Today, we want to discuss an often undervalued lean construction technique – the 5S methodology. Organizations around the world are adopting 5S because:
- It is relatively simple to implement and does not require complicated training
- Helps reduce and eliminate waste on construction sites
- Increases everyone's involvement in projects
- Improves security and reduces uncertainty
- Lays the foundation for implementing other lean construction techniques
Let's explore the Lean 5S technique and how to implement each step in your workplaces.
The 5 Ss of lean construction management
Sort, order, shine, standardize and sustain – known as 5S – is at the heart of every lean construction technique. By following the 5S lean construction management workflow, project managers and contractors can reduce on-site waste, increase productivity, and instill a culture of quality.
Let's analyze the steps of Lean 5S.
1. Sort
The first 5S principle focuses on identifying unnecessary or unwanted items before they become a problem. Follow the “just-in-time” mentality: only keep the materials and equipment you need, in the quantity you need, when you need them.
This means asking three questions about every item in your workplace:
- We need it?
- Do we need this so much?
- Do you need to be here, now?
After answering these questions, there are four possible outcomes for each item:
- Mark and date it – if the item hasn’t been used for a month, it probably doesn’t need to be kept there
- Discard, sell or recycle the item
- Move it to a different location
- Leave the item in its current location if you deem it necessary
2. Put it in order
This 5S lean construction technique is all about organization – putting each item in order so that anyone who needs it can easily find and use it.
Putting things in order is so simple that we can define it in a single sentence: Create a place for everything and keep everything in its place.
After separating your materials and equipment to remove unnecessary items, it's time to put them in order:
- Identify appropriate locations to store them
- Determining the ideal location for each
- Place (and store) each one in that location in the required quantity
3. Shine
Next, we have shine, which helps keep construction sites clean, focusing on the health and safety of both the construction site and the people who work on it.
Keeping each work area clean and organized consists of:
- Determine which areas need to be cleaned
- Divide these areas and assign different workers to each of them
- Create a plan for when and how these areas should be cleaned
- Use the previous step (set in order) to store cleaning products in a way that makes them easy to find, use, and return
- Incorporating a cleaning inspection schedule
4. Standardize
The fourth step of Lean 5S techniques focuses on creating a set of processes to maintain the previous three steps. A standardized state exists when you maintain classification, order, and brightness properly.
There are two components needed to create standardization:
- Make it clear who is responsible for maintaining the conditions of the first three stages
- Implement daily maintenance routines to avoid setbacks
The person responsible for maintaining 5S must also work on preventing interruptions to sort, put in order and shine, asking questions like:
- Why are we bringing unnecessary items onto the premises?
- Why are equipment and materials not being returned to their appropriate locations?
- Why do certain areas of the workplace become dirty repeatedly?
5. Sustain
The final step of 5S in lean construction management is to form habits to maintain the four previous processes. It's also the step that most organizations fail at: it's easy to create new procedures and tell everyone to follow them, but the challenge lies in instilling the discipline to sustain them.
To maintain these good habits, you can implement:
- A red tag system to support classification
- Posters or other visuals to support ordering
- A clear, accessible timeline to support shine
- Regular inspections and reviews to support standardization
3 tips for implementing 5S lean construction techniques
You can apply Lean 5S to your project at any time, but it's important to implement the steps in the order listed above – each step builds on the previous one.
Follow these three tips so that the application of 5S techniques in your next project goes smoothly:
1. Start with yourself
Respect is a big part of Lean principles and is equally important when starting a 5S program. Take some time to learn the 5S process on your own so that you fully understand each step – this will make it much easier to teach your team and implement the techniques successfully.
2. Look for small victories
As you onboard your team into the 5S process, answer their questions, ask your own questions, show examples of each step, and focus on teamwork and communication. Every project and every person will have subtle differences – when you start implementing Lean 5S, it won't work perfectly; focus on each small win to encourage continuous improvement.
3. Be patient
People are imperfect. Projects are imperfect. Don’t expect a perfect 5S program on day one or even in year one – be patient, listen to your team, and find opportunities to turn mistakes into a learning experience for everyone involved.
