5S in manufacturing: what to do in your first week

5S in manufacturing is five steps for organising a workstation: sorting, setting in order, cleaning, standardising and self-discipline. In your first week your task is simple: put things back in their designated places, work according to the standard on the board, and report a problem instead of changing the way of working yourself.

5S, work standards and Kaizen are company methods, not a legal requirement. Every plant sets its own rules, so on the first day ask your supervisor where the workstation cards and the area board are. You will find a list of things to check at the start in the text about what the first day at a new job looks like.

What 5S means in manufacturing: five steps

The name comes from five Japanese words. English translations of the steps vary, but the idea is the same.

Step	Name	What you do at the workstation
1	Sorting	You keep only what you need for the work
2	Setting in order	Every tool goes back to its fixed place
3	Cleaning	You clean and check the condition of the machine at the same time
4	Standardising	You work according to workstation cards, instructions and checklists
5	Self-discipline	You keep the habit, even when nobody is checking

The last step includes audits and the introductory training for new employees. At that training you will hear the 5S rules that apply in the given plant.

Markings on the shop floor: red tags, lines, labels

Visual markings show where things belong and what is missing, without asking anyone. The most common ones are:

red tags on items considered unnecessary; such items go to a separate place or are removed,
lines and labels on the floor and shelves, marking the place for a trolley, a container or a tool,
min/max markings, meaning the smallest and the largest permitted stock of parts at the workstation,
boards with rules and area maps.

Do not take down a red tag or move a marked item back to the workstation. If you think the item is needed, tell your supervisor.

Walkways and routes on the shop floor are a separate matter. Health and safety regulations require them to be marked and kept free of hazards, so do not place containers or pallets on walkways, near exits or in front of fire extinguishers.

Work standard: where to find it and how to read it

A work standard is a written sequence of actions at a workstation. It usually hangs at the workstation or on the area board as a workstation card or an instruction, often with photos. In your first week:

Read the card before you start work, even if someone has shown you the actions in person.
Do the steps in the written order, even when a different one seems faster to you.
If something in the instruction does not match what you see (a different part, a different tool), stop and ask.

If you do not understand the words on the card, ask someone to show you the action. Ways of coping with the language are described in the text on how to overcome the language barrier on the shop floor.

Kaizen: report a problem before making a change

Kaizen means small, frequent improvements made by the people who do the work. The idea has its own path, though: first observation and a report, then a trial, an assessment and only at the end a change of the standard. This cycle is often called PDCA.

That is why in your first week you should not change the order of actions or the arrangement of tools on your own. Your change, even a good one, will drift away from the standard the next shift works to. Instead, write down what you noticed and pass it to your supervisor or put it on the board.

Who to report a workstation problem to

A missing tool, an instruction that does not match reality or a repeating machine fault are matters to report to the shift supervisor or to write on the plant board. The exact procedure depends on the plant, so ask about it on the first day.

The area board usually lists reported problems, 5S rules and audit results. You can read more about the rhythm of work and typical workstations in the guide to what work in manufacturing looks like.

Frequently asked questions

Can an ordinary employee submit Kaizen ideas?

Yes, Kaizen is based precisely on the ideas of the people who do the work. You submit the idea to your supervisor or put it on the board, and the standard is changed only after it has been checked.

Can I be penalised for a mess at my workstation?

5S does not come from legal regulations but from the plant's rules. The consequences depend on the plant's regulations; in the first days what matters most is learning the fixed places and not blocking walkways.

Is 5S the same as cleaning?

No. Cleaning is one of the five steps. The others concern removing unnecessary things, fixed places, written rules and keeping up the habit.

What should I do when a tool is missing from its marked place?

Do not take a substitute tool from another workstation. Report the shortage to your supervisor or write it on the board, because the empty place is meant to show that something needs to be replenished.

This text describes the general rules. What you are entitled to depends on your type of contract: an employment contract (umowa o pracę) or a contract of mandate (umowa zlecenie). Your own contract and payslip are what count.