Who doesn’t feel great after organizing their garage or kitchen?  The efficiency and control gained are amazing!  And the power we feel when we can quickly access the tool we’re looking for with little effort is intoxicating.  That feeling and the accompanying efficiency are what we get when we execute a great 5S event.  The five “5’s” of workplace organization are:

1. Sort – Retain what is essential and utilized on a regular basis, remotely store what is occasionally needed and eliminate obsolete items.
2. Set In Order – Organize the essential items with clear labeling, grouping them into like categories or sequencing them in order of use.
3. Shine – Clean, repair, replace, illuminate and, where appropriate, paint to make the workplace gleam.
4. Standardize – Document and visually label best practices and work procedures to use as the standard to check actual performance against.
5. Sustain – Assign responsibility and allocate time to check the workplace condition against standards.

5S is one of the simplest and quickest ways to eliminate non-value-added motion and drive positive culture change.  Once complete, it becomes much easier to see when there is a problem with workplace organization.