The 5S is a continuous improvement methodology started in Japan after World War II and dominated by Toyota. When transliterated from the original Japanese, the 5S stands for classifying, tidying up, shining, standardizing, and maintaining discipline.
The red label strategy is implemented in the first phase, or qualifying phase, of any 5S implementation. Its effects are immediately visible in any facility with little or no cost, helping to improve inventory reduction, administrative efficiency and increase productivity at all times.
One of the reasons this strategy is so important is that workers tend to “customize” or stick with tools and equipment. They often have a hard time determining what is necessary for the product production cycle and what is not. There is a natural tendency to want tools and other equipment nearby “just in case.”
Another reason is that some manufacturing facilities or plants have been around for a long time; some may be 100 years old or older. If there are multiple work shifts over many years, and many workers during that time, different people may be holding on to different items. Buildup can happen quickly or slowly over a long period of time, but it does happen.
The Japanese word for “red” is “dirt”. Removing dirt from a factory helps for a number of reasons (some obvious) but in this sense, it is to sort and remove unnecessary items. Red tags are easily noticeable, like stop signs, and help employees realize how much clutter can accumulate and how much space is wasted over time.
The duty stations in the factory for this aspect of sorting include inventory, machinery and equipment, and general space such as floors and shelving. Establish criteria before implementation of the process and then fill in the label correctly for inventory purposes, or the item is simply thrown away.
Like spring and fall cleaning, a good red label strategy is released at least twice a year, and the best implementation will continue. The period lasts from one to two months depending on the number of campaign projects that have already been implemented. Workers outside of their regular departments should put up red tags, so they have a fresh view of an area and have no personal ties to those specific tools and equipment.
