SIRF Roundtables Blog

Thanks to all for attending the online SIRF OERt Masterclass | Inventory Management from a LEAN perspective on Tuesday 28^th March 2023.

So simple but yet so few succeed....especially in a Maintenance environment! 5S has many applications in a maintenance, yet it seems a struggle for many, having tried and failed or not sustaining what has been achieved but also improvements into the future.

Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardise, Sustain

This year saw the Maintenance team at Asahi Goodna undertake a significant upgrade of their workshop with a renewed focus on productivity through a 5S focus.

Shane Cameron (Maintenance Planner), was the project manager for this upgrade, “There was some resistance at the start, but once the team saw the benefits of the change they soon came on board”. Whilst it wasn’t all plain sailing for the team, Shane said clear expectations and support from Leadership was crucial to the success of this project.  “This project was backed from the top down and was closely aligned with the company’s continuous improvement program. 

The boys at Asahi made the project their own.

The maintenance team needed to meet the 5S and GMP auditing standards, just like the rest of the site”. Shane said that it was important for the team to have as much input as possible into the design and layout of the workshop. “To get them on board, it was important for them to understand that it was their workshop and their plan. I needed to give some clear direction as to what was to be achieved but left it up to them to find the ‘how’”.