5 S KAIZEN - A TOOL TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY, EFFICIENCY AND UNIFORMITY OF PRODUCTS IN MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIAL SECTORS

摘要

5 S Kaizen is a tool oriented to total quality. Its forerunner was introduced in Japan by Deming about 60 years ago. Nowadays its practice is very useful to a business' successful implementation of any other operations improvement methodology. The 5 S Kaizen methodology leads to the creation and maintenance of cleaner, better organized, standardized and safer working areas, trying to highlight a "better quality of life" in every operation. 5 S Kaizen is a very useful concept in both manufacturing and service industries. This concept has been applied in various ways and has proven its worth in making businesses more productive and efficient over time. This paper presents the trial implementation of 5 S in one department of Fender Corporation, Mexico, a manufacturer of musical instruments in Ensenada, Baja California. The department selected for the trial implementation was the guitar cord manufacturing department. To the department, this was a challenge for leaner thinking; thus, the main objective was to achieve a change of culture in this department.