Once Upon a Dime

5S TO SUCCESS

The Japanese people a known for their work discipline and the various concepts they adapt to keep every employee well disciplined, motivated and systematic. Japanese people are also very strict when it comes to the implementation of these concepts.

There are several concepts adapted by businesses to maintain the cleanliness and orderliness of their business place to foster a motivating and conducive place to productivity and efficiency. Since the Japanese systems are very particular when it comes to discipline, several companies in and out of Japan adapt their regulations.

One popular Japanese concept is the 5S process that stands for five Japanese words that start with S that promotes responsible, orderly and efficient employees. This concept increases morale of the workers, promoting a sense of pride in their work and committedness to their responsibilities.

Some businesses that adapt the 5S concept thought of the English counterparts of the 5 Japanese words to maintain the name of the concept. However, some claim that the five English S words have lost the true meaning of the concept. I have written below the Japanese S words, their English counterparts and their corresponding English S counterparts.

Seiri (Tidiness – Sort)

This is the first step in the 5S process. This term refers to the act of identifying the necessary from unnecessary things in your workplace and throwing those which can hinder your work efficiency. This step is performed by all the employees who take the responsibility of maintaining their own workplace. By being able to sort things, space is maximized and tasks are simplified.

Seiton (Orderliness – Set in Place)

Seiton involves every employee to put everything in their proper place and appropriate keeper for safekeeping, easy access and retrieval. Proper labels must be used for each one will not waste time looking for the things he needs. Maintaining an orderly workplace promotes workflow efficiency and worker productivity.

Seiso (Cleanliness – Shine or sometimes Sweep)

This step involves cleaning the workplace to make a good impression. Everyone in the organization should participate in this step. It is sometimes better to have a person or group of persons assigned to clean a specific are.

Seiketsu (Standardize or Standardization)

Seiketsu is the fourth step in the 5S process. Seiketsu covers from personal and environmental tidiness and standardization where the management sets the standards and everyone should follow these. This includes maintaining a complete uniform when an employee reports for work.

Shitsuke (Discipline - Sustain)

After the implementation of the first four concepts, you can now have a one day productive employees and efficient workplace. It is therefore important to maintain orderliness and practice the 5S discipline everyday. Shitsuke stresses elimination of the bad habits and promotes everyone’s commitment to practicing the good ones instead.

The 5S concept guides every management to lead all the employees to the right path that will reflect positively to the business as a whole. Proper implementation should be conducted for an effective 5S concept. If everyone understands the concept and strictly complies with it, you are definitely one step closer to the 6^th S – SUCCESS.