Has anyone introduced their staff to the concepts of 5s ?...looks like really good stuff.

What are the concepts of 5s?

1. Sort (get rid of unused stuff)

2. Set (place things logically)

3. Standardise (ensure practices are the same)

4. Shine (cleanliness)

5. Sustain.(discipline to maintain above)

(The proper names are in Japanese).

These are techniques used to provide a standard approach to lab housekeeping.

Edited June 25, 200916 yr by RR1

Please! It's hard enough just gettting techs to wipe down the countertop.

I know what you mean...but if you start to build these ways of working into normal lab routines (and yes, it could take many months to firmly establish), this can reduce overall time and effort in everything we do.

I googled the 5s training and it definitely sounds like something I would like implemented in my workgroup. Unfortunately, i'm sure we couldn't get buy-in from the leadership or the team members in my workgroup.

It's great that you looked it up. To get buy-in from everyone will take time, just ask them why they think these systems are used in industry, because it increases efficiency and reduces cost- they may eventually listen !

I am currently making a ppt presentation for this, that I hope to give to my team and I would be happy to share once completed (end next week) if I can upload onto this site- otherwise email me.

My hospital is already introducing this concept intensively into all staff. But we added an additional rule:

Safety

Sort

Straighten

Standardise

Shine

Sustain

These are part of the Kaizen (to improve in Japanese) concept in organisations.

Hi eric, some people call it the 6s, whereas others state that if the 5s are implemented then safety is a result of this anyway.

Yup! We do call it the 6S. ; )

I'm the 6S coordinator for my BB, but I am in the midst of handing over to my colleague as I have requested for a transfer to Haematology. I will still be in touch with Blood Transfusion, though..

Yup! We do call it the 6S. ; )

I'm the 6S coordinator for my BB, but I am in the midst of handing over to my colleague as I have requested for a transfer to Haematology. I will still be in touch with Blood Transfusion, though..

So has implementation been successful, and do you have any other tips to get staff to realise their responsibilities with this?

Sorry to hear you are going over to haem- you seem like a Blood Banker.

We just started to "5S" our lab last week. It went very well and we got rid of alot of junk! It is an ongoing process and we will continue when time permits. Our Hospital has embraced the 5S concept and so far I think it has been well received.

We just started to "5S" our lab last week. It went very well and we got rid of alot of junk! It is an ongoing process and we will continue when time permits. Our Hospital has embraced the 5S concept and so far I think it has been well received.

That's great- you're well ahead of us! Do your staff all take their fair share and spend 5-10mins/ day cleaning and clearing (this includes supervisors) or is it the 'usual' folk doing this?

The whole concept of 5s is that everyone from top down is responsible for performing this in their own areas.

So has implementation been successful, and do you have any other tips to get staff to realise their responsibilities with this?

Sorry to hear you are going over to haem- you seem like a Blood Banker.

The implementation has been very successful, and I do recommend other organisations, hospitals or not, to adopt this concept in their organisations. And the results of this concept will be the motivation to fellow colleagues to participate in it. It really makes things easier and more organised logistically.

I still refer myself as a novice blood banker (3 years experience). Although I do have interest in haematology, I have the same level interest in BBing, as you see my posts here. ; )

It's due to some issues that made me decide that I have to leave, and not that I have more interest in haem or no more interest in BBing.

Keep posting on BBT eric1980.

Your posts have been extremely useful to me (just for one - and I'm certain others must feel the same).

Just to update you all, we are having a great time at my place with this 5S ....the challenge is whether staff can remember the names of the 5S in Japanese.

We still have a long way to go, but it is good to see progress and so much nicer working in a cleaner environment.

Hopefully my little demonstration to the hospital cleaning supervisor might even mean our floors will soon be scrubbed, (I wrote 'clean me' using an abrasive pad and water on the floors- came up beautifully against the dirty background!).

A bit childish I know but think it might have got the message home- but not counting on it.

Latest phrase we use is

Cleaning is an inspection process- you clean something, then inspect to see if it LOOKS clean.

So the revolution continues......

Edited July 10, 200916 yr by RR1

There was a great presentation at last year's AABB Annual Meeting: "Lean Tools: 5S and Kanban". Take a look at the handouts if you can. The speakers provided some excellent examples. We've recently finished a lab remodeling project and we're trying to use 5S as one means to think leaner as we move back into the space.

I am interested to take a look at the handouts for the presentation. Is it available for download in the AABB website?

There was a great presentation at last year's AABB Annual Meeting: "Lean Tools: 5S and Kanban". Take a look at the handouts if you can. The speakers provided some excellent examples. We've recently finished a lab remodeling project and we're trying to use 5S as one means to think leaner as we move back into the space.

Thanks for that, i've never heard of Kanban, so something else to learn about.

The presentation is available on the AABB web site under Professional Development/Live Learning Center/AABB Meetings. There may be a fee for the download.

Thanks! I will check it out tomorrow.

If there's a fee for download, I will explore the possibility of getting my lab to pay for it... (albeit very low chances to get the $, and high chance of slamming self against yet another wall... -_-")

We are implementing Lean initiatives in our Blood Center, and 5S is one of the topics covered in our training. We have contracted with Purdue University, who is our local NIST-MEP (Manufacturing Extension Partnership) affiliate. Unlike many Consulting groups that you will encounter, the NIST-MEP members teach your lab how to become lean, and then how to sustain it after the training is done (unlike what we have heard with "consultants" where they come in, tell you everything that is wrong, make life miserable, then walk out leaving you to pick up the pieces). I'm sure that your local NIST-MEP site can offer a course in just 5S.

There were questions about the sustainability. The biggest step is going through everything the first time and geting rid of all of the stuff that you don't need, then making sure that the stuff that you DO need is in the right place. After that, it makes sustaining the changes a lot easier because there is less stuff to manage. It also makes a crowded lab seem a lot bigger when you take out all of the junk -- you'll find that the people who were once begging for a bigger lab are suddenly a lot happier.

The most difficult part of this, from what I can see here, is sustainability.

So I suggest that before one implement a change, please draw up a good sustainability plan. And your people must agree with the plan. This is instead of going ahead with the plan, and then have difficulty in sustaining it because your colleagues do not agree, or do not understand the rationale behind it.

I also see that there are changes, which in name is to improve workflow, but actually changed things without making the workflow better. So please take note of this...

I would have thought that once the lab was sorted, it would be easier to keep housekeeping in order especially if this is added to a routine checklist for cleaning/ clearing.

I'm currently developing checklists for my lab- and it's amazing how quickly you can complete routine tasks and improve efficiency just by having these listed. Do others use these routinely?

I agree with eric1980 though Rashmi. You do have to take your staff with you (unless, of course, you are as autocratic as your staff tell me you are behind your back)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!