5S manufacturing is a lean manufacturing practice geared towards bringing order and improving safety in the workplace and raising productivity. It is a housekeeping discipline conceptualized by Japanese companies to achieve manufacturing excellence and raise product quality. This practice may result in the elimination of waste and defective products, thus reducing manufacturing costs. 5S is globally practiced in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing organizations.
The manufacturing concept was named 5S because five Japanese action words starting with the letter "S" compose the steps in the 5S manufacturing discipline. The five steps were translated to English verbs and phrases also starting with the letter "S." The sequence of steps in 5S is seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke.
Seiri means to sort. Materials necessary in the production process are segregated from the unnecessary materials, which are then disposed of. A red tag is used to label materials for disposal for easy identification. The segregation of materials is usually done per segment or section of the production floor for greater efficiency in sorting.
Seiton is the second step in 5S manufacturing. It means setting things in place. Tools and materials are neatly arranged and put in their proper location following the sequence of production. Manufacturing organizations commonly use shadow boards where the shape of each tool is painted on a board to guide workers in returning the tools to their proper places. The tools are also located at the point in the production line where they will be used.
