Metform’s Press Departments Work With The 5S System of Lean Manufacturing
by: Jake Bellich, Project Team Leader
posted: April/May 2006

Lean Manufacturing has been recently initiated in a few key areas at Metform. Using the concept of waste reduction/elimination, there proves to be definite opportunities for process improvement, a few of which have been put into place.

Starting with the most basic of Lean principles, the 5S system: Sort, Set In Order, Shine, Sustain, Standardize; Metform’s cold press departments have adopted this system of workplace organization. The goal of 5S is to provide an organized, clean, safe, and efficient workplace that reduces waste by resulting in fewer accidents, improved quality, efficiency, and workplace control. Following a classroom training session, each group had a chance to do a 5S exercise on the shop floor.

The process began by sorting through all items in the work center and placing a red tag on all items that were not needed, these items which were the source for most of the clutter in the work center were placed into a temporary holding area until confirmed that they had no use in the department. Once the area was de-cluttered, the group re-arranged all remaining items to maximize efficiency, safety, and ergonomics while drastically reducing down time spent looking for tools or supplies. Once everything was “set in order,” the group did a deep cleaning of machines, equipment, and tools during which they visually inspected for damaged or missing components. Once everything was “shined,” the group created rules to sustain and standardize the improvements they made. 5S is a great initial system as it lays out the foundation for other improvements and other sectors of Lean Manufacturing. In addition to regained floor space, cleaner, more organized, safe and more efficient work centers resulted from this 5S effort.

The Extrusion Science cold press departments have done a great job sustaining and continue to improve. They have set the framework for set-up reduction improvements as another system of Lean Manufacturing. The press departments represent Metform’s first Lean Manufacturing team and the start to a step in the right direction toward waste elimination and process improvement. We look forward to rolling out Lean Manufacturing across all departments in the areas of 5S, Set-Up Reduction, Total Productive Maintenance, and Value Stream Mapping.