Total Quality Management

Chapter 23

5S

Abstract

5S, basically a method for organizing the workplace in a shop floor or even in an office, is more a practice than a technique used to establish and maintain quality environment in an organization. This chapter illustrates several concepts behind these practices and explains how, even though these concepts were advocated by the industrial engineers of the 19th and mid-20th centuries, it is the Japanese who put these into simple ideas to be grasped easily by all levels of operatives and successfully implement them.

Keywords

Seiri; Seiton; Seiso; Seiketsu and Shitsuke; Structuring; Systemize; Shine; Standardize; Sustain; Merge purge; Red tagging; PEEP; Retractable screw driver; Assembly bins; Total productive maintenance; ...