The 5S audit is a type of quality audit focused on the 5S program. Basically it is a planned, independent, and documented assessment to determine if 5S requirements are being met. There are five main reasons for a 5S audit:
1. 5S system compliance
2. Procedures are being followed
3. Activities are recorded
4. Effectiveness of the 5S program
5. Opportunities for improvement
Critical Step in 5S Process
The 5S audit is critical to the success of your 5S program. It is often overlooked or considered an unnecessary extra expense. The audit validates the accountability of the 5S target area owners for complying with 5S plans. Without the audit, the program slowly withers away and becomes ineffective. A close look at 5S failures will reveal a lack of or an ineffective auditing program.
Effective 5S Audits are independent, a function of management, done by procedures and guidelines, documented in writing, and informative, not punitive.
5S System Compliance
A 5S audit answers two questions, do you have written documentation (plan) and are you following it. Compliance means that the plan is being followed. An auditor reviews the plan and the records generated by the plan. The records are the evidence that the plan is being followed.
A 5S audit differs from the traditional audit, in that it requires not only verification of compliance to the plan, but also verification that the plan is producing intended results and is effective in fulfilling the strategic requirements of the plan.
Are Procedures Being Followed?
5S plan implementation generates a number of procedures or guidelines. These procedures and guidelines spell out what is required to ensure a sustainable and consistent program
The purpose for establishing procedures and guidelines is to identify and communicate the conditions you want to maintain for each of the 5S activities. When it comes to maintaining 5S conditions, unless everyone knows exactly what they are responsible for doing and when, where, and how to do it, neither Sort, Set In Order, or Shine has any meaning. It is essential that people be given clear guidelines based on their own workplaces and that they follow those procedures and guidelines.
Audits are performed to verify that procedures and guidelines are correctly and consistently followed. A procedure tells who does what, when, and where. A guideline tells how. They may be all in one document or in separate documents
Verifying Procedures and Guidelines
To verify a procedure or guideline is being followed, the auditor must ask these questions:
- Who is supposed to do it?
- What are they supposed to do?
- When are they supposed to do it?
- Where are they supposed to do it?
- How are they supposed to do it?
- How often are they supposed to do it?
Written documentation that does not answer all six of the above questions is incomplete. An auditor should make note of this in the audit report
Activities Are RecordedThe purpose of a 5S audit may also be to ensure there are adequate records that the procedure or guidelines were performed.
Auditors check the records indicated by the procedure or guidelines. The auditor should be able to tell from the records indicated that the procedure was followed. If the auditor cannot tell this from the records, then the records are inadequate. This is known as an audit trail.
All procedures and guidelines produce results when followed. Verifying the existence of these results is evidence of compliance to the procedure or guideline. All records must agree with the results of observations, interviews, walkthroughs, and other direct information-gathering methods.
Effectiveness of the 5S Program
It is important that audits determine the effectiveness of the 5S system and that follow-up activities include verifying the effectiveness of corrective actions. This will force the auditor to examine if the company is making progress toward the goals outlines in the 5S strategic plan. In addition it requires that the auditor verifies corrective actions actually solve the problem for which they were implemented.
Every procedure and guideline should have a stated purpose and scope. When reviewing the documentation, the auditor should ask two questions:
- Does the purpose contribute to quality, cost, and delivery requirements spelled out in the 5S strategic plan?
- Does the scope cover everything necessary to fulfill the purpose?
A good evaluation of the value of a procedure or guideline can tell you if the procedure or guideline is defective or lacking. This will allow the audit to uncover root causes of problems with the 5S implementation.
The auditor should not just focus on the written procedures or guidelines of the 5S system; they should evaluate the target areas to judge the results of those procedures. This will allow the audit to identify problems which may require evaluation for their root cause(s).
The 5S auditor must be objective in his/her evaluation; this allows them to find opportunities for improvement. Auditors coming from another target area are less likely to have a biased perspective when judging 5S results.
The auditor must look for ways to improve procedures and discuss them with the responsible managers or supervisors. It is a good idea for the auditor to mention any ideas or recommendations agreed upon in the audit report. This keeps the idea or recommendation from being forgotten or ignored.
Verifying minimal compliance to the 5S program is not the only goal of the audit. It is also to identify the opportunities for improvement. Constant improvement in all aspects of a company’s operation can give that company a significant competitive advantage in their market place.
Audits should not be limited to scheduled, formal evaluations of procedure compliance. Audits should also be done to:
- Help solve a problem
- Verify quality
- Monitor the target area
An audit can identify when a problem first showed up or where to best implement corrective action. There is nothing wrong with doing specialized, unscheduled audits as long as they are included in written procedures for internal auditing and follow appropriate organizational protocols.
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