Part 3: 5S Shine – Keeping It Clean

Now that all of the clutter is gone (using methods from Part 2) and your workspace organised, it is time to get cleaning. This is the shine stage of the methodology or the ‘Seiso’ stage  This isn’t a one-off but a daily clean. Making sure that all work areas are kept clean helps improve the buy-in for the 5S process.

It is important that this stage isn’t a job for janitorial staff but rather each employee should clean their own work space. Although it may seem like an additional task, there are several benefits to this:

• Employees who are familiar with their area, will notice if something has changed
• Accountability of hazardous or difficult situations
• Workers tend to keep their own workspaces cleaner
• If an item is missing they will notice quickly

It also has the additional benefit that if its the same person cleaning the area as who is working there, they will notice any defects. This can be pulled into a preventative maintenance plan when it comes to machinery in operation and can help to prevent large issues and failures happening.

How to implement the ‘Shine’ stage

This stage is more than just running a mop around every now and then, it is continually keeping an area clean and those using it accountable for their own areas. To start, the area must be identified and it must be determined what is classed as a clean state. A great way to document this is photo’s, it is a visual representation of what the area should be like and therefore is easy to compare.

The next stage is to envisage what messes may happen and ensure that appropriate cleaning products are on hand and accessible to clear this up.

As mentioned earlier, accountability is a huge part of this stage. Checklists and schedules can help this as it gives the employees clear roles and encourages a productive cleaning routine. Although this is always open to continuous improvement and shouldn’t be set in stone as there can be unforeseen aspects.

Modulean shadow boards are a great way of keeping your cleaning utensils organised and nearby

Why is the ‘Shine’ step important?

There are a number of benefits to this stage of the process:

• Site safety
• Cost reduction – regular cleaning and preventive maintenance keeps machines in working order
• Eliminate unnecessary clutter and waste
• Accountability of the team
• Increase productivity to ensure that there are not obstacles to the work processes
• Reduces risks of injury

Next in our 5S series is Part 4: 5S Standardise

Read Part 2: 5S Set In Order