Next Generation 5S:
The Power of Culture
by Gwendolyn Galsworth, PhD
Our expedition continues. We are in search of a version of 5S that will produce the cultural alignment made so famous in Japan-as well as the business benefit. Trackable business benefit from 5S has never been a high priority for Japanese companies. Many US companies, however, chase that as a requirement because of their huge investment of resources in the hope that a 5S revolution will be forthcoming. They want and need an indisputable justification.
The enduring puzzle such companies seek to solve is how Japan has achieved dazzling 5S results--and they, themselves, have not. Make no mistake: Many US companies have enjoyed moderate to very good 5S success. Other efforts, however, have fallen into a clattering heap. Those tend to be seen not just as failures but spoilage. Damage was done to the company culture and hope was spoiled.
Shall I tell you how I see it--even knowing that not everyone will agree with my assessment of causality? For me the dividing line is the differing definition of success each society holds-Japan and the West. In each case, that definition is two-sided, like a coin. For Japan, one side of the coin defines success as the pursuit of perfection...
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My first encounter with edgy 5S: Gary Buys (welder at Fleet Engineers/Flint Michigan) decided he needed to be able to discern--at a glance, from 30 feet away--the difference between two models of spring-loaded mud flaps when the forklift dropped of either. So he invented the first double-border function on the planet! Operators everywhere now build off Gary's brilliant visual thinking.
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