5s Audit Checklist ꟷ Requirements to Sustain a Lean Laboratory

5S for Laboratory Workplace Optimization

This 5S audit checklist provides a structured way to audit your laboratory 5S program. This simple template guides you through the assessment of your laboratory, according to the 5S principles. Using a series of questions, the form generates a maximum overall score of 125. A lab scoring below 75 shows significant potential for improvement to ones lean lab approach.

What Is 5S?

5S is a system for workplace optimization, which uses a five-step method to organize and maintain workplaces, systems, and processes. The five Japanese terms represent: sort; set in order; shine; standardize; and sustain. A 5S program is a good place to start when introducing a lean laboratory approach.

How Does 5S help?

The aim is to apply each of the 5S steps to your laboratory workplace. This results in removing anything that is unnecessary, sorting and tidying the remaining items and making everything more ergonomic and easily accessible. Items and locations should be clearly labelled and the workplace should be kept clean. A Gemba walk can identify potential to eliminate waste and make improvements. Once optimized the situation is maintained by implementing a regular 5S audit of the laboratory.

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	5S Term	Definition	Slogan
1	Sort (Seiri)	Remove all unnecessary items from the workplace	When in doubt, move it out!
2	Set in order (Seiton)	Create a specific location for everything that remains	A place for everything and everything in its place!
3	Shine (Seiso)	Clean and inspect the workplace	Clean and inspect!
4	Standardize (Seiketsu)	Standardize best practices	Make the rules and follow them!
5	Sustain	Make 5S part of daily work culture. Audit regularly to maintain standards.	Make 5S part of daily work culture. Audit regularly to maintain standards.

Benefits of 5S Implementation

A 5S program delivers improvements in profitability, efficiency, service and safety. The underlying principles appear at first glance to be simple common sense, but if 5S is introduced in a structured way then the benefits will start to accumulate. Some companies face initial resistance from their employees, but once each area is organized, cleaned and optimized according to 5S principles, they are usually happy. A well-managed 5S strategy will not only serve to eliminate waste, but also help to improve the daily jobs of every employee.

How Often Should a 5S Audit Be Carried Out?

After a 5S project is first implemented, a 5S audit should be carried out monthly.
Once 5S is well established, it is sufficient to perform a 5S audit every six months.
If 5S audits are not carried out then 5S will not be successful. Evidence proves that within 3-6 months a laboratory will revert back to how it was before the 5S project started. Unfortunately, the lab will have to start again from the beginning to re-introduce the 5S principles. Use it or lose it!

Perform regular audits using the laboratory 5S audit checklist in order to sustain a 5S program, as part of a continuous improvement process (CIP).

What Does 5S Involve?

The 5S process consists of five steps, displayed in a circle to represent the "continuous improvement" process. The five "S" steps are:

1. Sort (Seiri)

Remove all unnecessary items from the workplace.

Sort, clear, declutter and classify.

The 5S approach begins with the "sort" step which involves sorting all the items in a laboratory work area to identify what is and isn't necessary. This enables clutter and unwanted items to be removed, leaving only the tools, equipment, components, instruments and machines that are required on a daily basis.

If only the necessary items are located in the immediate vicinity of the workplace, less space if required, everything is within easy reach, and cleaning becomes easier. To achieve this, everyone has to agree to dispose of unnecessary items.

A colored tag system can be helpful to classify each item during the sorting process:

Red:	This item is definitely not required. Tip: Be wary of using red tags in a lab environment, as this may mean "Equipment is not safe for use" or is uncalibrated. In this case, choose an alternative color for this category instead.
Yellow	Not yet sure if this item should be removed (or disposed of). Tip: If in doubt, put all these items into yellow box and store elsewhere. If the items are actually required later, they can be retrieved or procured again. After 6 months, anything that hasn't been used can be removed permanently.
Green	This item is used regularly. Keep it in the workplace or put it back in the drawer.

Tips:

1. Go through every area of the lab

2. Look in the cupboards, under lab benches, inside safety cabinets (be careful!)

3. Remove all items which are not required (devices, tools, equipment, chemicals, solvents, etc.).

4. If items are clearly scrap, simply throw them away

5. Larger objects (furniture, instruments, etc.) that have been identified for removal can be tagged yellow or red so that all employees get an opportunity to state their requirements or to prevent the removal. This simple way of direct communication is ideal for larger organizations.

2. Set in order (Seiton)

Create a specific location for everything that remains.

A place for everything and everything in its place!

"Set in order", also sometimes known as "straighten", refers to organizing all of the remaining items so they are easy to locate, and in a logical order in relation to the workflow. The workplace should be neatly arranged so that every item has its own designated place and is always returned to this position after each use, making it easier to quickly identify if something is missing. This applies to analytical instruments, glassware, gloves, pipettes, tubes, network cables, chemicals, solvents, consumables, etc.

In a production environment, floor marking (yellow lines) are often used to indicate a reserved area for trolleys or carts when not in use. The same principle can also be applied in a lab to indicate the correct position of equipment on a workbench, to ensure that the right tools are always available. Although it may look odd, the clear organization is immediately visible and the increased efficiency is measurable.

Tips:

1. Try to eliminate inefficiency according to the 8 wastes of lean.

2. Use a "spaghetti diagram" or a simple drawing of your workplace, or a flowchart with individual post-it labels.

3. Position items to optimize laboratory workplace ergonomics.

4. Use shadow boards, clear identification labelling, floor markings and other color coding to really see each step.

5. Ensure that access to the rear of each work station is possible.

6. Put a picture or list on every drawer and cupboard to indicate what is stored inside them.

3. Shine (Seiso)

Clean and inspect the workplace.

This makes it easier to identify problems.

The "shine" step involves creating a clean and tidy workplace. The purpose is not to make the working area look nice, but rather to make any problems or equipment malfunctions (e.g. leaks) more obvious during visual inspection.

Tips:

1. Instruments and tools require cleaning, inspection and maintenance

2. Laboratory glassware should be clean and in good condition

3. Use suitable cleaning materials and clean every surface and hidden corner

4. Cleaning schedules should be created, stating what should be done, when, how and by whom

5. Cleaning chemicals should be readily available

4. Standardize (Seiketsu)

Standardize best practices within the workplace.

Make the rules and follow them.

The aim of this step is to standardize the achievements of the first 3 steps, i.e. to roll out best practices by applying common color codes, consistent labelling or standard working practices. All work stations for a particular job should be identical. All employees doing the same job should be able to work in any station with the same tools that are in the same location in every station. Standardized processes, applied across the company, enable employees to adapt quickly to any workstation and reduce training expenses significantly.

Tips:

1. Design professional instruction documents, such as standard operating procedures (SOPs)

2. Use specific color codes for types of documentation

3. Make cleaning and levelling of the balance part of a daily SOP

4. Standardize your workplace with footprints where people enter the lab

5. Sustain (Shitsuke)

Make 5S part of daily work so it becomes a habit.

Perform a 5S audit regularly to maintain standards and measure progress.

"Don't slip back into old habits"

In the "Sustain" step, the aim is to try to maintain focus on the 5S approach and make it part of the company culture, in order to avoid a gradual decline back to old ways. A 5S audit should be conducted regularly in order to maintain standards and measures the progress.

All changes and improvements need to be sustainable, requiring every employee to take personal responsibility for maintaining performance benchmarks. Once the previous 4 steps have been achieved, they need to be properly maintained in order to become the new way to operate. However, this often requires adjustment of individual habits to meet the kaizen rules. Without the buy-in of motivated and appropriately trained employees, this cannot happen.

Tips to make 5S part of the daily routine:

1. Put up signs and posters to remind about 5S

2. Put up a 5S storyboard showing "before" and "after" 5S

3. Periodic performance reviews which include a 5S element

4. Perform 5S audits to check, measure and enforce the 5S principles

5. Create an action plan as a result of each 5S audit to address any issues

This step can be difficult to achieve as it requires behaviour change and ongoing motivation.

How Long Does 5S Take To Implement?

Allow 1-2 months to address each of the first three S steps.
Anticipate that a specific lab may be offline for ½ - 1 day, when performing the "Sort" step in that area.
It could take 1 – 3 years to achieve a 5S optimized laboratory.
Many organizations experience difficulty in moving beyond the third S, but 5S is achievable.

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