The Art of Kanban - Creative Safety Supply April 2014 | Page 6

The Art of Kanban

What Are The Five S’s?

1. Sort - Sorting is the process of going through each work area and getting
rid of any equipment, tools, or other materials that are not often used. These
excess things will be moved to a storage area or discarded. The result is to
have a much cleaner work area that is not just aesthetically pleasing, but
easier to maintain. It improves employee safety, and lessens the chance of
confusion and wasted time.

2. Set In Order - This second step is all about organization. Examine
your work area and see to it that everything has a place. Set out to label spots
for materials so that they are easy to identify and locate. If your work area is
in production, paint or clean as necessary and mark out lanes for work areas,
storage, and finished products.

3. Sweep - This step is an ongoing cleaning of your work area. Since you
have taken the time to organize everything neatly you will want to ensure that
it remains that way. Set up a schedule for regular and daily cleaning so that
you leave each day with your work area in the same condition as when you
started. You should also inspect equipment and tools for damage or leaks,
this way you can fix the problems while they are still minor.

4. Standardize - One of the ways to make sure you and your employees
do not fall back into old habits is to standardize the way things are done. You
might consider making posters that direct employees to the new standard of
maintaining their work areas so they are less likely to revert to old habits.

5. Sustain - This might be the most difficult step in the program,
sustainment. The best way to maintain the previous steps is to have a formal
way to monitor the results of your effort. You must continually educate
employees on keeping up with the standards and adjusting to any changes.

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