Implementing 5S Strategy in an Assembly Line

Abstract

In today’s competitive world of manufacturing, the companies take on a number of policies and methodologies in order to make their workplace more effective and efficient. One of the major tools among them is 5S. The first step to making an organization more productive is the implementation of the 5S methodology. 5S is a housekeeping and workplace organization method which stands for 5 Japanese words which mean Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain. It was developed in Japan so as to facilitate just-in-time manufacturing. 5S, though had started in manufacturing, is now applied in a myriad of workplaces and organizations like schools, hotels, hospitals, corporate offices and so on. “A place for everything and everything in its place” is a popular quote that serves as a guideline in implementation of 5S. This paper explains the concepts of 5S in detail. The paper considers a particular problem in a construction equipment assembly line and explains the difficulties caused by the problems. Later, the problems are dealt with by illustrating the types of solutions that help us achieve 5S in a workplace and discuss how the particular solution can be successful in eradicating the problem present.