In a nut shell this first step is to sort through and sort out. In this first step a team needs to eliminate all unnecessary items from the work area. Here we look closely at everything we own. As we look at everything we have to decide if it is “needed” or not. If it is not needed we remove it from the work area. The question here is defining “Needed” and what do we mean by removing it if it is not needed. So let me puts some steps together and give you some details.

1. Form a team consisting of work area members. This team should be from 5 to 10 members. Plus the members need to try to be unbiased about what they are going to do.

2. The team now goes through the area and identifies all the items in the area which will not be needed for the next month. Needed mean that it will actually be used in that month. A month is the standard but in special situations you may make this time frame different. If a work area is seasonal it may be “not needed in the month of fall.” The area should include office areas as well.

3. Tag all item identified above as not needed with a “Waste Tag”. This tag normally is Red and has the following information on it. (Note: Never tag a people)

• • Item Name
  • ID Number (if it has one)
  • Quantity
  • Date tagged
  • Tagged by who
  • Reason for tagging
  • What is the item (Machine, Equipment, Raw material, tools, supplies, work in progress, finished material, other)
  • Reviewed By (we talk about this later)
  • Disposition (we talk about this later)

4. Rapidly remove tagged items to a holding/ review area but off or out of the process area.
5. Upon the completion of the area waste tagging, the area supervisor and the team lead will get together and separate the tagged items into two groups:

• Items to be retained and stocked – These are items tagged as not needed for the month ( or what ever period of time was set by the team) but will be needed less frequently in the area. These items are then stored a distance from the area relative to the frequency of use.

• Monthly – Next to area.
• 6 months – Building stores
• Yearly – Long term storage

• Items to be discarded –These items are sold, given away or scrapped but never stored anywhere on site.

6. Once the two groupings have been made the final decision is coordinated with management and the “Tag Team”.

7. Last is to coordinate the movement of the tagged and grouped materials.

Well there you have Sort of the 5S’s . Remember that the 5S’s are not a one and done. You should do this on a regular basis. Many companies create a dashboard for the 5S’s so a department knows how well they are doing. If you have questions or comments please leave them or send me an Email.

Bersbach Consulting
Peter Bersbach
Six Sigma Master Black Belt
http://sixsigmatrainingconsulting.com
peter@bersbach.com
1.520.829.0090

Tags: 5S's, Five S's, Method

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