5. The fifth S: sustainability

This stage is often considered the most difficult: making a major effort to bring everything up to standard is a good initiative, but maintaining the state of affairs once radical improvements have been made is another matter altogether!

There are a number of ways to achieve the motivation needed to maintain and constantly improve your level of performance:

• introduce a schedule of regular 5S and visual management audits to be carried out internally by workshop staff;

• Set up weekly, if not daily, 5S and visual management meetings;

• set up a "continuous progress zone" where all initiatives can be displayed and progress recorded (figure 11...