Kaizen 5S: how 5S and kaizen work together in lean

Kaizen 5S means running 5S and kaizen together: 5S organizes the workplace, and kaizen keeps improving it.

5S and kaizen are often mentioned together, and sometimes confused. 5S is a method for organizing a workplace. Kaizen is the habit of improving it a little at a time.

This guide explains each one, how they support each other and how to run them together.

Key takeaways

5S creates the stable, visible workplace that kaizen needs as a starting point.

Kaizen keeps 5S alive by improving the standards instead of only auditing them.

The fifth S, sustain, is where 5S programs often fail, and where kaizen habits help.

What is 5S?

5S is a five-step method for organizing a work area. The steps come from five Japanese words: seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu and shitsuke.

In English they are usually sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain. The 5S method page explains each step with an example.

The result is a workplace where everything has a place, and anything missing or out of place stands out.

What is kaizen?

Kaizen means continuous improvement through many small changes, made by the people who do the work.

Masaaki Imai brought the word to a wide audience with his 1986 book Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success. He founded the Kaizen Institute a year earlier.

Kaizen appears in two forms. Daily kaizen is small changes made as part of normal work. Kaizen events are focused workshops, usually lasting a few days, on one problem. The kaizen method page covers both.

How 5S and kaizen support each other

5S gives kaizen a baseline. You cannot improve a process you cannot see, and a cluttered area hides problems such as missing tools or excess stock.

Kaizen gives 5S a reason to last. When a team improves its own layout or labels, it owns the standard and keeps it.

The sustain step is the link. Audits find where the area has slipped. Kaizen asks why it slipped, and changes the standard so it is easier to keep.

Running them as one habit

Start with a 5S event in one area. Sort, set in order and shine with the people who work there, then photograph the result as the standard.

Audit the area on a regular schedule with a short checklist. 5S audit software can schedule audits and keep the photos and scores.

Treat each audit finding as a small kaizen. Ask why the item drifted, and fix the cause, such as a missing location or an awkward reach.

Collect improvement ideas from the team and track them to completion. Kaizen software helps when ideas come from several areas or sites.

The guide to a 5S program that lasts covers the common reasons programs fade, and how to avoid them.

5S and kaizen in lean management

5S and kaizen are part of the foundation of lean. Standard work, TPM and visual management all depend on an organized, stable workplace.

For the wider picture, read the lean manufacturing guide or the continuous improvement in lean guide.

Frequently asked questions