Steve Kane

Build good habits. Create the culture of continuous improvement by taking continuous improvement actions every day. I suggest auditing every day. This might seem extreme at first. Remember "we are what we repeatedly do." Don't forget that auditing is part of the fifth S--sustain. Be sure to sort, straighten, shine and standardize first. Otherwise, the audits can be frustrating for everyone. Don't worry too much about trying fix everything everyday. That just isn't realistic. Pick the low hanging fruit first. Go for quick wins to build the practice of accomplishing your improvements. If everyone makes one small improvement every day. Soon you will have drastically improved the operation.

There isn't really a standard audit form. The important thing is that your audit is based on the basic ideas of 5S. Here's one I've mocked up using Dozuki. Here's a PDF sample of the same: The attached forms are good examples to start with. There's an audit form for a shop and one for an office. I suggest using these the way they are until you find they need to be changed to suit your specific workplace. Over time, you might find you'll want to add specific items to include on the form. When you complete your audit, you just might have more items to deal with than you can really handle. Don't worry about it. Just make the most important improvements you know you can deal with. Try to get some quick wins under your belt. This will help motivate the team to press on with all the other improvement opportunities.

I agree with Brian. AME is a great resource. Check out LinkedIn as well. There are plenty of groups and discussions related lean there. Look for lean learning consortiums in your area. If you can't find one, maybe think about starting one.

Steps 1, 2 and 3 actually seem to work together. Sort, straighten and shine commonly happen at the same time. I think the important sequence is (sort, straighten and shine) then (standardize and sustain). Get the workplace situated the way you want it, then create your standards. Once the standards are in place, begin your sustain and improvement habits.

Don't let this get in your way. People can learn by doing. Focus on the bigger concepts related to 5S. Get rid of the clutter, organize things, get the place clean and create clear visual standards to show people where things go and how systems work (signs, posters, labels, color codes, markings, shadow boards, etc.). Think about the Henry Ford model: CANDO. Clean up, Arrange, Neatness, Discipline, On-going improvement. If you do this, I think you'll be off to the races!