30 Dec Our 5S Foundation

By Micheal Wilder

Aldez is as dedicated to continuous improvement as our customers and, in our best efforts to seamlessly serve them, we employ specific methodologies to ensure that we always operate to the highest standards.

One of my favorite methodologies is 5S. We have been pleased to discover that we share many of our customers’ 5S principles for organizing their workspaces. Incorporating a smart strategy as a finely tuned organized workspace can help save time and costs, especially when you’re in the business of repeatable processes.

For those that aren’t familiar, the 5S system is a step-by-step methodology to transform a workplace from disorder and clutter to organized and productive. 5S helps to improve safety, productivity, quality, and efficiency.

Developed in Japan as part of the Toyota Production System manufacturing method, the name 5S represents the phases of the methodology based on 5 Japanese words.  Below are those words and their English counterparts, as well as an explanation of what it is.

• Seiri – English term means Sort or separate. Sort what you need.  Separate what’s not needed. No extra material laying around causing excess work or using excess space.
• Seiton – English term means Straighten. Arrange items as needed which decrease time looking for it. Everything should have a place and identified.  Keepings in order. When everything is in order it decreases waste and inefficiency. 
• Seiso – English term means shine. After sorting and placing things in order, you have to keep the area clean. Area should be cleaned daily and kept neat.  
• Seiketsu – English term means Standardize. Make sure your processes are standard and followed by all your employees. There should be no question about what needs to happen daily. Make sure each employee understands what the standard is.
• Shitsuke – English term means Sustain. This is the most difficult step in the 5S process. It must become a habit to continue to do these things every day. Supervision is key to success.

Aldez is committed to the methodical implementation of 5S both internally at our locations and, externally, when operating onsite at our customer locations. Using this methodology ensures optimal performance with an outstanding customer record of repeatable worker safety, productivity, quality and efficiency.