I.

INTRODUCTION TO 5S
In recent years, the practice of 5S has been commonly used among Malaysian organizations in order to
enhance human capability and productivity. Since it was introduced by Takashi Osada from Japan in the
early 1980s, it is believed that applying the 5S techniques could considerably raise the environmental
performance in production line including housekeeping, health, safety and more. The 5S is the acronym of
five Japanese words which stands for seiri (sorting), seiton (set in order), seiso (shining), seiketsu
(standardize) and shitsuke (sustain) (Sui-Pheng and Khoo, 2001).

II. HISTORY AND CONCEPT OF 5S

During the time of World War II, it virtually destroyed the production capability of Europe and Asia. On
the contrary, the United States (U.S) production capability greatly expanded since their major emphasis
was on quantity and not quality production. However, as poor as it was in quality, the U.S still produced
the best in the world compared to other nations. In late 1940s, Dr. W. Edwards Deming, a U.S quality
control expert began working with the Japanese and continued doing so periodically for several years.
The Japanese developed the quality circle concept during the early 1960 and 20 years later, the concept had
expanded to more than a million organizations. At the same time, Dr. Genichi Taguchi, a Japanese quality
expert, introduced new statistical concept that was invaluable in improving process and product quality.
Due to this improvement, Japanese industry ultimately has developed in various technologies all over the
world. Following in their footsteps, U.S made some drastic changes in strengthening their power in the
global age.
Besides all kinds of quality improvement techniques developed, one of the most famous is the 5S concept
developed by the Japanese. (Osada, 1991 as cited in Gapp, Fisher & Kobayashi, 2008) developed the
original concept of 5-S in the early 1980s. 5S is the acronym for five Japanese words. They are:-
(a) Seiri (sort)
(b) Seiton (set in order)
(c) Seiso (shine)
(d) Seiketsu (standardize)
(e) Shitsuke (sustain)
Respectively, Osada refers to the 5S as the five keys to a total quality environment. The Japanese have
been widely practicing 5S technique and believe it can help in all aspects of life. Khamis et. al (2009)
found that the practice is an effective technique which can improve housekeeping, environmental
performance and health and safety standards in an integrated holistic view. The 5S System, or simply 5S, is
a Japanese philosophy that means cleanliness and orderliness to bring maximum productivity and quality.
5S is used by industrial plants and manufacturers, service providers, educational institutions, and
government agencies. This structured system is the first step toward implementing all other lean
manufacturing techniques. 5S also is an important tool in Total Quality Management (TQM). Over the last
century, the Japanese have formalized this technique and named it as 5S Practice (Samuel K.M. Ho, 1993).
The 5S practice is a technique used to establish maintain quality environment in an organization effectively
and promise the employees to be more self-discipline (Mohd Nizam Ab Rahman et. al, 2010).
“Sort” is a process of removing non-essential item from the workplace. This task is not always simple,
as work areas have had years to build up items that are not necessary for completing the job. Examples of
items that need to be sorted are extra tables, benches, cabinets, tools, inventory, cleaning supplies, rags, and
documents. All of these extra items just get in the way of efficient production.
“Set in Order” is the process of organizing the remaining items after the “sort” process is completed. For
example, all tools used in a setup on a machine should be placed as close as possible to where they will be
used. There should be a place for everything and everything should always be in its place unless it is being
used.
“Shine” is the third “S”. It is the process of cleaning the work area and any machinery or equipment in it.
The ideal lean manufacturing implementation is to keep the equipment in the same or better shape than
when it was delivered. Prior to lean manufacturing, many companies allow their machinery to deteriorate
over time. Lean Manufacturing (LM), employing the concepts of 5S, Total Productive Maintenance
(TPM), and Kaizen, keeps machinery producing the same way or better than the day it was received, even
after many years of use.
“Standardize” is the process of making the first three S’s a habit. Many companies have gone through
cleaning and organizing systems over the years only to see it slip away back to an unorganized facility.
“Standardize” is one of the most important of the 5S system. For example, if a machine is to be wiped
clean at the end of a shift, it should be done every single day without fail.
The last S is “Sustain”, which is the one most companies fail to employ over the years. Many company
managements blamed employees for this failure. However, once managements realize the benefits of 5S,
they also realize it is management that stood in the way of sustaining the organization over the years.
It is the tool for helping the analysis of processes running on the workplace. The 5S is the methodology
of creating and maintaining well-organized, clean, highly effective and highly quality workplace. It results
in the effective organization of the workplace, reduction of work’s environment, elimination of losses
connected with failures and breaks, improvement of the quality and safety of work (J. Michalska et.al,
2007).

III. WHY 5S?

The 5S concept is easy for everyone to understand because:-
• It does not require the understanding of difficult terminologies.
• It is simple, driven by logic and natural to human behavior.
• It is within the reach of all type and size of industry or organization.

IV. WHAT IS NOT 5S?

• A housekeeping exercise.
• A way to blame people for defects.
• A way to force people to do their work.
• A way to make people work harder and faster.
• A monthly or yearly flavour e.g. Quality Month.

V. BENEFITS OF 5S IMPLEMENTATION/USAGE
Today, many organizations have implemented the 5S system with astonishing results as voiced by our
customers, the CEO’s and MDs of the Malaysian National 5S Award Winners:
“We have not seen any approach to improvement that is simpler or more powerful that can be
implemented at lower cost.”
The benefits are:-
• Workplace becomes cleaner and better organized.
• Shop floor and office operation becomes safer.
• Visible results enhance the generation of more and better ideas.
• Lead-time reduced.
• Changeover time reduced by streamlining operations.
• Breakdowns and minor stops eliminated on production lines.
• Defects reduced by mistake proofing.
• Clear methods and standards are established.
 • In-process inventory is reduced.
• Space usage is improved.
• Customer complaints are reduced.

VI. KEYS TO 5S SUCCESS

In order for the 5S system to be successful, the most important factor is the commitment, participation
and involvement of everyone and strong visible support from top management. Generally, 5S activities
should be carried out systematically as follows:-
• Visit 5S model companies for continual improvement.
• Train everyone adequately on 5S practices.
• Promote 5S campaign.
• Plan systematic approach following the Plan-Do-Check-Act (P-D-C-A) Cycle.
• Practice Performance Measurement and Reward System.

VII. HOW TO INITIATE 5S IMPLEMENTATION

The 5S approach is a simple and systematic methodology which can be introduced and implemented in
any size and type of organization. To start the 5S: Step-by-Step Implementation, each phase must be
thoroughly analyzed and addressed using the P-D-C-A Cycle and 5W2H approach as follows:-
1. PLAN
• Preparation:-
 Provide training and education for everyone.
 Form 5S Council.
 Set-up 5S Zones.
 Determine 5S objectives, goals and implementation phases.
 Plan 5S action plan and 5S Launch.
2. DO
• Sort:-
 Identify what is necessary.
• Set in Order:-
 Define what and how to arrange.
• Shine:-
 Identify dirt sources.
 Identify root causes.
 Take action to eliminate dirt sources and root causes.
• Standardize:-
 Who is responsible?
 What actions to take to maintain the desired condition?
 When must those actions be taken?
 Where must they apply?
 What procedures need to be followed?
• Sustain:-
 Everyone understands, obeys and practices the rules and procedures.
 Continual efforts at sustaining the desired condition.

3. CHECK
• Assessment:-
 Conduct Internal 5S Audit.
  Benchmark within the department and with other organizations.
 Ensure the established 5S procedures are followed through

4. ACT
• Continual Improvement:
 Develop 5S practices into a habit.
 Compare actual goals with set goals.
 Reward and recognise efforts of staff.
 Register 5S Certification.
 Participate in National 5S Competitions.
 Review Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle.

To ensure successful 5S implementation, each phase must proceed accordingly as illustrated in the
Figure 1.

VIII. ROADMAP TO 5S IMPLEMENTATION

Improving organization performance is an ongoing challenge and organizations benefit best from a
holistic approach, and here is an useful Roadmap to 5S Implementation (Figure 1).
• The fundamental process for Productivity and Quality Improvements.
• A firm foundation for Continual Improvement.
• Best Practices.
• Key Performance Results.
Phase 1 and 2 are the Enablers. Phase 3 and 4 are the actual results achieved. After each cycle review:-
• The phase which require improvement
• The approaches which will impact on the results
• The self-assessment to gauge the effectiveness of actions taken.

Fig. 1 Roadmap to 5S Implementation

Source: Kaitlin Tysinger, 2010.

IX. CONCLUSION
After the completion of this study, it is proven that the implementation of 5S is an effective way in
providing a better workplace for staff in the organization as they feel more comfortable, safe and organized
which in the end could assist them to improve the quality of their work. The practice of 5S aims to embed
the values of organization, neatness, cleaning, standardization, and discipline into the workplace (Osada,
1991 as cited in Gapp, Fisher & Kobayashi, 2008). In addition, it can be concluded that the effective
implementation of the 5S is able to lead to a subsequent improvement of the staff’s productivity. With
several improvement, techniques, commitment and development in addressing the successfulness of 5S
among the staff, it is hoped that the implementation of 5S would provide a better working environment to
all. In order to sustain the effectiveness of 5S in any organization, it should be continuously practiced by
everyone in the organization and should be embedded as part of the culture in the organization. It should be
spontaneous, nature act of staff volition rather than the act of forcing to ensure that the sustainability of 5S
among the staff in their working environment could be realized. In return the practice of 5S would benefit
not only to the staff but also to the institution as a whole.