Evaluating the impact of 5S methodology on manufacturing performance

After globalisation and liberalisation, quality has emerged as most critical area of concern along with productivity for manufacturing organisations. With the reduction of geographical barriers and the pressure of competing in the global market, overall operational effectiveness has become a necessity for the organisations. The contemporary lean manufacturing attributes characterised by both technology push and market pull have forced the organisations to realise world-class performance by fostering continuous improvements in the products and processes. 5S is a business improvement approach that seeks to find and eliminate causes of defects in business processes by focusing on process outputs that are of critical importance to customers, and as a result process performance is enhanced, customer satisfaction is improved, and the bottom-line is affected through savings and increased revenue. 5S as a management approach to bring about dramatic improvements in manufacturing performance and thereby company’s bottom line is undisputed. The present study highlights contributions of strategic 5S initiatives on manufacturing performance and demonstrates the true potential of 5S in achieving manufacturing excellence.