5 S's 5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace
This book describes how the 5S`s--organization, orderliness,
cleanliness, standardized cleanup, and discipline--foster efficiency,
maintenance, and continuous improvement in all areas of the company.
Presented in a thorough, detailed style, 5
Pillars of the Visual Workplace explains why the 5S's are important and
the who, what, where, and how of 5S implementation. This book includes
numerous case studies, hundreds of graphic illustrations, and over forty
5S user forms and training materials.
In this important sourcebook, JIT expert Hiroyuki Hirano provides the
most vital information available on the visual workplace, a critical but
often overlooked area of continuous improvement. This book describes how
the 5S`s--organization, orderliness, cleanliness, standardized cleanup,
and discipline--foster efficiency, maintenance, and continuous
improvement in all areas of the company, from the plant floor to the
sales office.
"It's too simple!" is the response when people hear about the 5S's, which are often though of simple as tools for industrial housekeeping. Simple, yes, but if ignored, the results may be disastrous. When executives inquired, "What kind of rationalization policy should I adopt to make sure my company survives into the 21st century?" Hirano answered, "The 5S's." Why? Because a company that cannot successfully implement the 5S's cannot expect to effectively integrate JIT, re-engineering, or any other large-scale change.
Hiroyuki Hirano established the JIT Management Laboratory company, Ltd., helping to bring the JIT production revolution and JIT sales and distribution concepts to dozens of companies in Japan and worldwide.
Publisher's Message
The book before us is 5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace: The Sourcebook
for 5S Implementation. I consider Hiroyuki Hirano, the author, to be a
genius and the 5S's to be the most important step for productivity
improvement and safety today. Let me explain what I mean.
Products and processes today involve very close tolerances. Variability
must be fully controlled. The physical work environment is critical in
the drive for high quality, low cost, and speedy delivery. Think about
the Indy 500 in which, thanks to precise teamwork and organization, a
car can be serviced in the pits in only 14 seconds. The computer
industry has created "clean-room" work environments to produce
the required precision and purity in production. Now growing consumer
demand for quality products is forcing people from other industries to
rethink their workplaces.
Will product improvements see the light of day (or night) in filthy
plants? Can we expect people in dismal environments to work at their
maximum potential? Can uncluttered minds with fresh ideas function in
cluttered work-places? The answer is obvious-- and the solution so
simple.
Organization. Orderliness, Cleanliness, Standardized Cleanup, and
Discipline are needed. This is what Mr. Hirano calls the
"5S's" -- simple activities that can be difficult to
implement. And this is what is required for companies to survive in the
years ahead. Americans too often expect high drama from an idea when
what is needed is simplicity--and a solid foundation to sustain good
work. In 1988 Productivity Press published what we considered to be the
best company wide introduction to the Just-in-time (JIT_ production
system. It was a picture book entitled JIT Factory Revolution: A
Pictorial Guide to Factory Design of the Future. One of the numerous
books written by Hiroyuki Hirano, a top international consultant, it
sparked the interest of Auburn University's Dr. JT Black. His invaluable
editing transformed Mr. Hirano's textbook for Japanese factory workers
into an educational and eye- opening "before and after JIT plant
tour" for American workers as well.
A few years later, in 1990, we published its counterpart, also written
by Mr. Hirano -- the most comprehensive and detailed manual for setting
up a complete JIT program. The JIT Implementation Manual: The complete
Guide to Just-in-time Manufacturing's one thousand pages examined how to
plan, implement, monitor, and standardize each of the eleven principal
types of JIT improvements. Encyclopedic in scope (and known in Japan as
the "JIT Bible"), it was packed with hundreds of illustrations
and useful forms.
A primary focus for both JIT books was to build a company wide
foundation for making improvements in both factory and office. It is
this foundation for making improvements that Mr. Hirano calls the 5S's
-- the Japanese "S" words (seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu,
shitsuke) that we call Organization, Orderliness, Cleanliness,
Standardized Cleanup, and Discipline.
Mr. Hirano recalls a JIT axiom that says: "Good workplaces develop
beginning with the 5S's. Bad workplaces fall apart beginning with the
5S's." The first part refers to the thorough implementation of the
5S's that we need in order to lay the groundwork for subsequent
improvements. The 5S's are the foundation blocks -- or workplace
"pillars" -- upon which we can establish flow production,
visual control, standard operations, and other JIT building blocks.
Working through the process properly will, in a few years, turn a
factory into a close approximation of the JIT production system.
On the other hand, it only takes a moment for a workplace to begin
falling apart. This process also begins with the 5S pillars -- in this
case, shaky pillars that collapse. Mr. Hirano says that there is no such
thing as a factory that manufactures well without a strong 5S
foundation. And I agree.
As business leaders and managers, we demand the best from the people who
work for and with us. But in order to get it, we must provide the best
working environment. It is possible. In fact, as opposed to how
factories used to look, I have seen U.S. factories that are amazingly
clean. Omark Industries, for instance, produces saw chains. Their
production processes involve abrasives, oil, cutting debris, and so
forth -- not to mention incredible noise. And their factory is spotless!
I even saw open offices situated next to cutting operations -- and it
was quiet enough to work. This is because the Omark people -- all of
them -- have worked and continue to work hard to improve their
operations and procedures.
I regard this manual as a gift to America. We should sell it for five
hundred dollars but have decided that it's more important to disseminate
the information. No doubt people will still complain about the price,
but, believe me, it is a fraction of what it costs in Japan.
Productivity Press people have invested enormous time and resources on
Mr. Hirano's material -- an we stand behind its value to consultants,
managers, and interested workforce.
In acknowledgment of the efforts of many, I wish to thank a few people:
Bruce Talbot (Nevada City, California), translator; Bill Berling (Elletsville,
Indiana), freelance editor; Cheryl Rosen, project editor; Karen Jones,
managing editor, William Stanton, production manager and cover designer;
Productivity Press (India) Private Ltd. (Madras, India) and Rohani
Design (Edmonds, Washington),
illustrations; and Rohani Design, composition.
Finally, I wish to thank Mr. Hiroyuki Hirano and colleagues at the JIT
Management Laboratory Ltd. In Tokyo for working with us these past
years. They have spend years investigating and training people in
factories worldwide. Their generosity in sharing with us their
experience, information, and materials is a tribute to friendship and
the pursuit of manufacturing excellence.
Norman Bodek, Publisher
ISBN: 1563270471
To Learn More Or to Purchase 5 S's 5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace
See our Large collection of Training Materials on 5S and the Visual Factory