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Using the 5S Approach

Continuous improvement methodology applications in agriculture

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Many people are familiar with the production management techniques of W. Edwards Deming who taught the Japanese a principle of management which increased the quality and reduced costs in the car manufacturing industry in the 1950’s. Deming divided the goal of achieving business effectiveness into 14 key principles which were published in his book Out of the Crisis.

He believed that the key to improved quality and lower costs was practicing continual improvement and thinking of manufacturing as a system, not as bits and pieces. As an American, Deming provided the Japanese with an approach that worked well for them. Toyota’s current problems notwithstanding, perhaps the learning can flow the other way — as we look at what Japanese automakers have been able to achieve over time. While we are not endorsing any or every Japanese approach to management — it is often useful to borrow management ideas from other cultures.

This is the time of year many of us think of “Spring Cleaning,” and sometimes as managers it is a challenge to instill the “neatness/efficiency gene” into our employees. Below, we discuss a Japanese organizational system called “5S” you might find useful.

The 5S Approach

5S is a Japanese methodology that was also first used in the automotive industry to improve productivity. The ultimate goal of 5S is for continuous improvement in the work place. The five S’s in the 5-S organizational system are Sort (Seiri in Japanese), Set (Seiton), Shine (Seiso), Standardize (Seiketsu), and Sustain (Shitsuke) and we argue that following this advice — akin to your Mom’s admonition to “clean up your room,” can be a useful and productive management strategy.

5S in your feed and grain business can offer a variety of benefits. It can decrease time wasted looking for tools, improve safety, increase employee morale, and build a company culture that is based on taking ownership for the facility.

While it may have been developed to enhance productivity in a manufacturing environment, 5S can be implemented in the grain elevator, feed store, and in employee offices. 5S creates a more efficient environment by improving the organization system of the operation. By optimizing productivity and reducing waste by maintaining an organized work area and through the use of visual aids — a more efficient and productive workplace is created. By implementing this strategy your facility will be cleaned up and standardized in order to help your employees who use the space to become as efficient as possible.

When choosing an area to “5S,” it is important to not try to conquer more than you can handle. Choosing an office, shop, or production line will keep you focused on a manageable area to work with.

Sort - Seiri

The first step in the process is Sort. This step will open up the space you have to work with and make it easier to find the things you need. Select an area and go through everything, deciding what is absolutely needed for the operators in the area. Through this process you will put your hands on everything in the area and determine if it is needed — or not! This might mean getting rid of items that are not used often enough to justify taking up space in your area.

Tools and supplies that are not frequently used should be moved to a separate storage space. Keeping items that might be used ‘someday’ is not helpful and will only clutter the area you are trying to organize. Broken tools, outdated fixtures, scrap material, and generally unused items may be difficult to part with, but eliminating them will help restore order to your work area. In this step you will want to clean up the work area, which in addition to looking nice will make it easier to spot a grain or feed leak under an auger or leg. Safety of your employees is also improved when they don’t have to maneuver over the items taking up your floor space in a haphazard manner.

After your evaluation, items that after being evaluated are not needed for current operations can be placed in your “Red Tag” area. Red tags are attached to the items that are not important or that are excess or which are broken. These items are moved to a storage area for recycling, reassignment, or to be held for a specified amount of time. If an item remains in the Red Tag area for six months — or your specified amount of time — get rid of it since it is not of use to your facility.

Set - Seiton

The second S is Set, as ‘Set in Order.’ Here, you will arrange all of the items and materials that you have decided to keep in the workplace. While doing this keep in mind that you want easy retrieval and return when the time comes to use each item. You would want to put the feed scoop shovels that employees use daily on a hook or give the rubber mallet they use to bang on the feed mixer when it bridges, a designated spot on their work bench. On the other hand, the hand drill or wrench set that is only used a few times a year should be stored in a cabinet. Through this process many companies discover duplicate sets of tools since many times different employees that use the same the tool all have their own set.

When deciding where to place each item — labeling shelves or containers can help designate storage spots for similar items. Adding hooks, shelves, or organizational containers can help when designating spots for all items. In the office or feed store shelves can be labeled to make it easy to identify and find materials.

Items can also be placed in relation to the proximity where they are used. If you have a wrench that is only used on a pellet mill motor, you can create a shadow board and mount it right next to it. A shadow board is a board with a hook to place the item on, that has a shadow of the item drawn or pasted on the board to give easy recognition to everyone that that item belongs there. Another useful “Set in Order” method which can be used in the grain and feed business can be to place small plastic sleeves on feed and/or grain bins so that labels (or index cards) can be prepared which list bin contents — and which can easily be changed when contents change.

While labeling items it can also be helpful to label doors, large pieces of equipment, piping, and cabinets. The area should have a place for everything with everything in its place.

Shine - Seiso

For the third step — Shine — a deep cleaning should be performed to begin maintaining your office or shop at that standard. Not only should you get out your mop and broom but consider making long term changes that will help keep the area “spic and span.” This could be painting the floors to outline walkways, storage areas, work areas, or marking spots where large pieces of equipment are placed. The walls can be painted with markers identifying where the 10th or 50th bin hits to make taking inventory of them much faster.

The items that you have chosen to remain in an area all need to be repaired or replaced if they are broken. Once you have your area cleaned up it is going to be necessary to have regular, often daily, cleanings or your area will return to the way it was. Having an area clean will make it easier to spot oil leaks, missing tools, and will alert you when your supplies are running low and need to be replaced.

This step can be particularly important when you choose to “5S” your feed store or any other area that the general public sees. Feed and grain businesses tend to be dustier than other businesses so extra effort here is important, and will lead to increased business as urban customers are less accustomed to the dirt and grime associated with an agribusiness. Too often, facilities can really drift into a state that looks dirty and cluttered at best, and just sends messages such as “we don’t care,” “we are not professionals or experts,” or “we aren’t safe” at worst. If nothing else, 5S may be a key part of re-building your firm’s image with your evolving market.

We know that clean-up or the “shine” step can be challenging in feed mills or grain elevators due to grain dust. However, improved dust control equipment not only improves the appearance of your facility, it also improves safety due to reduced danger of explosion.

An idea to help create a culture change would be to assign “area owners” to different work zones within your operation. The area owner of an office would be the employee whose desk is there. In production operations the operator of the specific equipment would be the “owner.” Placing a picture of the owner with a picture of the area 5S’ed can help create this ownership. And, people who own something tend to be much more motivated about its care and upkeep.

While applying the “Shine” step to your entire business is encouraged, we would suggest doing it in sections. In this way, you can stick to the area that you have selected so that you are not frustrated by the process not seeming to end.

Standardize - Seiketsu

The fourth step of Standardize is to develop a method that will support your new practices and make them into habits. By putting a system in place that anyone using items in your elevator or shop will be able to find them quickly and put them in the same place where they belong, you can ensure that your newly organized area stays that way. By placing a label saying ‘Push Broom’ above a hook where you want your employees to keep their push brooms, it becomes more difficult to place a hose or scoop shovel there. It would be immediately obvious to everyone that the item is out of place. It is easy to slip back into old work habits so giving your area structure and standardizing practices will help to create new habits.

Sustain - Shitsuke

The last 5S step is Sustain. To maintain the new structure you have given your office or elevator it is necessary to continue training and maintaining the standards you’ve set. This is the step that separates your work from just “cleaning up” to evolving into a culture of efficiency and effectiveness.

Some companies develop a formal system for monitoring the results of their 5S program. This could be weekly, monthly, or sporadic checks of the area giving grades to the area owners based on the appearance of their work space. You can make a system that shows the progress of the 5S area to inspire the area owners to continually improve their space.

5S can provide significant psychological benefit to your employees by providing them a neat, clean environment. In addition, as discussed above — customers will frequent a nice looking business more often. 5S also has the added benefit of eliminating waste and selling off unused resources. As manager, you can draw your employee’s attention to the correlation between making the changes and the improvements taking place and this can help with the culture shift of 5S implementation.

Posting a map that details where everything belongs can also be helpful in maintaining your system. 5S uses the foundation of having a supportive visual environment to create a positive organization structure. Having maps or other directional signs or labels creates a visually accessible work space.

When new employees are brought on-board, walk them though your organizational system. Teaching them early will help build the culture that you are establishing with your existing employees. When new procedures, safety guidelines, or equipment is introduced that affects your 5S system make adjustments to accommodate these changes and offer training to address the differences. If new employees are trained on your 5S system from day 1 and if you constantly reinforce that “this is the way we do business here,” you will begin to turn the culture of your feed and grain company toward an effective 5S philosophy.

Most 5S programs cost a small amount of money compared with the potential for a large payback. Posters and signs can be a good way to communicate your program and to maintain 5S standards. There are many companies that sell products designed to assist in making an area fit with 5S. There are several firms on the internet that provide organizational products designed specifically to help you in 5S endeavors. An easy to use website that walks you through what 5S is as well as different products is: http://www.graphicproducts.com.

Vivian Harper, a columnist for South Carolina Business Magazine, gives a few examples in her article ‘There’s Proof that Mother Knows Best’ of ways 5S has positively changed organizations:

  • A corrugated box manufacturer that spent two weeks implementing 5-S improved its productivity by 40 percent and reduced inventory requiring storage by 30 percent.
  • A hospital emergency room standardized its trauma bays so that the hospital staff knew where essential items were located regardless of the room they were in.
  • An insurance office that instituted 5S reduced paperwork by 30 percent, resulting in a 50 percent increase in claims processing.
  • A textile mill reduced obsolete material, work in process, and inventory freed up floor space, eliminating the need to lease additional warehouse space.

Concluding Comments

Commercial agricultural producers want to do business with professional organizations and urban customers expect professionalism as well. Gone are the days where a dusty, cluttered office with a 1972 calendar on the wall will cut it. Utilizing a 5S strategy puts a professional face on your business, and will send all kinds of positive messages to employees as well. In addition, focus on the physical plant will be translated into the kind of attention you want in customer relationships! In the end, “5S-ing” your elevator or feed plant may lead to a much needed spring cleaning for your relationships with key accounts. There is a reason that advice like “clean your room” or habits like Spring cleaning stick around — they work... so maybe our suggestions aren’t so Japanese after all.

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