62 Target Volume 17, Number 3 clutters work areas, whether in the plant or office (see the box, “About 5S”). It can also be a bit uncomfort- able, with project participants peering into corners, giving cher- ished “just in case” supply stashes the boot, and rearranging the “furni- ture.” Three Illinois host sites braved intense scrutiny and pointed sugges- tions for improvement during the recent “5S Workshop: A Hands-On Learning by Doing Opportunity” AME event. ACCO (in Wheeling, IL), Bison Gear & Engineering (St. Charles), and Elgin Sweeper (Elgin). After initial training in 5S basics, workshop participants from “outside” companies and host organizations divided into project teams at each of the three host locations. Selected 5S team activities and results follow. Bison Gear and Engineering Corporation Bison Gear aimed to benefit from a 5S team’s evaluation of a CNC machining work cell (Mazak AJV Work Cell) and a milling/boring center (750 Area Work Cell) by iden- tifying and eliminating waste and non- value-added (NVA) activities/processes. In the 750 milling/boring work center, employees used an older ver- tical milling machine, a boring machine, and other equipment to machine die cast gear cases. The Mazak AJV work center included two Mazak CNCs which performed various machining operations on die cast gear cases, plus related tools. After introductory comments by General Manager George Thomas, the 5S project team members divided into two groups, each one evaluating one of the work centers. They observed operations, took notes, timed operations, noted sequence steps, and drew spaghetti diagrams. Next, they brainstormed ideas for improving process flow, safety, and efficiencies. Then it was time to prioritize suggestions and assign responsibility for specific tasks. “Each team worked with area operators to identify tools, equip- ment, and materials that were not needed in the work cells,” said Martin Kopp, Bison’s continuous improve- ment manager. “These items were then removed from the work cells. Others worked on the assigned responsibilities from the brainstorm- ing sessions.” During the first afternoon and If you’re looking for a leaner, cleaner way of working together plus shared understanding about the need for overall improvement in your company’s operations, 5S can be just what you need. 5S encompasses a variety of techniques for sorting, standardizing, and otherwise con- quering the “stuff” that oftentimes Update on Excellence How-To 5S Workshop in Illinois: Housekeeping With an Attitude Ship-shape work areas and build understanding. Ship-shape work areas and build understanding. Lea A.P. Tonkin ACCO Brands, Wheeling, IL is North America’s largest manufacturer of office supplies, serving major super stores and wholesale businesses. Bison Gear and Engineering Corpora - tion, St. Charles, IL is a $40 million manufacturer of gear motors and speed reducers for OEMs and for applications sold through distributors. Approxi- mately 200 people work at the facility, which recently launched a 5S program. Elgin Sweeper Company, Elgin, IL is the premier manufacturer of street sweep- ing equipment. The operation is part of the Federal Signal Environmental Prod- ucts Group.
Transcript
62Target Volume 17, Number 3
clutters work areas, whether in theplant or office (see the box, “About5S”). It can also be a bit uncomfort-able, with project participantspeering into corners, giving cher-ished “just in case” supply stashesthe boot, and rearranging the “furni-ture.” Three Illinois host sites bravedintense scrutiny and pointed sugges-tions for improvement during therecent “5S Workshop: A Hands-OnLearning by Doing Opportunity” AMEevent. ACCO (in Wheeling, IL), BisonGear & Engineering (St. Charles), andElgin Sweeper (Elgin).
After initial training in 5S basics,workshop participants from “outside”companies and host organizationsdivided into project teams at each ofthe three host locations. Selected 5Steam activities and results follow.
Bison Gear and EngineeringCorporation
Bison Gear aimed to benefitfrom a 5S team’s evaluation of a CNCmachining work cell (Mazak AJVWork Cell) and a milling/boringcenter (750 Area Work Cell) by iden-tifying and eliminating waste and non-value-added (NVA) activities/processes.
In the 750 milling/boring work
center, employees used an older ver-tical milling machine, a boringmachine, and other equipment tomachine die cast gear cases. TheMazak AJV work center included twoMazak CNCs which performedvarious machining operations on diecast gear cases, plus related tools.After introductory comments byGeneral Manager George Thomas,the 5S project team members dividedinto two groups, each one evaluatingone of the work centers.
They observed operations, tooknotes, timed operations, notedsequence steps, and drew spaghettidiagrams. Next, they brainstormedideas for improving process flow,safety, and efficiencies. Then it wastime to prioritize suggestions andassign responsibility for specific tasks.
“Each team worked with areaoperators to identify tools, equip-ment, and materials that were notneeded in the work cells,” said MartinKopp, Bison’s continuous improve-ment manager. “These items werethen removed from the work cells.Others worked on the assignedresponsibilities from the brainstorm-ing sessions.”
During the first afternoon and
If you’re looking for a leaner, cleanerway of working together plus sharedunderstanding about the need foroverall improvement in yourcompany’s operations, 5S can be justwhat you need. 5S encompasses avariety of techniques for sorting,standardizing, and otherwise con-quering the “stuff” that oftentimes
Update on Excellence
How-To 5S Workshop in Illinois:Housekeeping With an AttitudeShip-shape work areas and build understanding.Ship-shape work areas and build understanding.
Lea A.P. Tonkin
ACCO Brands, Wheeling, IL is NorthAmerica’s largest manufacturer of officesupplies, serving major super stores andwholesale businesses.
Bison Gear and Engineering Corpora -tion, St. Charles, IL is a $40 millionmanufacturer of gear motors and speedreducers for OEMs and for applicationssold through distributors. Approxi-mately 200 people work at the facility,which recently launched a 5S program.
Elgin Sweeper Company, Elgin, IL is thepremier manufacturer of street sweep-ing equipment. The operation is part ofthe Federal Signal Environmental Prod-ucts Group.
63Third Quarter 2001
the next one and a half days, teamstried ideas from their brainstormingsessions, modifying (sometimesseveral times) processes where thechanges seemed beneficial. “Timestudies and measurements were usedto verify the implemented changes.Also, all changes were reviewed withthe appropriate operators before finalimplementation in order to receivetheir buy-in and support,” Kopp said.
At the end of the third day, the5S teams selected spokespersons andmade presentations to management.Kopp offered summaries of theirresults:
Results in the 750Milling/Boring Work Center
“One of the main obstacles wasthat aluminum chips being cut off themilled casting flew up to 15 feetcoming off the vertical mill,” accord-ing to Kopp. “After several failed
attempts, the team finally developeda shroud to confine these hot chipswithin three inches of the mill head.This made possible the reconfigura-tion of the machines and processsteps. It also eliminated a safetyhazard and helped reduce cleanuptime at the end of each shift.” Otherchanges in the milling/boring center(see the team in Figure 1) included:
• One process step – blowing off the casting after the oil plug hole was tapped – was eliminated.
• Moving air lines and an electrical cord reduced operator movementand eliminated tripping hazards and an overhead hazard.
• New (labeled) shadow boards housed setup tools; all other tools and equipment were labeled and assigned addresses.
• A vacuum provided at the line expedites chip cleanup.
• Square footage and linear
footage operator moves required to complete a machining cycle were halved.
• Machining/boring process cycle time decreased from 15 minutes to 11 minutes.
Mazak Area Work CenterImprovements
Over in the Mazak work center, the5S team of internal and external par-ticipants (Figure 2) also racked upgains:
• Moving the drill press tables and the workbench eliminated extra operator steps; clutter disappearedand work flow improved; the reconfiguration decreased operator steps to the drill press for the tapping operation.
• Designated areas marked incoming,finished, and in-process materials.
• Four empty drums were removed;the remaining oil drums are labeled and they are in a less congested area.
• Labeled workbench drawers give every item a home location; operators opening a drawer can see where things are and if something is missing.
“To do” list items generatedduring the event have been assignedto Bison employees for followup,Kopp said. For example, the Mazakteam called for fabrication of shieldson one of the Mazak CNCs to preventcoolant spillage. “One of the steps inthe 750 area requires the operator touse a rotary tool to remove flashingfrom the casting,” Kopp continued.“After questioning why we receivedthose castings from our vendor withflashing, Bison’s procurementmanager was contacted, and is nowworking with the supplier to elimi-nate the flashing from the incomingcastings, eliminating a process step.”
Update on Excellence
Figure 1. Bison Gear & Engineering’s 5S team participants in the 750 milling/boring work centerincluded (left to right, Brian Steele, Lebanon Seaboard Corporation; Wayne Togtman, Guernsey Bel,Inc.; and Marty Kopp, Jim Hennessey, and Victor Kaljas, all of Bison Gear.
64Target Volume 17, Number 3
Bison Follow-Up andLessons Learned
High visibility of 5S activities willhelp to build improvement momen-tum. Top management involvementand audit checklists plus cleanupcHecklists with assigned responsibil-ities will sharpen focus on theseefforts, Kopp said.
“We found that the inclusion ofpeople from outside Bison wasextremely helpful,” he added. “Notonly do they bring their experienceto the team, but also question thevalidity of practices that we per-formed because ‘that’s the way wehave always done it.’”
Including operators from theareas targeted by a 5S process in theevent is essential for a successfulproject. “We are there with thepurpose of making their jobs easierwhile simultaneously helping us saveresources, eliminate non-value-added (NVA) practices, and ultimately
compete better in the marketplace,”said Kopp. “There is sometimes thetendency to look at a 5S event as adisruption to manufacturing. InBison’s case, management is com-mitted to the 5S efforts, realizing thatshort-term pain is greatly offset bythe long-term gain. After witnessingthe tangible improvements of ourearlier 5S events, most people in ourorganization believe our investmentin the program will pay daily divi-dends. By formulating cleaning andmaintenance checklists, securingoperator support, and implementingregular 5S audits with managementparticipation, we believe we can notonly maintain our gains, but also usethe 5S program as a stepping stonefor even greater improvement through-out our organization.”
ACCO Brands’ Clip Cell Project
Reduced operator travel time for
wire carriers and operators, estab-lishing a FIFO system for rod (bothinput and output), assigning specificareas for all items in a Clip Cell, anddeveloping standard operating pro-cedures in the wire mill and tagwire/bulk clip area were goals for aClip Cell 5S project at ACCO Brands’Wheeling, IL facility. The 5S teamworking here aimed to improveorderliness and visual managementin this fast-paced work area, wheremillions of paperclips are produceddaily. “The Clip Cell consists of thewire mill, wire storage, and the TagWire/Bulk Clip areas,” said DonWachter, director of operations.
“Each of the 14 attendees wasassigned to a specific project group,and each team focused on a specificarea,” Wachter continued. “This sep-aration allowed members to focus onthe tasks at hand and make someaccomplishments. All of the abovegoals were addressed, and somewere completed.”
For example, the designation ofspecific areas for tools and supplies inthe tag wire and wire mill was com-pleted. Team members created a FIFOsystem for the wire carriers. This newsystem will save more than 1800 sq.ft. of floor space and employee traveldistance of 46.88 miles per year.
“There are still items to bedone,” added Wachter. Creation ofstandard operating procedures in allwork areas is on the “to do” list. Thecompany is evaluating equipmentbuys such as unique spool handlingequipment, based on 5S participants’recommendations. They also plan tofinish marking floors and worksta-tions with a color-coded system andto train employees about new proce-dures implemented during the eventto ensure their sustainability.
Elgin Sweeper: Making a Start
Elgin Sweeper in Elgin, IL is
Update on Excellence
Figure 2. The Mazak team at Bison Gear & Engineering 5S team members were (left to right, Dan Pinderski, ACCO; Dee Hickey and Art Smith, Bison Gear; Kathy Bober, Parco Foods LLC;Chuck Krug, Guernsey Bel, Inc.; Tim Bragg, North American Signs, Inc.; Gabriel Marrero, Bison Gear; and Dave Harp, Lebanon Seaboard Corporation.
65Third Quarter 2001
well-known for its street sweepingequipment. Now a part of FederalSignal’s Environmental Productsgroup, they began supplying streetsweeping equipment in 1914. In oneof the event’s two 5S projects at thesite, company employees and outsideparticipants devised an extensive listof “opportunity” areas after observingand documenting existing processesin a Haas (assembly) cell. Bob Hafeyof Flexible Steel Lacing, volunteerfacilitator for the team, reported thatthe creation of PM (preventive main-tenance) sheets on equipment couldbe used as operators and the mainte-nance employees learned to shareaccountability for equipment main-tenance in the cell.
A machine uptime form wasrecommended as a useful tool forenabling each shift to see what theprevious shift had done. Another rec-ommendation: Move gages to the cellso operators don’t waste time lookingfor them. The team also defined andmarked locations for WIP, addeddescriptions to dispatch sheets,moved job paperwork from the crib tothe cell, relocated cabinets andbenches, etc. for better work flow, setup a lubricant storage area in the cell,cleaned all equipment and cabinets,and suggested/completed manyother improvements. The benefitsranged from improved uptime to lesswalking time, safer material handling,reduced waiting time, and more.
Meanwhile, in a Gateway Cell(the beginning processes for Elgin’sfabrication work), a 5S team targetedbetter material flow, development ofa plan for controlling inventory, andcleanup/organization in the area. TedKeriazakos of ACCO Brands, also avolunteer facilitator, reported thatimprovements during the eventincluded lighting adjustments, defin-ing a cleaning supply area, establish-ing a yellow tag area to stage
equipment and materials to be evalu-ated, marking a sheet lifter as towhich direction it is going, creatingstaging areas at the press brake forred ticket hot jobs, labeling die sets atthe brakes, and moving cabinets at a225 punch closer to a 354 shear.Many items such as standardizing diesets at the brake awaited furtheraction. The team tagged unneededcarts, bins, chairs, etc. for removalfrom the work cell. Keriazakos indi-cated that lessons learned in thisproject included the need to commu-nicate up-front with operators in thearea selected for 5S work, and thatplanning about how to go about 5Sprojects and who will participate istime well spent.
Having two 5S projects in theworks at one time “gave us an oppor-tunity to experience the good and thebad of the process,” according toFederal Signal Environmental Prod-ucts Group President Shawn Casey.“In one case, the event went off as it
was generally planned with goodresults while the other was not ini-tially successful. A key learning fromour event was that we neededupfront identification of employeeparticipants, plus education andtraining as to the purpose and intentof the event, and involvement of allemployees who directly and indirect-ly support the manufacturing conver-sion process. On a positive note, thisexperience allowed our people to seethe critical differences as to whatconstitutes a good event and whatcauses less-successful results.
“The thing 5S does for us is tobring perspective, focus, and intensi-ty at one time and one place for dra-matic process improvement,” Caseycontinued. “Continuous improvementis nice, but is dependent uponresource constraints and timing. 5Sforces you to deal with these con-straints at one time with the imperativeto measure, then make improve-ments. Feedback is relatively imme-
Update on Excellence
Figure 3. Elgin Sweeper 5S team members at work.
66Target Volume 17, Number 3
About 5SAbout 5S
Wondering what 5S is all about?Here’s a short version:*Sort: Remove all items from theworkplace if they are not neededfor current production or clericaloperations.
*Set in order: Arrange neededitems for ease of use, and labelthem so that anyone can find themand put them away.
*Shine: Keep everything swept andclean.
*Standardize: Properly maintain thesort, set in order, and shine con -cepts.
*Sustain: Make a habit of properlymaintaining correct procedures.
diate for all people involved in theprocess. It also results in a fairamount of follow-up work. In turn, itgives people a blueprint of what tofocus on to improve the processevent more. I anticipate that we willuse 5S methodology throughout allbusinesses in the Federal Signal Envi-ronmental Products Group for theforeseeable future. To do this, weneed to establish a team of expertswho can move from place to placeto act as facilitators of the process.We believe we have gotten a start onthis.”
Jim Feltes, manufacturingmanager at Elgin Sweeper, noted thatmanagers met with all operators inthe two work centers where the 5Sevents were held and asked for theirsuggestions about training require-ments for standardizing color codesused in marking tool/equipment/materialslocations and other changes recom-mended during the workshop. Aninternal consultant is also workingwith the Elgin employees on plansfor assuming more accountability for
housekeeping and work flow in theirown work areas. The operators alsoselected a chassis line for another 5Sproject.
Operators liked the training in5S basics, to help them simplify theirday-to-day tasks, Feltes said. Headded that 5S “turns on a light bulbfor more improvements, fitting inwell with kaizen techniques for long-term progress.”
Editor’s note: The assistance of MartinKopp, Bison Gear; Don Wachter and TedKeriazakos, ACCO Brands; Bob Hafey,Flexible Steel Lacing; Shawn Casey andJim Feltes, Elgin Sweeper in the develop-ment of this article, and the hospitality ofemployees at host sites are appreciated.The Cumberland Group led the 5S eventtraining and facilitation.
