World Class Companies with 5S Tool

Five years of experience in Manufacturing Development and SHE (Security, Hygiene and Ecology) has shown me the main goals of all companies striving to become world-class: avoid accidents and wasting materials; increase the quality of their products; and creating a happy, productive working environment. Learn how it is possible to accomplish this, and how it has worked for us at Casa Sauza.

Why be a world-class company?

In 2009, Casa Sauza’s strategic team decided to take on the goal of becoming a world-class company.

How did we succeed? What was the first step we took?

First, we had to decide which strategy would be of the most use in assisting us to reach our goal. We decided to implement TPM (Total Production Management), a strategy that required the construction of a new operating system. In order to undergo this construction, we needed to start by reshaping our foundation. It is for this reason that our work culture had to change––a difficult process that eventually became a discipline.

How? With the implementation of 5S.

What are the 5S’s?

The 5S’s is a system developed in Japan to establish discipline and basic order in the workplace. This methodology establishes an essential foundation in order to encourage best practices, so that everyone in the company is as productive as possible.

Basic Principles of the 5S strategy

The 5 basic principles, which start with the letter “S” in Japan, are as following:

1. Seiri; eliminate unnecessary objects.
2. Seiton, organize a place for each object, and put those objects in their assigned place.
3. Seiso, clean the workplace.
4. Seiketsu, standardize processes so that they are all the same.
5. Shitsuke, sustain standards through discipline

Why the 5S strategy?

The reason for implementing 5S is very simple when analyzing the words of Sr. Takashi Osada (Director of the Institute of Technology of Productivity in Nagoya, Japan). He is a graduate of the University of Keio of Tokyo in 1969, and has written books like The 5S’s: Five keys to a Total Quality Environment). He states:

“If you can apply 5S, you can apply what it proposes. Companies that do well with the 5S strategy will see success with all other practices. Companies that cannot implement the basic 5S rules will also be unable to accomplish any of the requirements for a competitive company.”

How does the 5S strategy contribute to classification as a world-class company?

This methodology creates the perfect foundation to implement other practices. It takes care of basic principles of elimination, order, cleanliness, discipline, sense of ownership, responsibility and pride––all the essentials for a world-class company, like Casa Sauza.

The reliability of this methodology determines the strength of our entire operating system. The 5S strategy is not just desirable, but fundamental, in achieving a world class operation.

In a following article, learn how the 5S strategy eliminates team deterioration and faults, incidents and accidents, and quality-control problems. We'll explain how to reduce the time it takes to change between cycles of production, how to create a culture of pride in employees and how to contribute to the main goal.

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Come and visit Casa Sauza and see for yourself how the modernization of our production processes delivers the purest tequila that you will find in the market.