15 April 2006                       www.strategosinc.com

More About The 5S Payoff

Reader's Comments & Experience

In our previous Lean Briefing, I stated that the benefits of 5S were significant but difficult to measure for a variety of reasons. Several thoughtful readers took issue with this and some provided results and narratives from their 5S implementations. 

The discussion has been stimulating and, it seems to me, that there is no serious disagreement between any of the participants. I am suggesting some joint  conclusions:  

• 5S is an integral part of a larger manufacturing strategy and the total effects cannot be measured in isolation.

• It IS difficult to measure SOME of these effects directly. However, they are often reflected, at least partially, in other metrics. 

• Directly measurable effects are significant and these alone are sufficient to justify the investment and effort.

The reader's original comments contained some quantitative results and interesting narratives from actual experience. Their comments are also reflected in a new Summary of 5S improvements.

If you decide that the time is right for 5S in your plant, see our article on The Basics of Five-S and Visual Control. We can also provide training for managers and workers and there are 5S Training Kits available for your own programs. 

All the best from the Strategos team.

Quarterman Lee

qlee@strategosinc.com