it will fail to provide the desired results. Not only must the employees be committed to the vision, they must remain committed over time and this will only occur if they see tangible results from that commitment.

The second element of a sense of purpose is the mission statement. For accountability that mission statement must be based on the obligations that the company and its employees have to the stakeholders of that organization. The first obligation that an organization has is to survive and grow in order to continue to meet the various needs of those stakeholders. Next the organization has an obligation to perform certain types of work, this define what it does to ensure its survival. The third step is to define what its products are that it will apply the essential work to.  The next obligation defines the market where the products will be made available to customers and finally the organization must define the territory where the product will be marketed. A mission statement based upon these obligations provides the direction and allows the employees to see the benefits to themselves of enrolling in the vision of the organization's leaders,

The sense of purpose provides the overall direction for each employee. It also provides the framework upon which managers and supervisors at all levels can define the specific work that they will become accountable for.

Negotiating Accountability

Knowing what is required of you is not sufficient to ensure the attainment of goals and objective. These goals and objectives must be realistic and both the manager and his/her boss must have a clear cut idea of what can and can not be accomplished. The boss must state what he/she needs to have accomplished and the manager must determine what he/she can realistically perform. They have to come to an agreement on the activities that the manager will undertake in pursuit of those goals and objectives. It is this agreement that provides the foundation of the accountability system. At periodic intervals, the two can meet and the manager can give account for what was or was not done according to their agreement to accomplish the desired goals and objectives.

Applying Accountability

An effective accountability program requires integration of all goals and objectives and that they stem from the vision and mission statement. They must cascade down from the obligations definitions into every department of the organization. The linkage must be clear and obvious to all.

In many organizations that use management by objectives, there is not a clear cut linkage. Many managers create objectives to ensure they get their bonus at the end of the year. These objectives may or may not reflect those of their boss; they play it safe and do what they think they can do regardless of whether or not their objectives are tied to corporate strategy. It is at this point that accountability begins to break down.

It is not uncommon for a manager to have 60% of his/her objectives accomplished by the time they write their objectives for the year, they "coast" with the remaining 40%. Upper management then takes these objectives and develops their plans and budgets for the year.  They have it backwards; they must start with effective strategic plans based upon the Vision and Mission of the organization. These plans then are broken down into tactical plans related to what needs to be accomplished by the various departments and individuals which should drive the goals and objectives.

This approach lays the foundation upon which the dialogue and negations upon which effective accountability is based. Any deficiency in this system will result in an ineffective accountability system.

Brice Alvord has over thirty years experience as an internal and external performance improvement consultant and business coach. Mr. Alvord has extensive experience in designing and developing performance based training programs that get results. He holds a BA in Sociology/Psychology from Central Washington University and an MBA degree from City University of Seattle. He is the author of over two dozen books on continuous improvement and training.

Obtaining Desired Results From Your 5S Efforts

By Brice Alvord

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Many companies have been "attempting" 5s for years with little to show for their efforts. Some have once again begun to roll it out once more after halting the effort a few years back.

When you first got started, you learned about the benefits of 5S, trained many of your employees on the concepts and rolled out some process improvement events in your operation. Yet you have seen little in the way of benefits that your team had hoped for. Is this 5S stuff really just another flavor of the month that is destined to go the way of so many of the company's past initiatives? The question is "are you really carrying out the 5S plan or are you simply "wishing for success."

There are too many companies in the United States and around the world that have had success implementing 5S techniques to think they are just a fad. The Toyotas, Harley Davidsons, General Electrics and thousands of others who have had success would argue that anyone can do it, but it does require discipline and the desire for success.

Where does your implementation stand? Is everyone trained? Does communication run rampant? Does everyone really understand what is expected? Is there true employee buy-in? Is the implementation timetable reasonable, considering the fact that you still have to run a business? Does anyone follow up to see if there are problems that need resolution? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then the failure of the implementation rests squarely on the shoulders of your organization. In fact, it is likely that if prior improvement efforts failed in your company, you can point to the same reasons.

Some questions you might wish to consider include::

Why did we stop our past 5S efforts? Which of those causes still exist? What have we learned from the success or failure of our past 5S effort?

How stable are our processes? How can we use 5S to create stability? What is the impact of a lack of 5S affecting Quality, Cost, Delivery, Safety, and Morale?

How standardized are our processes? Are they documented? How quickly and easily can we access those documents? How up to date are they?

How can we use 5S to simplify and improve our processes? Where can we use visual systems to highlight abnormalities?

What level of support are we receiving from management?.

No program, tool or technique alone can improve a process or system and sustain that improvement long-term. It takes strategic thinkers to successfully define the need for change in business terms. They then need the tools and a structure with in which to make sure that the efforts are sustained and the safety and quality remain the focus of day to day efforts.

Typically companies obtain great results for the first few months. Once the consultant has left and the 5S Champion resigns or is transferred, the program looses steam and begins to fall apart. Soon, the production floor is a mess. Tool boards are missing tools, floors are messy, and all sorts of equipment and supplies hidden behind machines. Much of what was done up to that point is gone. It becomes increasingly difficult to get everyone excited about 5S once again. This cycle has a habit of repeating it self. Consultant comes, 5S program is initiated, the consultant leaves, 5S dies.

Where is the payback?" The answer lies in the program processes and in the steps taken to sustain all efforts (the fifth S). Management and the 5S team seem to look at 5S as a once and done approach, or something you do on an annual basis when Upper Management visits the plant. The problem in this lies in the level of management's understanding of lean manufacturing, how to properly apply "Total Quality Methods" as well as tools and techniques for assuring quality. Management and the 5S teams take a compartmentalized approach or as I like to call them chimneys (Cylinders filled with hot air and smoke that have no connection to other parts of the organization).

Stakeholders will only see results from 5S implementation (or other Lean implementation) when there is a system in place that sustains the program and ensures that all personnel in the organization enroll in the 5S process and work to carry out the principles and practices that make it work. No more half hearted, poorly thought out attempts to apply 5S can be tolerated. 5S planners must base all change on business needs, they need to address quality, cost, delivery, safety and the morale of the workers in a comprehensive and on-going approach. They must learn to use the fundamental team tools that are applied in other areas of the company, but over looked when it comes to sustaining 5S. The teams need to be able to conduct adequate process analysis, develop written documentation such as Detailed Process Sheets or Standard Operating Procedures. They must be adept at identifying and resolving problems using a systems approach that is simple enough that anyone in the workforce can use it.

5S teams must move beyond Basic 5S and embrace advanced 5S practices in order to obtain Management support and commitment. The teams must learn to speak the language of business. Only when all of this occurs will you start to see the results you desire from your 5S program.

Brice Alvord has over thirty years experience as an internal and external performance improvement consultant and business coach. Mr. Alvord has extensive experience in designing and developing performance based training programs that get results. He holds a BA in Sociology/Psychology from Central Washington University and an MBA degree from City University of Seattle. He is the author of over two dozen books on continuous improvement and training.