| The purpose of this study was to determine how certain manufacturing measurements correlated with a 5S intervention within a large manufacturing organization. The term "5S" stems from the Japanese words (with a close English translation in parentheses), seiri (sift), seiton (sort), seiso (sweep), seiketsu (standardize), and shitsuke (sustain). This researcher found a lack of evidence that quantifies whether 5S interventions actually result in improvements in productivity, quality, and cycle time.;A correlation analysis was applied using existing data derived over a 10-month period from three electrical departments in the factory. The treatment included an initial 5S assessment, 5S training, and implementing 5S programs in the sample departments.;The findings revealed that the 5S scores increased significantly in two of the departments and somewhat significantly in the third. However, mixed results occurred for each of the other variables. Quality was not affected by the intervention in any of the sample units. Alternately, results in relation to productivity and cycle time were inconsistent. Only one of the variables (productivity) in one of the departments correlated as the researcher expected. Cycle time decreased significantly in another, which the researcher did anticipate.;The findings suggest that 5S might have some positive effect on productivity and cycle time. In addition, the results suggest that implementing 5S principles may result in decreased costs by improving productivity, quality, and cycle time, which, in turn, increases profits. |
