What are the 6S principles?

If you are looking for ways to improve the efficiency of your company, you have likely run across the concept of 6S. This is an excellent tool that is used by millions of companies around the world to try to find and eliminate waste in the workplace, which helps them to operate more efficiently.

The first thing to do when considering this option is to learn more about what the 6S principles are. The following are the 6 principal forms of waste that are looked for with this system:

  • Sort – The first step in 6S is to go through all the items in your facility and remove anything that is not needed. Cutting out excess inventory, unused machines, and anything else that is not required will help ensure other items are able to be used more efficiently.
  • Set – All the items that remain in the facility should have an assigned place to be kept if they are not in use.
  • Shine – You want to make sure that your facility is always kept as clean as possible, which is done under the principal of ‘shine.’ Keeping things clean helps them to last longer and work properly so that you don’t run into problems.
  • Standardize – Creating standard practices for the work that is done will help to improve efficiency. Find out what the best way of doing something is and then make sure everyone on all shifts is following it.
  • Sustain – Putting policies in place to ensure all the improvements that are found from the other 6S principals will continue to benefit the company long into the future.
  • SafetyLook for any type of hazard or risk that is present in the facility and take steps to eliminate it. If a safety hazard can’t be eliminated entirely, look for ways to minimize it or protect the employees from the results.
 

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