Thursday, 23 February 2017

Introduction to the 5S Kaizen (改善) Methodology by Obsnap Group.

On 20 February 2017, Monday,

Obsnap Group’s CEO, Ng Shone Fone, returned from a 3-day seminar event conducted from Money & You®, since last Friday (17 February) at Holiday Villa Subang, Malaysia.

The event he attended, focused on how one can manage their networking skills, develop one’s leadership skills, mastering the ability to create open & active working environment, etc.

While he was at the event, Ng told us during our weekly meeting that he met a friend there.

His friend, Alvin, the managing director a metal-works company that specialises on the cutting of metal components & materials with the CNC Plasma & Flame Cutting System.

As Ng began chatting away with his friend, Alvin, told our boss that the market was ‘moving’ for him, however, Alvin’s circle, who were also in the same industry as him, were not doing as well.
This piqued my boss’s attention to ask Alvin to share how he managed his company.

Alvin told our boss that he gave each of his Head of Department (HoD) staff, full & total responsibility to take care of the company’s 5S* within the company.

The 5S Kaizen (改善) Methodology - White Edition by Obsnap Group

The 5S Kaizen (改善) Methodology - Black Edition by Obsnap Group

Images are sourced from Obsnap Group's Miscellaneous Album on Facebook.
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The 5S is a methodology that focuses on the management of Standardisation & Discipline within an organisation. While applying the kaizen* (改善) mind-set.

*Kaizen: A Japanese philosophy of achieving ‘continuous improvement’ on work practices like workflow efficiency & effectiveness, staff responsibilities, etc.

The 5S is consist of the following words:


·   Seiri - 整理:
o   To sort out, all tools, materials, utilities, software, etc., within a work-area or workstation while only keeping the needed and essential items.
o   Everything else is kept in storage or rejected.
§  This create less clutter & hazards within a work-space and helps with improving on work productivity.

·   Seiton - 整頓:
o   To set things in an orderly manner. Once the items have been sorted, they are arranged systematically accordingly to its type, usage & by priority too.
§  By removing any wastage* within a workstation. This will create conveniency & efficiency when getting into future work projects and assignments because there will be no workflow obstructions.

*Wastage – refer to Taiichi Ohno’s 7 types of wastes.

·   Seiso - 清掃:
o   To shine, with keeping the workplace as clean & neat as possible. Japanese companies are known to make this step a daily chore.
§  Usually at the end of each shift the work area is can be checked on cleaned up and all items are returned to their designated areas.
§  This step also advises us to regularly check on a designated area’s utilities, equipment, tools, etc. to check for any potential defects or safety hazards.
·         This helps with maintaining the progress with one’s standard and quality with their work.

·   Seiketsu - 清潔:
o   To standardise, amongst the staff to always be in control, aware & consistent with their activities in accordance to the company’s regulations, systems and standards.
§  So that everyone knows what are their responsibilities. And that they are always updated and aware of the company’s progress or dilemmas.
§  This will develop a communicative-driven environment in a workplace encourages staff to discussions amongst themselves. Thus creating work order, effectiveness & efficiency.

·   Shitsuke - :
o   To sustain and maintain the current progress & standards of the organisation, with regular check-up.
§  This step focuses on inspecting the organisation’s standard regular to check if all is well, if not, the 5S process will be repeated again to find solutions to any dilemma found.
§  This step prioritises on providing staff training & discipline. Along with, having audits to check on productivity, quality, morale, etc.
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For applying the 5S method, this is how Alvin’s company is doing well; below are one of the things that they did:

HoD made it often to do Training & Reporting sessions with their colleagues during their work on alternative Saturdays.

Mr. Ng mentioned that it is the responsibility of each of the HoD to update all the staff under them, on the progress or the dilemmas that needs to be notified and settled immediately; so that no one is left out in the dark.

Ng said that this will “show the way how we approach our clients, our responsibility (accountability), our professionalism (emphasis on updating our knowledge on our job-scope) and our performance.”

Ng added that “it is (also) a matter of how we manage our time.”


We would like to end this read with a quote from our boss:

“Create a great process to progress; having a great process, brings us efficiency.


Notice:
You may download and/or share the images for your own safe-keeping or use.
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