Annual Lean Clean Up Using Practical 5S
If you have been diligent with your 5S activities, your annual clean up is an opportunity for another round of SORT – SET in ORDER – SHINE to target those little areas that don’t get attention during normal production. If you are planning a full on assault on your factory, then now is the opportunity to get 5S SORT & SHINE phases really started in your factory.
A little planning always makes things run more smoothly; start with meeting with your supervisors and team leaders to get an action plan together; who will tackle which areas, making sure all corners of the factory are covered and briefly review the 5S process.
SORT – separate the necessary from the unnecessary; did we use this in the last 6 months? Is it in working order? If not, move it to a dedicated locations
SET IN ORDER – find homes for lal items, considering where items are used and how often they are used. Use temporary labelling,like post-it notes or masking tape, to make it clear what items go where
SHINE – as things are put away, give them a quick wipe. IF a bigger clean or check is needed, note that for the New Year
STANDARDISE – now is the perfect opportunity, while everything is looking spick and span, to take the photos for your 5S standards. These help to set the expectations at every workstation and area.
We all know that many hands make light work and the annual clean up time is perfect for making a huge leap into your housekeeping . Of course, if you have been doing your 5S activities through the year, there is no need for an end of year clean up – so it’s time to knock off early for a work BBQ!
