Workplace Efficiency

What is 5S?

The 5S workplace method is a system created in Japan that comprises of 5 categories: Sort, set in order, shine, standardise, and sustain. 5S is designed for use in organisations to remove unnecessary items and waste and make it so that the business is more efficient and ensure that the practice can continue.

Sort - Involves the removal of everything that is unnecessary in the workplace, inclusive of tools. It allows for workspaces to be free of clutter, meaning only items that belong somewhere, are kept there. This reduces the amount of time looking for a particular item and improves safety. You can mark your tools and equipment with various forms of product status identification so you’re aware of the status of an item at any given time.

Set In Order - The organisation of items in a clean and clear manner, allowing staff to have a knowledge of exactly what is available or what needs replenishing at a glance, without the need for searching for extensive amounts of time. There is a wide range of storage equipment available at Seton to help you bring order to your business.

Shine - The cleanliness of a workplace in many industries is often overlooked, though a clean environment will contribute to the productivity of the business and the employees that work there. Shine is the cleaning of an area or workplace as well as regular maintenance of machinery and tools, reducing health and safety risks. In a 5S system, everybody takes responsibility for their workplace. You can utilise a form of waste management such as colour coded bins to help with that.

Standardise - The establishment of procedures and practices that help to bring order and cleanliness to an organisation. Often, when a company implements new procedures they can fall by the wayside and get forgotten about over time. Because 5S holds you accountable, it enforces the requirement to sustain the methodology within a workplace by putting adequate practices in place to ensure they are adhered to. This is where communication is important, visual items can help, things such as 5S posters and signs or 5S floor markings.

Sustain - The final part of 5S involves the continued use of the 5S practice throughout the business, ensuring that procedures remain in place and are adhered to keep a business efficient. It involves everybody at an organisation working together to maintain and participate in the process. 5S should be a long term process for it to be truly effective, not something that is only adhered to for a short period of time, and by using all of the necessary items to maintain great workplace efficiency, it’ll be easy for you to achieve.

How to improve productivity in the workplace

Product Status Identification
One of the best ways to quickly identify the status of the items around your site is with our range of highly visible and colour coded security tagging systems. These attach to your items to show if they are obsolete, defective, not required, scrap or spare, resulting in you saving time.

Storage Equipment
Neatly store away your equipment using our innovative range of storage equipment, allowing for quick and easy identification of your items. Spending time looking for misplaced items can be counter-productive and cost businesses a lot of money, so it’s important to have a clean, professional and organised workplace.

Workplace Communication
Effective communication in the workplace is the building block that successful businesses are founded on. Improving on that can help you start making strides toward a more streamlined business. Our range of display systems allows you to easily display and communicate relevant and critical information around your workplace, without which customers and staff would not have knowledge of.

5S Floor Markings
Create and maintain a safer, more efficient facility with our extensive range of colour coded, flexible and durable floor marking solutions. With our range of floor marking, we can help you to show site visitors the flow of work within 60 seconds as is recommended. Floor markings are one of many productivity improvements that can be implemented.

Waste Segregation
We provide simple colour coded waste bins, signage and identification for the purposes of cleanliness and organisation in your business. Solutions like recycling bins are a valuable productivity tool that allows you to sort waste correctly, helping to create a more organised and smoothly run workplace.

5S Housekeeping
Cleanliness is essential to the safety of individuals on your premises, and for maintaining a productive workplace. Introducing basic elements like cleaning can make a huge difference. Keep areas clean, tidy, safe and efficient using our range of colour coded mops, buckets, barriers and signage.

Lean Warehouse
The importance of a well organised and tidy warehouse is huge. Making small changes and utilising things such as location markers helps to keep your warehouse running smoothly and save time looking for products. Improve your navigation and identification with our range of clean and concise signs and labels, and reap the benefits of a maximising your warehouse.

Colour Coded Status Markers
Creating a visual workplace is very important within the guidelines of 5S and lean. Simple, colour coded labels for switches, equipment and location can provide visual indications at a quick glance, streamlining your business. Providing information quickly, effectively and in the simplest format possible to staff and visitors is paramount, and these markers help you to do so.

5S Posters and Signs
When implementing 5s principles to your business, it’s important to know how people move about it and what they are doing. Remind and educate your employees and visitors of the effective practices that you have in place in and around your site, to ensure that practices are adhered to at all times, resulting in a continued improvement in productivity.

How will 5S benefit my business?

By utilising 5S and lean strategies, not only are you able to protect your employees and visitors more effectively, but also increase the productivity of your business and as a result, your workforce. Removing unnecessary items and fixing storage places within your business is an easy and convenient way to begin making your workplace or warehouse more efficient and thus increase productivity throughout your business.

Health & Safety can be a bit of a minefield, with various rules and regulations sometimes making it tough to understand. Utilising the techniques listed above can help you to avoid complications within the business and within your workforce, making it so that everything in the business runs efficiently, in a productive manner. A visual workplace is key, and utilising the 5S methodology can help you to obtain that.