"What ChatGPT doesn't know about" 5S Implementation

Whether you are new to the game or an old hat; What I am about to share with you is what lies at the heart of most 5S implementation failures, which I don't hear anybody talking about. (Spoiler alert, it is not the sustain step) There is a clue in the graphic, but just for fun lets go on a journey together.

Whenever you start on a Continuous Improvement Journey you have to start somewhere. And while 5S is as good a place to start as any, I have selected this for those people who are studying and new to the field. The reason: because you can implement 5 S in your home (or in your bedroom) while you are studying and gain a huge amount of insight into the true nature of Kaizen, far beyond what the text books can teach you. All before even entering the workforce.

For the old hats at this game, I share from my experience why I believe that the text book answer as to why 5S fails is wrong. The truth beneath why 5S implementations fall over.

If you want to skip over the chat response due to time constraints I have placed dividers above and below each as a guide.

Lets start by letting Chat GPT give us an overview of what 5S is...

Question:

Tell me about the Lean Management tool 5S

ChatGPT:

5S is a Lean Management tool that is widely used to improve efficiency and productivity in various workplaces. It is a system of organizing and maintaining a clean and orderly workplace by eliminating unnecessary items, arranging essential items in a logical order, and ensuring that everything is in its proper place.

The five S's stand for:

1. Sort - this involves identifying and removing all unnecessary items from the workplace. This step helps to eliminate clutter, free up space, and reduce the time and effort required to find things.
2. Set in order - after removing unnecessary items, the next step is to organize the remaining items in a logical order. This involves defining a place for everything and labeling items to make them easy to find and access.
3. Shine - this involves cleaning the workplace thoroughly and regularly to maintain a high level of cleanliness and hygiene. This step also helps to identify any potential safety hazards or maintenance issues that need to be addressed.
4. Standardize - this involves developing and implementing standard procedures and practices for maintaining the workplace. This step helps to ensure consistency and accountability in the workplace, and it also helps to identify areas where further improvements can be made.
5. Sustain - this involves creating a culture of continuous improvement and maintaining the 5S system over the long term. This step involves training employees, monitoring performance, and making adjustments as needed to ensure that the 5S system remains effective.

The benefits of implementing 5S include improved safety, increased efficiency and productivity, reduced waste, improved morale and employee satisfaction, and improved quality of products and services. 5S can be applied to a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and office environments.

All good information, but really nothing terribly insightful that I couldn't have got from a text book or google search.

It is at this point in time that you can see clearly why Chat GPT is not going to take your CI job. Because the test of CI is in the real world results. Which come from experience.

To those students out there let me answer the "I need a job to get the experience, but I can't get the experience without having the job." Paradox

You can implement 5 S in the home.

Pick a room. Sort through everything in that room and decide what belongs and what doesn't. Now Set that room in order by giving a place for everything and everything in its place. Pull out the vacuum and duster and make that room Shine. Take a photo of the room and this is now your new Standard. And two days later you will realise that Sustain takes something more than the books will teach you. [Spoiler alert. The Sustain isn't actually what went wrong, it sure looks that way, but it's not]

And so we return to ChatGPT

Question:

Which of the 5S steps is most difficult to implement and why?

ChatGPT:

The level of difficulty in implementing the 5S steps may vary depending on the workplace and the existing culture. However, in general, the most difficult step to implement is the fifth S, Sustain. This is because sustaining the 5S system requires ongoing commitment and dedication from everyone in the workplace.

Implementing the first four S's - Sort, Set in Order, Shine, and Standardize - may be relatively straightforward, but maintaining the improvements made through these steps requires ongoing effort and attention. Without sustained effort, the workplace may gradually slip back into its old habits, and the benefits of the 5S system may be lost.

Sustaining the 5S system involves creating a culture of continuous improvement, where everyone in the workplace is committed to maintaining the improvements made through the first four S's. This requires ongoing training, monitoring, and feedback to ensure that everyone is aware of their role in maintaining the 5S system and has the necessary skills and resources to do so.

In addition, sustaining the 5S system may be challenging because it requires changing existing habits and behaviors. People may be resistant to change or may struggle to adapt to new ways of working. Therefore, it is important to involve everyone in the workplace in the implementation process and to provide ongoing support and encouragement to help them sustain the 5S system over the long term.

After reading this, I can see why ChatGPT gave this response. It is the same message in most of the Lean and Lean-Six Sigma materials out there. And the reason for this is because it is only looking at the appearance.

"Perceive those things which cannot be seen." From the book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Masashi

I gave ChatGPT another chance and asked it to give me a 5 why on the hypothetical scenario of "I ran out of time" as the reason for not maintaining the standard. I wont bore you with the details other than to say; that set of 5 why's pointed to a lot of problems in the business, in a lot of areas. And while that is what we want from root cause analysis it didn't really hit the reason for 5S implementation failure.

The disconnect between Lean and TPS is that Lean was the wests attempt to codify what was observable when they looked at Toyota back in the 1980's. They used reductionist thinking to try to document systems thinking. Plus there were the cultural linguistic nuances that also influenced the results.

To start to see the disconnect lets look at the Japanese word for "Standardise" Seiketsu-(清潔) (which is where I believe most 5S implementation failure actually occurs)

Seiketsu-(清潔)

This is how the Japanese write?seiketsu. The first character,?清?means?“purify” or “cleanse.” It is the same character as the first character in 5S step 3 seiso (cleaning, shining). The second character潔?when used on its own is pronounced “isagiyoi” and means “undefiled, clean, gracious and courageous.” The two characters together mean “clean and sanitary.”?Seiketsu?is not simply a momentary state of cleanliness. It is an attitude of cleanliness and consistent habits for keeping things clean. Not just clean, but actively clean.

You could be forgiven for thinking, "So this step 4 is actually just step 1 - 3 combined, right?" But if I have learned anything in my years of studying Japanese culture it is that you have to take a great deal of time to internalise and understand the meaning of things.

I highlighted the word courageous in the above quote. Courage to clean? What is this Courageous approach to cleaning?

Courage is an internal state. It most certainly manifests as actions. For example, to stand up for ones rights. The action may be to speak out, but the courage is a deeply rooted decision that comes from within.

This standardise "thing", this 清潔, is more than just taking a photo of the work area and saying "that is what it is supposed to look like". In fact that photo actually represents more of a western performance management tool mindset than it does a standard.

When the 清潔, is in place then the workplace will be maintained at that level by all who have the 清潔. The sustain phase, is actually where we pass on our deeply held state of courage-to-clean to others, who will then maintain that same level, so long as the teacher has done their job well. The sustain phase is more about the process of education and delegation. Ensuring everyone is on the same page.

I hope that this encourages discussion. I hope that this challenges your ideas about what it truly means to create a standard. Words are cheap, the standard, the courage to change ourselves, to live up to our new set standard, that is at the heart of refinement and as far as my studies have shown so far, the heart of TPS.

Have a great rest of your day.