Cement Energy & Environment

47 Cement Companies adopting 5S methodology for Workplace Management Deepak Jasuja President & Unit Head Hemantha Kumar Vice President & Head Corporate Sustainable Development Vinod Paliwal AVP & Head-Sustainable Development - Birla Corporation Limited ABSTRACT: 5S is a specialized and systematic function for the transformation of the work place through involvement of all the employees by understanding Good housekeeping and Good manufacturing practices and to sustain the 5S in organisation. 5S is the silent informer of a company’s attitude to quality, workplace management and people management. The easiest way to determine a company’s attitude towards improvement activities is simply to walk around the factory and offices and observe the housekeeping practice. It often tells us more about the company than any financial statement. One can judge the level of improvement activities from the way tools are stored, swath and chips from machines handled, work table organized, inspection points indicated, factory floor swept, machines cleaned, canteen and toilet condition etc. The practices reflect the management’s general attitude towards work and employees. There is a strong linkage between the level of 5S and the amount of defective products produced, the number of machine breakdown, inventory level and so on. Therefore 5S should be among the first steps management should take for improving the company’s quality status. 5S are an important aspect of team work. INTRODUCTION: The 5S methodology is a workplace management system for creating a clean, uncluttered, safe, and well-organized environment, reducing waste, and optimizing productivity. The term “5S” originates in Japan and refers to five Japanese words that start with the letter ‘S’: Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke. This system was developed at Toyota in the 1960s as part of the Toyota Production System, anapproach to creatinganorganizedenvironment thatpromotesefficiencyusingvisualmanagement.