This shop really shines … and sorts, simplifies, standardizes and sustains; the 5S principles are providing to be a powerful prelude and prerequisite to lean manufacturing at this aerospace job shop

Modern Machine Shop, Jan, 2004 by Mark Albert

What is 5S? It's a list of words, all starting with S, that describes a method of organizing a workplace. Not everyone agrees on the same five words, however, so several versions of the list are widely used. This discrepancy seems to stem from the fact that 5S is based on a translation of five Japanese words, some of which can have several meanings. In Japan, 5S originated as part of the famous Toyota production system, which is noted for its efficiency and lack of waste. Regardless of the exact words, proponents of 5S all agree that it is a powerful but practical approach for transforming a shop or factory.

At Merritt Tool Co. in Kilgore, Texas, 5S stands for:

SORT SHINE SIMPLIFY STANDARDIZE SUSTAIN

This job shop sorts, shines, simplifies, standardizes and sustains very well. Both the practice and the benefits of 5S are abundantly evident at this 65-person shop located deep in the piney woods region of East Texas. 5S has prepared Merritt Tool for lean manufacturing. More accurately, 5S is propelling this shop toward lean manufacturing.

In fact, a good way to understand the concept of lean manufacturing is to perceive it as the next step after or the natural consequence of reaching the state that Merritt Tool has achieved by implementing 5S. For example, the shop is already rearranging machine tools into cells, a move that clearly makes sense now that it has been following 5S throughout it plant. 5S brings out the logic of lean. It is a "lean enabler."

Larry Simmons, general manager and the main 5S guru at Merritt Tool, has a more down-to-earth view of all this. "It's a way to help people get more done by working half as hard so that the company can make more money," he says. This view is enthusiastically shared by A.P. Merritt, Jr., president of Merritt Tool and son of the founder. When Mr. Simmons was introduced to the concepts of 5S several years ago, he could see how the techniques could help the shop reduce setup time by as much as 50 percent. That's all he needed to say to convince Mr. Merritt that 5S was well worth his support.

Today, it is easy to see how 5S has reduced setup time and delivered other benefits at Merritt Tool. The shop is remarkably uncluttered. Almost at a glance, a casual visitor can tell what is going to happen next at each workstation and how it is going to be done. In fact, this visual aspect of 5S is one of the key characteristics of its methodology. Looking, seeing and making things visible are part of almost every activity related to 5S. (See Figure 1 for a summary of 5S benefits.)

The Journey Begins

Merritt Tool began moving to lean manufacturing about 5 years ago, at the urging of The Boeing Company, one of the shop's main customers. Although Merritt Tool was originally founded in 1928 to serve the oil field industry, it branched into aerospace work in the 1980s. Most of its machine tools are now multi-axis CNC types suitable for aerospace workpieces in aluminum and titanium. It also continues to serve the oil field and other industries, especially in lathe work.

Merritt Tool became involved with lean manufacturing techniques in 1998, when the company participated in a Lean Pathways program sponsored by the U.S. Navy and The Boeing Company as part of an initiative to improve quality, delivery and affordability of components for Navy aircraft. As part of this program, Mr. Simmons participated in several accelerated improvement workshops (kaizen events) and was certified as a workshop leader in 2000. TechSolve, the Cincinnati-based manufacturing consulting group that developed the Pathways process, teamed with Merritt Tool, Boeing and the Navy in conducting 5S as well as other improvement workshops on-site at Merritt Tool.

Under Mr. Simmons' guidance, Merritt Tool followed all of the recommended practices for implementing 5S, including the recommendation to make practical compromises and adaptations where necessary. "In a job shop, you have to use discretion and common sense," Mr. Simmons says. "The main thing is to understand the concepts and principles of 5S, then devote time and resources to applying them. A half-hearted commitment to 5S is doomed to fail." (See Figure 2 for further tips on making 5S successful.)

Mr. Simmons is clear about one point: "5S has been successful here mainly because our employees wanted it to succeed. Their hard work and dedication have been the biggest factors in making this work," he says. Regarding his role, Mr. Simmons says it was "mainly to point the way."

In the beginning, Mr. Simmons conducted workshops at specific locations in the plant, usually centered on a particular machine tool or process area. A typical workshop lasts 2 to 5 days. The first step is forming a team consisting of the machine operators and other personnel involved with activities related to the workcenter.

"It's a good idea to have individuals from other departments or areas on the team," Mr. Simmons recommends. "This gives us some fresh eyes that see things differently." Workshops usually open with some simple team building experiences, even if this is just coffee and donuts for the group at the beginning of the day.