A Design Thinking Approach: Applying 5S Methodology Effectively in an Industrial Work Environment

Lean thinking, tools and methods can improve and change companies’ internal processes, cultural norms, and shared values to achieve a stronger state of operational excellence and bring companies greater competitive advantage. 5S is a Lean tool that aims for a well-organized and safe working environment, increased quality, and productivity optimization by organizing the manufacturing processes to be waste-free by maintaining and organizing the workplace using the 5S concept. Even tough 5S concept and its implementation processes are often well documented, the actual translation work of the 5S concept into functional and successful solutions in a production environment that has pre-existing value systems and processes is still lacking more profound and nuanced investigation. Additionally, engineers responsible for the 5S implementation process have a need for precise tools and methods to understand the user experience and ensure customer-centricity in their decision-making. To understand more profoundly the connection between the 5S concept and user centricity, this article applies Design Thinking method and tools to a 5S implementation process. The goal of combining these two methods is to investigate what is a functional and user-friendly way to eliminate non-value adding activities and improve safety, functionality, and productivity in a production cell using 5S methodology. The results of this research show that the floor surface area that is required to store hoisting motor buffer has decreased by 80%. Also, the waste in form of unnecessary transport in that buffer area has decreased to a fifth when compared to the original situation. The results of this research show that the Design Thinking method and its tools not only fit, but also foster 5S implementation processes.