5S Audit Checklists

In this article we will discuss the following:

• What is a 5S Audit Checklist?
• 3 Simple Steps to Implement 5S in Your Workspace
• Boost 5S Performance from the Ground Up
• FAQs about 5s Audit
• Free 5S audit checklists you can download, customize, and use.

What is a 5S Audit Checklist?

A 5S audit checklist is a tool used by evaluators when conducting periodic 5S audits in the workplace. As a guide designed according to the specific needs of an organization, a 5S checklist can help reinforce conformance with 5S principles and aid an organization in gaining the 5S principles’ major long-term benefits:

• Safety & security
• Waste elimination
• Increased efficiency
• Low implementation cost for high-impact performance
• Development of a collaborative mindset among co-workers

3 Simple Steps to Implement 5S in Your Workspace

According to the Association of Manufacturing Excellence (AME), 5S is a thought process designed to resolve a type of problem that occurs throughout a business. The global organization for enterprise performance improvement challenges companies to apply the 5s tool accordingly. Here is how you can generally implement it in 3 simple steps:

Step #1: Make a Plan

Work through each step of the 5S principles and make a habit of doing the following during planning:

• Visualize the work area
• Look for waste
• Look for the root cause of every problem
• Develop standards
• Repeat the process

Step #2: Bring Action

Implement 5S in your organization by assigning a trained employee or a team of workers to do the following on a weekly basis:

1. Take a photo of your workplace’s current status
2. Sort items needed and to be disposed of. Determine the item’s frequency of use (daily, monthly, or never) and if it’s still essential or defective and outdated.
3. Organize and group items according to use and function. You may also add labels and apply a color coding scheme for easy sorting.
4. Clean the workspace. Remove items that cause dirt, contamination, and filth.
5. Conduct an audit to review items you weren’t able to deal with that day, including items you found difficult to classify or tag for disposal. Establish an action plan (e.g., selling, donating, recycling or throwing away items) for items that need to be disposed of.
6. For review purposes, take a photo of the workspace after implementing changes.

Step #3: Monitor

As one of the core principles of kaizen, area supervisors or plant managers should do a monthly and quarterly audit to ensure that 5S standards are being met. Regular audits also help keep track of items and equipment so you can determine whether they are in need of repairs or if something is missing.

Increase your team’s efficiency through 5s training

It takes an excellent 5S training program to ensure that a workforce is contributing responsibly to a lean business operation without risking their health and safety. While often ignored, this training is highly valuable to almost any industry. By adopting the 5s practices, which strive for the elimination of workplace chaos and unproductivity, businesses will benefit from greater cost savings with higher performance quality from employees. Moreover, an organized work environment also contributes to increased safety and improved employee morale. Implementing the 5s system may appear small and trivial at first, but these small changes, when repeated over time, will eventually lead to bigger results, and that will greatly benefit a company’s bottom line. This system can also be used with other methods and systems, such as the 5W1H method. 

We’ve scoured the internet and compiled a list of the most recommended 5S training courses that can help master the ins and outs of this lean system. These courses cover topics like the history of the 5s system, its five pillars, the importance of its implementation, and how it can be applied at work.