5S and applications
5S may be the first step for the company to embrace Lean strategy. 5S stands for five different characters which are sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain. The 5S system is a tool, or system that supports a philosophy of operating in an organized fashion. The philosophy that this system supports is one of discipline, efficiency, and attention to detail (Graban, 2009). The idea behind 5S is that if a workplace is clean and well laid out, the identification of waste is much easier (Sarkar, 2005). 5S is a way to help the company to reduce the waste and enhance possible profits. 5S is used by five different Japanese words which are seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu and shitsuke and these focus on effective workplace and work procedure (Graban, 2009). Seiri, which is sort in English, helps the company or any organization to distinguish the items into two different categories: used and non-used (Breyfogle,2010). Seiton means set in order and it is focusing on making efficiency in the workplace by rearranging all items in the company which will promote work flow. All the tools should be set in the place where can improve work flow and it is easy to find for job (BusinessKnowledgeSource.com, paragraph 4, 2010). Seiso means to clean and clear. This step focuses on cleaning and clearing any item and working environment (The 5S plan Lean manufacturing solution, 2008). Seiketsu means standardize. To keep the first three Ss as the standard all the time and extend to personnel's daily working (Paulsen, 2010).
This final S typically stands for self-discipline or sustainance (Paulsen, 2010).
In North America and Europe, 5S has been using as a central lean manufacturing tool. Also, 5S has become a very widely used tool in healthcare, government, and financial services (Graban, 2009). Even though no one study shows that 5S is the basic tool of