For the past few weeks I have been thinking about the best way to put a value to a 5S and Visual Management program.  I'm sure if you've scoured the internet for the ROI of a 5S program like I have, you have found numerous posts about the difficulty of justifying a workplace organization system based upon ROI alone. 

The metrics that I am working with to better place a value on 5S and Visual management are:

1 - Time saved from a decrease in searching for materials, tools, and…

I meet many folks at Lean conferences that walk by our 5S Store booth and suggest we change our name to The 6S Store to include Safety as their company has done. My take has always been that a solid 5S program will naturally improve safety. I'm a traditionalist and prefer to keep the original 5S format. Moreover, I think Safety is so ultimately important that it should be on it's own. What are your thoughts?

You will face many challenges implementing and sustaining a 5S System. One of those is that a 5S System represents change. One way to make the change easy for employees it to use a slow and steady method if implementation.

The first thing to remember is there is no cookie cutter solution when it comes to developing and implementing a 5S System. Each organization is different as are the people who work in them. You must examine how your organization works and tailor your 5S System to…

See below a quick recap of the 5S's and the rationale behind the process:…