Beyond HACCP: The 6S Lean Management System

The quality of the project management procedures has an important impact on the outputs and results of any project. The number of tools/methods utilized in project management work remains relatively restricted, despite the availability of a significant number of quality management tools and techniques in general.

Lean refers to the preservation of an eco-friendly environment. To sustain a lean management environment, a company may adopt 3 principles such as total quality management, 6 Sigma or 6S systems. All of these solutions assist to decrease waste and enhance processes continuously. The 6S Lean Management System is a system designed to support productivity and safety. Originally designed for the industrial sector, nowadays 5S/6S Lean Management System applications are ubiquitous and utilized in many other fields, including food safety and hygiene management.

What is 6S Lean?

6S is a system aimed at promoting and maintaining a high standard of performance, safety, and productivity in a working area. Following the 5S concept, Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain principles, the 6S approach adds a safety component. 6S lean not only supports companies in promoting effective working environments but also creates a sustainable security culture. The 6S idea, an expansion to the original 5S concept, may best be characterized as a tool to optimize production and to create frameworks for safe and efficient processes. Although there is some discussion about the original idea creator, one can say with certainty that the concept was born in Japan.

Components

6S is based on six housekeeping procedures for project management that will assist in improving the information flow across teams, lower delays and rework, better visual management of the work in progress and overall, prompt completion of the project with greater quality when used throughout the project cycle. Let’s discuss the phrases.

1. Sort (Seiri)

The first stage in the procedure is to identify in the workplace superfluous things which must be eliminated or stored off-site for future usage. This allows the necessary things to be easily accessible for effective work daily. The aim is to minimize confusion and promote a productive workplace with necessary things easily accessible. For future usage, unnecessary things may be either disposed of or stored off-site.

2. Set in order (Seiton)

After removing all the superfluous things, the remaining assets are important and must be placed in an area readily accessible for staff, which helps reducing waste and mistake causes. This phase aims to create a systemic method to store and retrieve things so that any person utilizing the area may have maximum accessibility.

This may be carried out in an organization by determining where the equipment and items will be after consulting, using paint or color tapes, labels on tables, equipment, floors, and walls to ensure that every asset or object is given a specific place.

3. Shine (Seiso)

After the removal of non-essential things and the organization of important goods, the next stage is cleaning. The third phase of the 6s lean method, often called ‘Shine,’ involves tasks such as cleaning, maintaining its pleasing look, and taking preventative measures to keep the workplace clean and neat. The goal is to establish an atmosphere that avoids injury and dirty goods from getting discolored.

To carry out the job, members may start with little cleaning chores such as discarding their trash and washing cups, clearing items such as equipment, desks, and anything that impacts cleanliness in general.

4. Standardize (Seiketsu)

‘Standardize’ is the fourth step of the sixth approach to create a new workplace standard, via the identification and development of best, practice in the previous three phases. It attempts to aid individuals in their processes using the same work routines and to create more efficient habits. This may be accomplished by giving visible reminders, establishing employee accountability expectations, periodic inspections, and regular site assessments.

The administration will identify methods to define standardized workplace procedures, create worker accountability and carry out ongoing inspections and frequent site controls for quality assurance. This reminds everyone to follow the following 3 steps and prevent the old inefficient practices from being practiced.

5. Sustain (Shitsuke)

This is the most difficult stage of the 6S approach since it is designed to guarantee a continuous use of standardized processes for a long time until it becomes secondary in daily working. This stage is to continually perform positive things and allow the routines to develop and become an integral part of everyday project work. Ensure ongoing success via process integration into daily operations.

6. Safety

Safety has acquired an extra phase of the improvement cycle that ensures that the manufacturing and working environment satisfy the safety requirements needed. This important phase of 6 S emphasizes detecting risks and establishing preventative measures to ensure that employees are safe throughout work.

Addition of “SAFETY”

One reason for the lean improvement pros is that adding Safety helps to concentrate on safety problems, particularly for sectors with high-risk occupations like building and food production. The additional attention provided may guarantee that after the 5 stages 6s lean, no dangerous objects or circumstances are missed. In addition, safety may assist an organization using the 6S system:

• Be more careful about energy use, materials, and other resources;
• Avoid losses in production from injuries and health risks via clean and accident-free working environments; and
• Environmental performance and waste reduction objectives meet or exceed

Advantages of 6s Lean Management System

6S can provide substantial changes to site arrangements, material positioning, quality and safety of employees, and improved productivity, in particular for site management. If 6S is taken up by employees as a continuous working method in the office or on-site, it will assist build a culture of high employee morality and a higher level of occupational health and safety.

Save Money and Time

Unorganized workplaces are a waste of resources and have a poor effect on staff happiness, eventually leading to consumer discontent. 6S is a simple and affordable method to enhance your operations.

Continuous 6S enhancement provides a basis for continuous process improvement, providing you with the data you need to assess your basic condition and discover improvement possibilities.

Avoid Failure to Comply

6S helps you prevent failure to comply with the rules on health and safety by authorities since a clean, organized workplace minimizes the possibility of accidents or infringements.

Increased Efficiency and Quality

Organized workplaces contribute to efficient operations and quality improvement. Digital task management systems provide further advantages by facilitating 6S inspections and easily integrating the findings into your existing qualitative assessments.

Conclusion

The availability of a great variety of tools and methods for lean management and quality management provides possibilities to explore integration with project management of these tools and techniques. 6S manufacturing is a production process method that combines safety and 5S concepts.

It helps to apply methods to address key production problems. For example, operators that manufacture and execute 6S lean programs enhance the safety of their workers on the factory floor, including the work environment and operational facilities. Manufacturing safety plays an important part in influencing the total productivity of employees. In working situations that are much more dangerous, the additional step should be taken and 6 S should be selected. This helps to establish safety as a key focus of the company and to consider particular Safety KPIs when measuring efforts for improvement.