This unit applies to an individual in an office environment who is required to apply the structured approach known as 5S.
While covering the traditional 5S skills, the unit also requires the application of skills associated with planning and organising, problem solving and self-management in order to identify and implement 5S practices in an office environment.
The office environment for 5S may include administrative, transactional or service-based processes in, or attached to, a manufacturing organisation, within their value stream or similar environments, such as health care, education, financial, construction or Defence services.
Not applicable.
1 | Prepare for implementation of 5S | 1.1 | Identify own functions in the target work area in terms of internal and/or external customer requirements |
1.2 | Identify how own and office team tasks contribute to the office functions | ||
1.3 | If required, assist with process mapping to identify any gaps or clarification of customer expectations of office functions | ||
1.4 | Confirm arrangements for assistance and reporting for 5S implementation |
2 | Sort needed items from unneeded | 2.1 | Identify all items in own and wider office area |
2.2 | Distinguish between essential and non-essential items | ||
2.3 | Place any non-essential item in an appropriate location other than the work area/space | ||
2.4 | Regularly check that only essential items are in the work area |
3 | Set the workplace in order | 3.1 | Identify the best location for each essential item |
3.2 | Place each essential item in its assigned location | ||
3.3 | After use immediately return each essential item to its assigned location/state or condition | ||
3.4 | Regularly check that each essential item is in its assigned location/state or condition |
4 | Shine the work area | 4.1 | Keep the work area clean, tidy and organised at all times |
4.2 | Conduct regular ‘shine’ activities during shift | ||
4.3 | Ensure the work area is neat, clean, tidy and organised at both beginning and end of shift | ||
4.4 | Report any malfunction, damage and/or safety risks that require immediate attention |
5 | Standardise activities | 5.1 | Follow procedures |
5.2 | Follow checklists for activities, where available | ||
5.3 | Keep the work area to specified standard |
6 | Sustain the 5S system | 6.1 | Clean up/organise workspace after completion of job and before commencing next job or end of shift |
6.2 | Identify situations where conformance to standards is unlikely and take actions specified in procedures | ||
6.3 | Inspect work area regularly for conformance to specified standard | ||
6.4 | Recommend improvements to lift the level of conformance in the workplace |
Required skills |
Required skills include: communicating with others to clarify scope of 5S implementation, communicate results and contribute suggestions for improvement visualising normal office procedures in terms of flow and contribution to customer outcomes planning own tasks in implementation of 5S implementing 5S to own work area according to instructions identifying office waste (muda) preparing own work area by reviewing equipment and own responsibilities against a process map prioritising activities and items reading and interpreting documents describing office procedures recording activities and results against templates and other prescribed formats working with others solving problems |
Required knowledge |
Required knowledge includes: standard office procedures for own activities and of others in team 5S concepts and procedures as applied to an office environment, including: meaning and application of 5S to own job and to office purposes of 5S procedures relevant to job methods of making/recommending improvements |
The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package. | |
Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit | A person who demonstrates competency in this unit must be able to provide evidence of the ability to: identify the scope of the services and/or functions supplied by the office and the deliverables expected by customers identify own tasks and responsibilities and relate them to organisation and customer requirements identify and explain the stages of 5S implement 5S in own work area identify waste (muda) in the work area. |
Context of and specific resources for assessment | Assessment of performance must be undertaken in a workplace using or implementing one or more competitive systems and practices. Access may be required to: workplace procedures and plans relevant to work area specifications and documentation relating to planned, currently being implemented, or implemented changes to work processes and procedures relevant to the assessee documentation and information in relation to production, waste, overheads and hazard control/management reports from supervisors/managers case studies and scenarios to assess response to contingencies. |
Method of assessment | A holistic approach should be taken to the assessment. Competence in this unit may be assessed by using a combination of the following to generate evidence: demonstration in the workplace workplace projects suitable simulation case studies/scenarios (particularly for assessment of contingencies, improvement scenarios, and so on) targeted questioning reports from supervisors, peers and colleagues (third-party reports) portfolio of evidence. In all cases it is expected that practical assessment will be combined with targeted questioning to assess underpinning knowledge. Where applicable, reasonable adjustment must be made to work environments and training situations to accommodate ethnicity, age, gender, demographics and disability. |
Guidance information for assessment | Assessment processes and techniques must be culturally appropriate and appropriate to the oracy, language and literacy capacity of the candidate and the work being performed. |
The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included. | |
Competitive systems and practices | Competitive systems and practices may include, but are not limited to: lean operations agile operations preventative and predictive maintenance approaches monitoring and data gathering systems, such as customer relationship management (CRM) database, accounting packages, business intelligence or other office process-related database programs statistical process control systems, including six sigma and three sigma Just in Time (JIT), kanban and other pull-related operations control systems supply, value, and demand chain monitoring and analysis 5S continuous improvement (kaizen) breakthrough improvement (kaizen blitz) cause/effect diagrams takt time process mapping problem solving run charts standard procedures current reality tree Competitive systems and practices should be interpreted so as to take into account: the stage of implementation of competitive systems and practices the size of the enterprise the work organisation, culture, regulatory environment and the industry sector |
5S | 5S primarily covers organising how work is done. In the office environment it usually focuses on the physical and/or virtual workspace to ensure that information, equipment, materials needed for the job are available where and when they are needed. Originally developed in Japan it is based around five housekeeping principles, usually translated as: sort set in order shine standardise sustain |
Items in work area | Items in an office work area include all equipment and accessories, including: office supplies materials paperwork furniture storage systems and cabinets lighting, wiring, plumbing and other services designed to support a working environment in the office manuals personal items (e.g. bags, phones, lunch boxes, clothing, photos and ornaments) safety and personal protective equipment any other item which happens to be in the work area |
Appropriate place | Appropriate places may include areas designated for: recycling rubbish removal staff room/lunch room/kitchen office supplies, filing and other storage functions, such as printing/copying holding until status is confirmed |
Target work area | The target work area may be identified as a physical and/or virtual work space: used by a person, a team or a cross-functional group common to part/s of a process or value stream (already defined) shared by people who undertake a defined procedure or set of procedures needed to support a particular function The work area includes all areas where aspects of the job are performed and that are under the direct control of the employee. In a team environment 5S should be applied to all work areas under the control of the team. |
Best location | The best location may include: making changes to the layout of furniture, equipment, services and personnel in order to facilitate the smooth and continuous flow of work through process steps |
Sort | Sort involves keeping only what is absolutely necessary for the work processes that comprise the job and may include: equipment and supplies that are used frequently |
Set in order | Set in order includes: assigning required equipment and materials appropriate locations in the work area |
Shine | Shine includes: keeping the work area clean at all times. This should be carried out to a regular daily schedule against allowed time, usually at the end of the day or of a particular process keeping work area, including virtual work area, organised Cleaning includes: noting any signs of wear, damage, leakage, safety risks or other issues that require immediate attention |
Standardise | Standardising includes: activities that help maintain the order and the 5S standards using procedures and checklists developed from a procedure |
Sustain | Sustain includes: making sure that daily activities are completed every day regardless of circumstance undertaking inspections, including: informal inspections that should be carried often, at least weekly formal inspections that should be carried out at least monthly |
Procedures | Procedures may include: work instructions standard operating procedures checklists regulations standards guides and similar instructions that define the performance and standards for 5S or activities in which 5S is embedded Procedures may be: written, verbal, computer-based, visual depictions or in some other format |
Conformance | Conformance refers to correct application of 5S procedures, including: any daily tasks, scheduled inspections and continuous improvement procedures |
Unit sector | Competitive systems and practices |
This unit contains employability skills.
Not applicable.