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Lean manufacturing is a systematic process that uses lean tools to eliminate waste of time and materials. The five S’s, including sorting, putting things in order, systematic cleaning, standardization, and sustain, are critical in creating a process flow diagram and optimizing personnel use. The goal is to eliminate inefficiencies and maintain discipline to prevent reverting to previous patterns of behavior.
Lean manufacturing is a disciplined process thought to be the brainchild of Henry Ford, who used it to mass-produce cars. By applying lean manufacturing tools, production is systematized by the application of strategies, also known as lean tools. The best lean manufacturing tools are usually organized into a list referred to as the five S’s. The Japanese auto industry took Ford’s ideas and further refined its process using a just-in-time approach to manufacturing, hence the five S’s they are often listed using both Japanese and English terms.
Seiri, or sorting, is the first step in lean manufacturing, but it’s not just the simple act of sorting. Instead, it refers to a radical reorganization of the workplace, with a critical eye towards the way people and materials operate and move during the production process. Seiton, the next step, is also referred to as putting things in order. This means placing tools, personnel, equipment and materials in the optimal and most efficient arrangement.
Those familiar with lean manufacturing strategies understand the critical importance of creating a process flow diagram. The first two steps in implementing a lean manufacturing strategy create this diagram. Track the movement of people and materials during the manufacturing process.
The third step is seiso, also called splendor. This refers to the systematic cleaning of the items and their placing in the appropriate storage place at the end of the working day. Seiketsu, or standardization, is the fourth step and harks back to Ford’s assembly line, only with a new twist. Instead of having one worker stationed in one place for his entire shift, any worker assigned to a particular part of the manufacturing task should be able to move to another identical workstation and have the same tools at hand. hand for the production activity without encountering bureaucratic obstacles or territorial problems with other workers. This allows for optimal use of personnel.
The first four S’s would appear to complete the transformation to lean manufacturing, except for one major annoyance in an otherwise perfectly executed plan: the human tendency to revert to previous patterns of behavior. This is why the last step in setting up a leaner operation is the shitsuke, or sustain. Supporting this new manufacturing paradigm is the most critical of the five lean manufacturing tools.
The goal of lean manufacturing is to eliminate waste of time and materials. When a worker spends 10 minutes looking for a tool that hasn’t been put back in his place, time is wasted. Without the continued discipline instilled by these tools of lean manufacturing, however, workers will allow those inefficiencies to creep back into the manufacturing operation.
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