5S is a workplace organization method that uses a list of five Japanese words: , , , , and . These have been translated as 'sort', 'set in order', 'shine', 'standardize', and 'sustain'. The list describes how to organize a work space for efficiency and effectiveness by identifying and storing the items used, maintaining the area and items, and sustaining the new organizational system. The decision-making process usually comes from a dialogue about standardization, which builds understanding among employees of how they should do the work. In some quarters, 5S has become 6S, the sixth element being safety (safe). Other than a specific stand-alone methodology, 5S is frequently viewed as an element of a broader construct known as visual control, visual workplace, or visual factory. Under those (and similar) terminologies, Western companies were applying underlying concepts of 5S before publication, in English, of the formal 5S methodology. For example, a workplace-organization photo from Tennant Company (a Minneapolis-based manufacturer) quite similar to the one accompanying this article appeared in a manufacturing-management book in 1986. 6 Big Losses in Lean Manufacturing Traditionally among Six Big Losses which are to be minimized they name Equipment Failure, Setup and Adjustments, Idling and Minor Stops, Reduced Speed, Process Defects, as well as Reduced Yield. Origins 5S was developed in Japan and was identified as one of the techniques that enabled just-in-time manufacturing. Two major frameworks for understanding and applying 5S to business environments have arisen, one proposed by Takashi Osada, the other by Hiroyuki Hirano. Hirano provided a structure to improve programs with a series of identifiable steps, each building on its predecessor. Before this Japanese management framework, a similar "scientific management" was proposed by Alexey Gastev and the USSR Central Institute of Labour (CIT) in Moscow. Each S There are five 5S phases. They can be translated to English as 'sort', 'set in order', 'shine', 'standardize', and 'sustain'. Other translations are possible. Sort ( ) is sorting through all items in a location and removing all unnecessary items from the location. Goals: Reduce time loss looking for an item by reducing the number of unnecessary items. Reduce the chance of distraction by unnecessary items. Simplify inspection. Increase the amount of available, useful space. Increase safety by eliminating obstacles. Implementation: Check all items in a location and evaluate whether or not their presence at the location is useful or necessary. Remove unnecessary items as soon