Lean 5S is a simple and practical approach to bring a standard culture to construction worksites. 5S is a five-step organization approach that practices sort, set, shine, standardize and sustain objectives to create and maintain an intuitive workspace.
It is a very well-known aspect of lean construction, the implementation of which results in an immediate transformation of the workplace.
This article guides through the 5S Lean principles and efficient ways to apply them on construction sites.
This means going through the inventory on the construction site and removing or discarding all the unwanted items that are unnecessary for the current production operations. Sort in the 5S principle is about stratification management and the ability to spot unwanted and unnecessary items before they become problematic. The sorting strategy is performed based on the requirements of the construction site.
The undesirable things that are not used frequently must be removed. It keeps the excess stuff away and makes it easier to find what is actually required.
Place a red tag for items that are not crucial or found doubtful and store them in a common place with the current date. If the item stays idle for more than a month, consider removing it from the location to a central holding area for reassignment. Once the excess instruments and materials are removed from the building site, move to the next 5S objective.
This step defines the objectives of having things in the right places to be readily available for use. The step organizes everything and designates space for every single instrument or equipment.
For example, the use of vertical wall surfaces with tool holders, shadow boards and coloring them with different and bright colors for other disciplines or trades. At big storage locations, floor tape is used to create parking spots for bigger tools. Always place the frequently used tools at easily accessible locations. These practices make everything visible and easy to find.
The 5S practice may not be perfect the first time of implementation. It is achieved through continuous improvement by changing and upgrading things later, after working with the system for some time.
Once the unwanted items are discarded, removed, and organized, the next step is to clean the area. Shine stage of 5S involves the following activities:
The standardization aspect of 5S focuses on making the first three S’s—sort, set, and shine—a constant routine. Standards always help individuals work and act quickly. Here, emphasis is given to visual administration to achieve and maintain standardized conditions.
For example, if it is decided to yellow paint the shadow board that keeps protection machinery, then it should be followed for all future ones. This helps to have quick access to machinery and improve worker productivity.
This is one of the difficult aspects of 5S to accomplish. for instance, no matter how systematically things are arranged on the worksite, if the laborers do not bring the used items back to their exact place, everything goes futile.
This makes it easier to start the subsequent work quickly. Hence, it is necessary to make a routine to spend a few minutes to bring back all the tools to their original locations. This is a managerial responsibility, where one has to demonstrate others what needs to be done and how to make it a practice among the employees. The concept of sustain emphasizes the ability to build a workplace with good habits and discipline.
Always start implementing 5S in one or more selected areas of the worksite. Once positive results are achieved, start extending this gradually to other sites. For effective implementation of 5S:
Lean 5S is a simple and practical approach to bring a standard culture to construction worksites. 5S is a five-step organization approach that practices sort, set, shine, standardize and sustain objectives to create and maintain an intuitive workspace.
Sort in the 5S principle is about stratification administration and the ability to spot unwanted and unnecessary items before they become problematic. This means going through the inventory on the construction site and removing or discarding all the unwanted items that are not needed for the current production operations. The sorting strategy is performed based on the requirements of the construction site.