Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and the 5S concepts
Standard Operating Procedures are documents, which contain instructions, steps to be followed and descriptions indicating how a task must be performed accordingly.
They describe the easiest way of doing the job to achieve quality requirements as well as the safety one, without any risk or injury.
They also specify which materials and tools are necessary to do the job. Using them, the workers themselves can control the job efficiency and improve their performance.
They contribute to assure the results foresightedly. They are proved to be a very important tool to improve productivity, reduce faults and mistakes, and decrease time, energy and material wastefulness.
However, it is difficult to have them adopted in disorganized work places related to equipment, raw material, spare parts, tools, etc. For the same reason dust, dirt, scraps at the work place can affect workers safety and health as well as cause damage and failure to equipment. The result can be unexpected equipment failures and downtime, lost of time, deterioration of spare parts and raw material, etc.
So, adopting Standards Operating Procedures successfully has as first step to provide standards environment related to Sorting, Systematizing, Sweeping and Sanitizing concepts, looking for educating workers to incorporating them to the Standard Operating Procedures. In other words, the 5S concepts are a powerful tool to develop employee's attitude toward job quality and productivity.
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