A 6S Experience in a Manufacturing Facility

Globalization of science and technology has caused competitive pressures to continue unabated in manufacturing business. Product prices continue to fall while production costs rise. In order to reduce production costs, some companies look to improved technology, employee layoff, facility relocation, etc. The search for operational excellence seems to be more intense with each passing day. Many companies have adopted Lean, Six Sigma or Total Productive Maintenance initiatives for improving operational effectiveness and efficiency. 5S is a traditional management technique that helps organize a workplace by making it clean and free of items not needed for the job. It is believed that such a work environment fosters higher employee morale, improves productivity and quality, and enhances safety. This paper reports the implementation of lean 6S technique in a Parker manufacturing plant in Houston, Texas. Parker corporate management believes that 6s establishes the foundation for all productivity, quality, safety, and cost improvements of the future. The traditional 5S was expanded to 6S by adding safety awareness directly. The project involved several departments: maintenance, human resources, finance, janitorial, etc. In many of the departments prior to the implementation of this project, disorder was evident in workflow and document processing had hitches. After the implementation, we saw a cleaner workplace, better organized tool racks, faster document processing, etc. Employee participation in the process right from the beginning was very important for the initial success of the project and is helping to sustain the gains. An on-going self-regulated program that instills a discipline to create, improve, and maintain a clean, well-organized, and safe work environment is in place. 6S philosophy has become one of the entire work-culture, thinking process, and everyday mode of operation from management to the manufacturing floor.