Helping customers resolve their waste management issues
Earlier this month, as part of our continuous drive to develop greater efficiency in solving waste management issues, a specialist trainer from Matthews International, our USA company, came to Matthews Environmental Solutions in Hyde, UK to help train our own workforce and to implement the latest 5S Lean training. 5S is an internationally acclaimed set of housekeeping techniques in which the cornerstone is: ‘untidy, cluttered work areas are not productive.’
The 5S discipline, like so many elements of Lean manufacturing has its origin within the JIT approach developed by Toyota in Japan and the five pillars of 5S are all Japanese words beginning with S. These are (with Anglicised equivalents): 1. Seiri (Sort). 2. Seiton (Set).
- Seiso (Shine). 4. Seiketsu (Standardisation). 5. Shitsuke (Sustain).
The concept is simple: when everything has a place and is kept in its place and when the workplace is cleared of clutter then everyone feels better and works better. Efficiency is greatly enhanced, productivity is improved and quality control reaches even higher standards.
The trainer who came across from the USA to help implement the system was Solomon Sklon (so maybe we should re-title the system as 7S) and he quickly assembled a team of Hyde operators to take control of the conversion of our site to 5S efficiency.
Everyone very swiftly bought into the project and quickly appreciated the many benefits that a little added discipline along with a few minor adjustments would bring to our workplace.
We thought that our workshops were already pretty tidy, but having listened to what Solomon had to say and then studied his training ideas we all recognised how easy it is to make valuable improvements.
By the end of the week the results were, to put it mildly, quite staggering. Not only was the entire place tidier and cleaner, but by simply analysing the workplace environment and making a few basic changes we were able to reorganise the layout so that it became more practical, more ergonomic and more efficient by cutting down on wasted movement within the workshop. Having parts, equipment and materials immediately to hand exactly where they need to be really does make a lot of sense and a great deal of difference.
Typical of the comments we have received from our implementation team are:
“Taking time to 5S now will save time later and improve safety.” Linda Worrall.
“5S helps us to identify the right parts for the jobs right away.” David Walton.
While Solomon Sklon said: “The team are definitely capable of excelling at 5S.”
If you are concerned with waste management issues and would like to speak to us about how our recent improvements could help you to resolve them, then please call us on 0161 337 4488. You can also email us at: sales@matwuk.com or you can send us an online message using the form on our Contact Us page.
