The five steps
- Sort (seiri). Remove from the area everything not needed for the current work. Red-tag doubtful items and decide later.
- Set in order (seiton). Give every remaining item a labelled place, arranged for the sequence and frequency of use: shadow boards, marked floor positions, labelled shelves.
- Shine (seiso). Clean the area and the equipment, and use cleaning as inspection: leaks, loose fittings and wear are found while cleaning.
- Standardise (seiketsu). Write the standard for how the area should look and who does what, with photos of the standard condition and a schedule for the routines.
- Sustain (shitsuke). Keep it going through daily routines, leader audits and visible results, until the standard is the habit.
Some organisations add a sixth S for safety; others argue safety is already in every step.
Why 5S matters
- An organised area makes abnormality obvious: a missing tool, a part in the wrong place, a leak on a clean floor.
- Searching and walking, two of the eight wastes, fall away.
- Cleaning as inspection catches equipment problems early.
- A visible standard gives leaders something concrete to check on a gemba walk.
5S audits
A 5S audit is a short, scheduled check of an area against its standard, usually scored per step and recorded over time. Team leaders audit daily or weekly, managers less often, so it fits naturally into layered process audits and leader standard work. The score matters less than the trend and the actions raised against low scores.
Why the fifth S is the hard one
Most 5S programmes reach a tidy area within weeks and slide back within months. Sustain fails when audits are not scheduled, findings do not become actions, and leaders stop looking. A 5S standard reviewed in the daily tier meeting, with the audit results on the board, holds; one kept in a binder does not.
5S and daily management
The area's 5S score and open 5S actions belong on the tier board. Audit cards can live on a kamishibai board. Red findings become actions with owners, and repeating findings are a problem to solve, not a failing to re-audit.