Where can 5S be used?

When people hear about 5S implementations, they typically think first of manufacturing facilities, warehousing companies, and other related systems. While these are certainly the most popular industries that use the 5S strategies, they are not the only places where 5S can be found.

Over the past several decades, companies across most industries have seen the value offered by the strategies behind 5S. The following are some of the industries that are starting to implement 5S on a regular basis, and how it can be beneficial.

Health Care

Hospitals and other health care facilities around the world are turning to 5S strategies to not only improve their efficiency, but also improve the quality of care that can be provided. 5S stresses the importance of organization, standards, and keeping things clean. These are all extremely important in the healthcare industry, so it is a natural fit.

Office Jobs

Office environments often have an extraordinary amount of waste that takes place, and the 5S strategies can help to eliminate that. Even small things like unnecessary print jobs, wasted electricity by leaving equipment on, and much more can add up to huge cost savings and improved efficiency in the office.

Information Technology

Information technologies, which are almost always office type jobs, will also benefit from 5S in the same ways as those environments. In addition, however, IT focused jobs often need to manage servers, routers, switches, printers, and other tech equipment. Keeping the equipment in good condition by ensuring it is in a clean and up to date environment will reduce downtime and cut costs associated with hardware replacement.

Restaurants

Restaurants are another area that are just starting to learn about how 5S implementation can be a huge benefit. Any company in the food services industry is going to have a lot of waste, and 5S can be very helpful in finding ways to reduce it by following standards. Of course, keeping a restaurant clean is absolutely critical for avoiding regulatory issues.

Homemakers

Many companies call the 5S methodology their ‘housekeeping’ strategies, and that is really an appropriate term. With that in mind, it is easy to see how a homemaker could use the concepts of 5S to improve the way his or her home runs.

 

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