You’ve no doubt run across information about utilizing “5s” methodology to make your business run more efficiently and systematically.

So what is all the hype about and what really is 5s?

It’s a process that we here at Miles Printing have put into place.

The “5S” process comes from Japan. It is a work process that describes how items are stored and how business order and peak efficiency can be maintained using a simple philosophy. The 5S process builds a clear understanding among employees of how work should be done. It also instills ownership of the process in each employee.

The five “S’s” refer to a list of five Japanese words:

• Seiri - sorting
• Seiton - ordering
• Seiso – systematic cleaning
• seiketsu - standardization
• shitsuke – safety

Miles Printing embraces 5S methodology for our printing processes and use the system in all work spaces, allowing our employees to work at peak efficiency. We even apply the 5S system to such things as ink storage for our DI presses, keeping our inks in stock and carefully organized.

By using the 5S method, Miles Printing provides our clients with efficient, top-notch service and finished pieces. Which means you can depend on us to have better, smarter, quality control for our clients.Tweet

Have you ever heard anyone within your company talk about 5s-ing? It is an important topic in today’s organizations. So what is it? 5s is a method used by many leading companies to improve quality, reduce waste, and demonstrate respect for personnel, equipment, and process.

5s stands for sort, straighten (set in order), shine, standardize and sustain. Over the next few postings, we will go over what each of these mean in accordance to 5s.  The first S that we will go over is Straighten (set in order).

Straightening in conjunction with 5s means almost the same things as straightening in your house. Everything should be in its place. Sounds simple? Well, with 5s it also needs to labeled and arranged in a way that will promote an efficient workflow. It’s so much nicer to not waste time daily looking for a file or tape.  Labeling everything may seem tedious, but say you have a stock of receipt tape in a certain place, clearly labeled, when it starts to run low, you know to order more.

Straightening may not seem like it, but it’s a cost saver. You won’t order more supplies than needed because you know how much stock you have. You won’t waste time looking for something because you know where it will be. You will spend more time completing your work than finding the supplies to finish it.

Would straightening be effective in your workplace? Share your thoughts below.Tweet