Wastage could be loss of time, loss of interest, loss of materials required and so on. A good solution to this can be achieved from the practical approach that 5S provides.

Lean Six Sigma practitioners have faith in it as a culture that aims at continuous improvement of the working environment and the work conditions. The philosophy is applicable to any aspect of life. 5S refers to the five structured principles of seire, seiton, seison, seiketsu and shitsuke.

Translated, they mean sort, systematize, sweep (shine), standardize and self-discipline. All these terms are self-explanatory. Even if you take them in a daily simple scenario of tidying up your home, you will find that you are doing the same thing.

The first thing that is done is a sorting out of all items.  They should be arranged systematically or categorized. Then the entire area needs to be cleaned.

The last step is to apply self discipline to maintain it.

Sort

The first S stands for Seiri, or Sort, where you sort out the contents of the work area. You look around and differentiate from needed, not needed and not frequently needed items. You need to find who is responsible for the item, and classify them by frequency of use.

In this phase, the red tagging of items is important. Unnecessary items should be either sent for disposal if no further use is found.  If they are items that are required only sporadically, they can be put into a place marked for storage.

All items with no value ought to be discarded.

Systematize

This is the most important phase, where items are arranged systematically. With due consideration to workflow, decide which item is to be placed at which location. They should be placed in such a manner that they can be retrieved in 30 seconds.

A clear list of items and their locations should be in a visible area, such as a cabinet, and each cabinet labeled that indicates what is stored.

Sweep

In this stage, the cleaning activity is made a habit. When the workplace is cleaned daily, all items are inspected, and those that may be contaminated or need preventive action are determined.

A log should be maintained to describe the problem area. In addition to this, there should be a weekly review of the levels of implementation.

Standardize

In this stage, the standardization of the processes is done. Visual controls and guidelines are maintained to achieve a high standard of housekeeping.

Standardization of cleaning procedures and schedules from a check sheet prepared in the previous stage is done.

An evaluation of the progress and the level of implementation is also necessary.

Self-Discipline, or Sustain

Training and discipline are important. Periodical checks by management and the involvement and dedication of all employees will ensure that the 5S culture is sustained. Owners should be responsible for the maintenance of their work areas.

The application of 5S increases the morale of the employees and helps increase their efficiency. Waste is reduced and better quality is achieved. 5S is a culture which should be embraced by everyone in the organization.