Lean 5S: The Sort Step
The lean 5S steps are Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize and Sustain and 5S represents the first shopfloor steps on any new lean journey. You simply want to get things organized before implementing the more advanced lean tools in your plant. Start by selecting just one manageable area. In other words, don’t try to 5S the entire plant all at the same time. Lean is all about a focused continuous improvement effort.
The first step of this first step is a step called “Sort”. So, let’s pull together a cross-functional kaizen team and get to work! If the kaizen team is new to the lean concepts, then start by providing the team with some 5S training. Classroom simulations are always a good way to teach the process.
The Sort step is just like it sounds. The team needs to Sort-out all the unneeded items that are cluttering the work area. We need to understand that this 5S process is totally different from a typical factory clean-up. With 5S we use a process, we dig deep and we get better long-term results. So how do we start?
Well, I love the red tag system. A red tag system of sorting is more effective and more inclusive than simply asking everyone to “just sort things out”. So instead use this most ideal red tag system. It starts with the tags themselves.
The tags should be sequentially numbered. They should include a space for the item description and the tags should list 3 questions: Is the item needed? Is the item needed in this location? Is the item needed in this quantity? Then comes the person’s name and a writing space for disposition. Lastly and ideally the tag is a two-part carbon copy tag.
By using this tag, you allow everyone on the team to simply ask questions about the items. Maybe a person is a stranger to the work area. They have no idea what is needed and what’s not, so they won’t be able to make any on-the-spot dispositions about the clutter. So instead, this gives everyone a chance to challenge the norm simply by asking good questions.
The team members red tag items simply by filling out the tag information and attaching the tags to the items in question. Instruct the team members, "when in doubt, red tag it” Now if you use a two-part tag, the team members can leave one copy of the tag attached to the item and the other copy can be removed and brought into the kaizen room for team discussion.
After your team completes the red tag activity, then the team regroups. All of the tags should be given to the kaizen leader or another knowledgeable team member. This person will lead the team disposition discussion one tag at a time. The dispositions are usually simple and reflect actions such as “scrap the item”, “store the item elsewhere”, “reduce the quantity of the item in that location” and when the team is unsure, then move the item to a Red Tag Hold Area for future disposition.
The leader then writes the disposition on each of the tags and assigns the actions to the individual team members to take the appropriate steps. Having copies of the tags and having the tags sequentially numbered really helps make this entire process efficient.
The benefit of this red tag system during the 5S Sort step is that it is simple, thoughtful and inclusive and these things will make your 5S results very sustainable.
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