Benefits of 5S Quality Management

Since the 1950s, American companies have gradually embraced quality management systems (QMS). This adoption has yielded significant benefits, increasing product and workplace quality while improving employee satisfaction, productivity, profitability, and safety. But did you know that many of the concepts underlying quality management have actually come from Japan? In this article series, we will explore one of the best-known Japanese quality frameworks, known as the “5S (Five S)” system. Our investigation will showcase how this popular set of management principles came into being, how American ideas influenced the Japanese creators, and how additional practices have been added to the framework in recent years.

In this installment, we will consider the numerous benefits of incorporating the 5S quality management philosophy into your organization—and how these benefits can extend to and shape your selection and usage of a QMS.

As this series explains, 5S is a powerful framework not only because of its simplicity and effectiveness, but because of its broad power to reshape the way that users of the framework think about their place in the workplace and the world. And yet, far too often and in far too many business management texts (including those which speak favorably of 5S), the framework is summarized as a 'basic cleaning' checklist—primarily useful for tidying up the workplace. This view overlooks the profound depth and transformative potential of 5S once it is properly understood and applied in full.

At its core, 5S is not merely about physical order, but about establishing a mindset—one that empowers individuals to take responsibility for their environment, their role within the organization, and the system as a whole. Far from being a top-down directive, 5S thrives when it is internalized by workers who see themselves not as passive recipients of policy, but as the very stewards of organizational success. As such, this article focuses on the deeper benefits of 5S, how its evolution into the 6S and 7S variants (explained in the prior article in the series) expands its relevance, and why it continues to serve as a cornerstone for building efficient workplaces and meaningful cultures.

Let us start by considering the often-invoked idea that 5S is merely about 'tidying up' and 'maintaining order' in the workplace. Essentially, this interpretation focuses on the 'Sort', 'Straighten', and 'Sweep' principles. But if 5S stopped at the cleaning stage, it would only be a ‘3S’ system – and that would miss the point. However, for the sake of argument, let us assume that most interested businesses will primarily consider the superficial orderliness of the workplace as the most immediate and visible benefit. How can that end, in and of itself, yield worthwhile results?

In its most obvious and outward manifestation, 5S directly contributes to the efficient and clean organization of the workplace. Materials (physical, digital, and intellectual) are all put in their proper place, maintained in an orderly manner, and easily accessible. A structure of continued maintenance is provided to keep the workplace from going off track. And workers are encouraged to be diligent in keeping things organized, since this action fundamentally relates to the way they do their work within the framework (to benefit from organization, the organization must be maintained). Workplaces which employ 5S principles can be cleaner, and in that cleanliness, easier to maintain and to identify potential problems before they become significant.

From this starting point of organization, efficiency and safety are the next resultant benefits. Efficiency is achieved because workers are no longer required to search for misplaced or poorly organized resources; with everything in its place, accessibility is simplified, freeing time for work and progress. Furthermore, efficiency of physical space creates efficiency of mental space as well: an orderly outward world allows proper compartmentalization of information within the worker's mind, avoiding the clutter and confusion that slows down thinking and decision-making processes. Safety results from these efficiency achievements. Because thinking and physical access now operate without obstruction, the danger of misplacement (whether tangible or mental) is reduced, therefore reducing the likelihood of errors. From a purely physical standpoint, a clean workplace is safer to navigate, safer to evacuate, and safer to respond in should immediate remedial actions be necessary. In a more abstract sense, mental efficiency decreases the likelihood of oversights and lapses in judgement, which are the cause of most human errors. Collectively, the ideas of organization, efficiency, and safety yield the obvious and immediately observable advantages of 5S implementation. But if this was the end of the story, the most substantial benefits would still remain unrecognized.

In truth, the main benefits of 5S are not merely about instituting best practices and more awareness, but rather, are about profoundly shaping the thinking and actions of those in the workplace in a broad, humanistic sense. This much larger and far more transformative focus aids workers in understanding their roles as participants in a system who individually and through collective effort maintain and manage everything. As with other workplace management systems, particularly those developed in Japan, 5S emphasizes that the workers themselves are the origin and arbiters of the system, rather than the system being something imposed from the top by management. This is what carries the greatest transformative power of the 5S framework—because it transforms a mere 'management system' into a lifestyle, and even a philosophy.

By making workers responsible for their own system, an increased feeling of belonging is engendered into the workplace. This extends beyond responsibility—in fact, it is actually the creation of a sociological framework. People in this framework will want to do the actions that maintain it, because the framework has become a part of the societal microcosm. By looking out for the system, they look out for each other, and for themselves. This is similar to the sociology exhibited in the military, where the creation of a ‘band of brothers’ mentality helps ensure unit cohesion and protection of fellow soldiers. It is also one of the key distinctions between what was inherent in the American efficiency teachings brought from Training Within Industry (TWI) which helped shape the early development of 5S, and what was inherent in Japanese social identity (the idea of each and every person having an equally valuable and indispensable role in society).

And these worker attitudes are the core of the matter—indeed, they are the most important aspect and consequence of 5S implementation. Very few other management systems emphasize that each individual person not only has responsibility, but also validity and importance. This takes 5S beyond mantras frequently used on shop floors: "Safety starts with me" and so on. In those systems, a worker is primarily viewed as a potential failure point. But in 5S, they are viewed as a success point. They are properly celebrated as the arbiter of a successful workplace, which reflects their commitment to the work society. From that work society extends a broader social society, and then a global society. Thus, striving for order individually can collectively place the entire world into order. This is a revolutionary way of thinking which extends far beyond simple slogans and management practices and is therefore very important to emphasize to team members when introducing this concept into the workplace. If the understanding of 5S's points is incomplete, or worse is ignored, then the benefits cannot be received. But if the workers receive the framework fully, and implement it sincerely, then the ability to achieve radical change is made possible.

With the addition of the 6S ('Safety / Security') and 7S ('Social') principles, the unspoken advantages of 5S are emphasized (an orderly workplace should be a safe workplace; workers who are responsible to the system should extend that system’s responsibility to the whole of existence). This direct articulation spells out what, in the Japanese understanding, is already implied by the existing cultural and social contract. The benefits of workplace safety and global social responsibility, needless to say, are obvious.

Finally, 5S provides a strong foundation from which individual quality management systems can draw. By incorporating the 5S principles, other systems (such as the Toyota Production System) can be adapted to specific circumstances and needs. The beauty of 5S is its complex simplicity: it is immense in its implications, yet incredibly simple (just 5 words) in its practices.

Our 5S article series continues with:

How to Use 5S in Your Company

Read the next part now!

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Authors

Yelena Rymbayeva is the Chief Marketing Officer of QMS2GO. A veteran marketing professional with experience in software, product development, and entertainment-focused startups, she has written extensively on business organizational best practices, efficiency strategies, and quality management system implementation, with an emphasis on small/mid-sized manufacturers and technology development companies.

Nicholas R. Zabaly is the Editor-in-Chief of QMS2GO’s research and knowledgebase operations. An experienced researcher and technical writer, he has worked closely with the company since its foundation and serves as its lead article writer. Specific to the content of this article, he has experience working with Japanese companies and has knowledge of the Japanese language.

Additional References and Resources

The 5S principles are among the most widely discussed business practices of the past 70 years, and significant information and guidance can be obtained by considering the vast quantities of literature devoted to understanding them. While reviewing these resources, please keep in mind that alternative translations of the five ‘S’ words from the original Japanese exist, and that some may provide contradictory interpretations to each other, as well as to the overall approach adopted by this article. Being aware of these alternate interpretations is important, and when in doubt, a consultation of primary Japanese sources is generally the best approach for resolving contradictions which may arise from translation.

[1] American Society for Quality (ASQ) – “Five S Tutorial” – https://asq.org/quality-resources/five-s-tutorial

[2] Fast Company – “Why Designers are Reviving This 30-Year-Old Japanese Productivity Theory” (Meg Miller, May 26, 2017) – https://www.fastcompany.com/90126285/why-designers-are-reviving-this-30-year-old-japanese-productivity-theory

[3] Los Angeles Times – “Rebuilding Japan With the Help of Two Americans” (Mark Magnier, October 25, 1999) – https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-25-ss-26184-story.html

[4] Juran Institute – “The History of Quality Management System” (March 4, 2020) – https://www.juran.com/blog/quality-management-system/

[5] University of Michigan Press – “Managing ‘Modernity’: Work, Community, and Authority in Late-Industrializing Japan and Russia” (Rudra Sil, 2002) – https://books.google.com/books?id=e9PzMlVrERUC

[6] Productivity Press – “5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace: The Sourcebook for 5S Implementation” (Hiroyuki Hirano, 1995) – https://archive.org/details/5pillarsofvisual00hira/mode/2up

[7] Asian Productivity Organization – “The 5S’s: Five Keys to a Total Quality Environment” (Takashi Osada, 1991) – https://books.google.com/books?id=Ll-1AAAAIAAJ

[8] Lean Community – “5S System or 6S System?” (Bartosz Misiurek, 2022) – https://leancommunity.org/the-5s-system-or-the-6s-system/

[9] Sustainability – “From Lean 5S to 7S Methodology Implementing Corporate Social Responsibility Concept” (Jon Fernández Carrera, Alfredo Amor del Olmo, María Romero Cuadrado, María del Mar Espinosa, Luis Romero Cuadrado, September 29, 2021) – https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/19/10810