Introduction to 6S

What is 6S? Provides a structure and steps for improving workplace organisation, order and cleanliness Accomplished by placing work teams in control of their own areas, helping them to focus on causes and elimination of waste Establishing standards of housekeeping, storage and visual communication. What we call "6S" derives from "5S" the method of workplace organization and visual controls popularized by Hiroyuki Hirano (1990). The five "Ss" refer to five Japanese words—seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke. Seiri means to separate needed and unneeded materials and to remove the latter. Seiton means to neatly arrange and identify needed materials for ease of use. Seiso means to conduct a cleanup campaign. Seiketsu means to do seiri, seiton, and seiso at frequent intervals and to standardize your 5S procedures. Shitsuke means to form the habit of always following the first four Ss. Often referred to as 5S, but in healthcare we have added a sixth “S” – SAFETY. This is absolutely critical to good service delivery for us. Common analogy is to compare the level of organisation in the kitchen as opposed to the garage or garden shed. The origin of 5S seems rooted in the works of two American pioneers who were scrupulously studied by Japanese managers. These were Frederick W. Taylor's Scientific Management (1911) and Henry Ford (1922). Indeed, Ford's CANDO program (Cleaning up, Arranging, Neatness, Discipline, Ongoing Improvement), which builds on Taylor's work, appears as the obvious origin for 5S.

Why do 6S? Simple process which involves everyone Drives a continuous improvement approach Provides basic workplace disciplines for Lean Delivers improved productivity quality and safety A highly visual performance measure What is the potential impact of a badly organised workplace on service delivery? NHS example of audiovisual department was mentioned earlier on – are there others you can think of?

SAFETY SORT SUSTAIN (Checking for hazards, respect workplace and employees) SORT (Separate needed from not needed) Eliminate unnecessary things from the work area STORE (A place for everything) Organise what remains in the work area SUSTAIN (Discipline to ensure improved systems are maintained) Make 6S the norm Begin with “Sort.” It is important to remember that the 6S process is cyclical and continuous. STANDARDISE (Build into accepted routines) Standardise practices e.g. safety, cleaning SHINE (Clean and wash)

Sort Involves four key steps: Identifying items that are not used Disposing of non-essential items Determining frequency of use of items required in workplace Eliminating sources of clutter and safety risks

“a place for everything and everything in its place” Store “a place for everything and everything in its place” arranging workplace items and establishing guidelines for storage of these items. locating items based on their frequency of use a permanent or home location is assigned for each item, thereby ensuring that the item can be located with ease eliminating random storage means that there is a place for everything and that everything should be in its designated place if not in use.

Shine Entails visually and physically sweeping the area and includes three primary activities: Ensuring that everything is in its proper place. A visual sweep should instantly identify any missing or misplaced items Identifying and correcting repeated violations Correcting repeated housekeeping problems such as incorrectly stored inventory, tools out of place, etc Shine means the removal of sources of contamination so that you always have a clean and neat work area.

Standardise maintain and monitor adherence to the first three Ss. defines how a task should be done and lets everyone involved in the process know the ‘best way’ to do something becomes part of the everyday routine Standardisation makes information about locations more easily recognisable. If all labels are formatted in the same way, it is easier to sweep through them. If procedures for retrieving and returning items and information are uniform, it makes it easier for everyone in the work area to locate them quickly.

Sustain Follow the rules to keep the workplace 6S-right — "maintain the gain.“ routine practice of all the preceding steps. It requires all employees to do their part to carry out the 6S actions they have agreed upon. for 6S to be successful on an ongoing basis, you must sustain the improvements made. an effective way of maintaining momentum within organisations is to have a meaningful 6S review process in place to regularly measure performance and monitor improvements.

Safety Eliminate hazards The sixth "S" was added to maintain the focus on safety within the Lean environment and embed safe conditions into all our improvements

Implementing 6S 1. Plan a course of action 2. Educate the workforce 3. Evaluate the work area 4. Initiate the 6S’s 5. Measure the results 6. Maintain 6S activities

Measure the Results Step 1: Conduct a post-implementation assessment Step 2: Analyse the results of the post-implementation assessment Step 3: Benchmark

The three steps for maintaining 6S activities are: Maintain 6S Activities The three steps for maintaining 6S activities are: Step 1: Set goals Step 2: Establish Standard Operating Procedures Step 3: Adhere to the 6S process schedule.

Leadership of 6S Successfully implementing and sustaining 6S is heavily dependant on senior management commitment, support and involvement. Managers can contribute significantly to 6S in a variety of ways, including: Go and see what’s happening Personally demonstrate their understanding and leadership of 6S Apply 6S in their own work areas Work with other leaders and employees in model areas Perform routine 6S checks and review adherence to the standards Make it fun and provide recognition

Benefits for Employees Creates more pleasant working environment Builds greater job satisfaction Improves employee morale Produces a cleaner and more organised work area Improves communication Places high focus on safety Reduces frustration of trying to locate items

Benefits for the Organisation Creates environment for team-based improvements Encourages visual control Highlights & eliminates several types of waste Frees up floor space Places high focus on safety Reduces defects, resulting in higher quality Reduces waste, resulting in lower costs Reduces delays, resulting in reliable deliveries Encourages effective work practices. Helps to develop efficient work processes