Operational Improvement Project

Operational Improvement Project

“5s is a process of workplace organization and house keeping which is carried out gradually and systematically.” (Prabowo, 2002) The 5s system is a program that can be implemented in the workplace of any organization and through and standardization. The best results that this program provides is a well organized and motivated workforce where waste of materials and monetary items is minimized helping build the confidence of the staff as well as the productivity of the company itself. “5s improves safety, work efficiency, improved productivity and establishes a sense of ownership.” (Prabowo, 2008)

The 5s lean thinking is a method an organization uses to improve the productivity and quality of its products or services, cleanliness and standardization of work procedures. The elements of the 5s are sort, set in order, shine and sustain. A sixth “s” is sometimes added to make safety as a part of the process (Waxer, 2002).

The development of Lean and its history roots are generated as far the 16th century. King Henry III from France watched Venice Arsenal build a galley ship in less than one hour using the continuous flow process (Peterson, 1998, pg.6).

It is Toyota who receives the credit after World War II in Japan; Sakachi Toyoda developed the Toyota Production System (TPS). TPS is connected with organizing manufacturing and logistics at Toyota, including interacting with suppliers and customers. Sakachi, his son and the chief engineer of Toyota took a trip to the U.S. to observe Henry Ford manufacturing plant and was dissatisfied after noticing waste, overproduction, shut downs, rehires and lay-offs (Peterson, 1998, pg.6).

However they were impressed with Piggly Wiggly supermarket assessing the benefits of only reordering and restocking goods as they were purchased from the customer they were able to apply the same principles to the automotives industry. Just in time was developed by Toyota to help reduce amount of...