5S is a Lean method that refers to five words: Sort, Arrange, Cleanse, Standardize and Sustain. In practice, a 6th S is increasingly being added, the S for Safety.
5S is a way to make employees aware of their working environment within a work process. The 5S method enables the employee to keep his workplace tidy. Ultimately this leads to:
- Improving efficiency and productivity
- Reduction of search times for things needed to get the job done
- Rest and overview at the workplace
- A way to work safer and easier
- Improvement in start-up at the beginning of the workday
Within M.I.P. 5S is seen as the basis for continuous improvement of the factories in Rijkevorsel (BE) and Moerdijk (NL). This is monitored daily by the internal prevention & quality advisor, as well as weekly discussions with the foremen to determine whether there are points that can be improved.
The 5S system strives for a tidy, well-organized and uncluttered workplace. Moreover, work safety automatically increases and not only safety, people can also find something faster or notice that something is missing and needs to be supplemented. This leads to faster processes with less variability and errors, in short, less waste.