The Second S That Will Up Your Game

(5S Method Part 2)

The 2nd phase of the 5S method; the straightening phase is used to place materials in the most convenient spot for frequent use. This is the step designed to arrange everything in its own specific spot making it quick and simple to locate needed items. The focus is on placing materials to reduce the time workers use searching for them, rather than for aesthetic purposes or saving space.

Positioning your items

1. Items are separated into 2 categories- Materials and Tools

   1. Materials: products being shaped or assembled for work (e.g. a purchase order for a customer that goes through each department process adding to the document)

   2. Tools: anything repeatedly used to shape or hold. Tools are items like printers, medical devices, scanners, computers and phones. Most tools have the similarity of being expensive and needing management.

How to straighten materials and tools

1. Post shared tools on shadow boards

1. Shared tools are items that each worker does not need individually but one or a few can be used by all. They are generally the more expensive tools. You can manage keeping these tools in order by creating a shadow board. This is a public board that has pictures of the shared tools and their location. This allows you to easily check if everything is in their allotted spot at the end of the day with just a quick glance.

2. Consolidate toolboxes

1. Instead of keeping multiple toolboxes around the workspace, create shared toolboxes. Label them with all the materials inside, and arrange the tools in an organized fashion for easy access.

3. Mark areas for big items

1. Create designated spots for big items such as incoming and outgoing shipments by painting a box on the floor where they should be placed.

2. Use signs or labels to identify departments and file cabinets

4. Use shelves

1. Shelves are a great way to utilize vertical space and allow easy view of items, which in turn reduces theft and permits quick location of what is needed.

5. Store based on prevalence

1. Put most frequently used items at eye level, less used items can be stored above or below

6. Manage material flow

1. Keep big containers in their designated spots

2. Control small items with a first in, first out sequence, start loading from the end of the rack

3. Recognize what quantity of materials are needed on hand over the next 48 hours and put the excess into a storage area in order to keep a level of orderliness in the workspace

Storing personal items

1. Keep the workspace clean by only allowing employee items to be stored in predetermined personal areas. Be mindful that you should allow a space that can be easily cleaned since it can be easily dirtied from things such as wet coats and shoes.

2. Smaller items such as lunchboxes can be stored in the workspace but keep the bigger items to the designated areas

Labeling

1. Make all labels throughout the workspace uniform including the name, picture and number of the item, use them to mark the contents of all organization containers.

2. You can also use color coding in your labeling system to signify what tool correlates with what process.

Charts and floor plans

1. After labeling, create a floor plan drafting out how you would like the whole workplace organized. Make sure in your planning you consider the work process, such as where workflow will begin and how it should be passed down.

2. Put your tools and materials in places that will allow quick access by workers.

3. Position desks to permit convenient interpersonal communications.