5S Makes Jobsites Safer, Cleaner and More Productive

By Mark Jagiello

The 17-story Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel, under construction in downtown Chicago, Illinois, recently topped off six weeks ahead of schedule and with 293 days and 90,000 work hours without an injury. While Mortenson implemented an array of innovative techniques to reach this milestone safely and ahead of schedule, the Lean approach known as 5S played a critical role.

We use 5S to maintain neat, clean, orderly project sites and work areas improving safety, quality and efficiency. 5S was originally based on five Japanese words: seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke. It has been adapted in English to: sort, straighten, shine, standardize and sustain. For us, it all translates to success.

With 5S, jobsites are cleaner and less cluttered, creating a work environment that expedites the project and allows trades to improve their performance and job satisfaction. “Compared to other hotels we’ve worked on, the Home2 Suites project is far and away the cleanest, most organized and fastest site. The trades are moving at lightning speed,” said Andrew D. Yonkus, P.E., LEED AP, vice president of State Mechanical, the project’s Design-Build HVAC contractor. “This approach has been a huge help to State Mechanical in managing risk and being able to maintain productivity in the field.”

Setting expectations

Mortenson has developed standards for all projects to follow when implementing 5S. The standards make it easier for the trades to keep their tools and materials organized and easily accessible while minimizing tripping and other potential hazards.

• All materials, tools and equipment must be mobile. Means of mobility, such as dollies or carts, are determined by the subcontractor.
• Just-in-time deliveries with no more than one week of material onsite.
• All extension cords must be elevated and rolled up at completion of task.
• Materials are stored at point of installation.
• Trades clean work areas daily and leave no debris on floors.

Beyond these expectations, Mortenson provides additional project standards for subcontractors to follow for each of the 5S, including:

Sort

• Cut stations are designed so no scraps hit the floor. All debris is placed immediately into a mobile trash container.

Straighten

• Materials must be staged in an area where they will be used or designated by the general contractor.
• Materials on a hard surface must be on carts or pallets. If on soil or gravel, materials are stored on dunnage.
• If in use, cords will be suspended by non-conductive material.

Shine

• All material-staging areas must have clear access around materials.
• All hard-surface working areas are to be broom-swept and free of debris and trip hazards.
• All gondolas, trash cans and dump boxes are to be emptied as required so materials never overflow onto the ground.
• All food debris, water bottles and cups must be thrown out in proper trash containers.
• All work areas are to be handed off broom-swept and free of debris and materials so the area is ready for the next trade to start work.

Standardize

• Sorting, straightening, shining sets the standard.
• Neat, clean, organized becomes the norm.

Sustain

• Make it part of your daily routine.
• It becomes second nature.
• Hold everyone accountable.

Putting 5S into practice

Since 5S represents a new way of working for many trades and contractors, it takes some effort to implement and sustain it. Even though the vast majority of workers much prefer the cleaner, safer, more efficient approach, they need the support and guidance of the general contractor to ensure the team is working toward the same goals.

1. Do it yourself. Because of the importance Mortenson places on 5S, superintendents manage and maintain the Lean approach throughout the life of the project, working with the trade foremen. Because it’s a newer approach and it’s easy to revert back to more familiar processes, superintendents should carve time out to work on sustaining the 5S approach. At the Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel project, the superintendent walked the site every Tuesday and Friday with all foremen to ensure sure there were no excess materials being left behind, all debris was being thrown out and work areas were neat and organized.
   

2. Train the trades. To kick off the hotel project, Mortenson spent time training all of the initial trade partners on 5S. In the training, the superintendent explained the Lean approach and how Mortenson expected it to be carried out at the jobsite, especially the responsibilities of the trades. For example, the electrical contractor places all cut-offs into gondolas, has the right amount of materials for installation when needed, all materials are mobile on carts or pipe racks and is maintaining a neat and orderly work area. For the finish trades, the superintendent has been meeting one-on-one to set out the 5S requirements.
   

3. Shifting the mindset. Keeping only the required tools or materials on-hand for a specific task is not a typical practice for many workers. To hedge against unforeseen circumstances, many workers are used to holding on to excess materials or having extra tools on hand just in case. In reality, this approach can contribute to lower efficiency.The 5S approach requires trades to get organized ahead of time and limit themselves to just what’s needed to do the job. Instead of bringing pallets of materials, the Home2 Suites electrician loaded everything into five stand-up carts. Everything was labeled and in a specific spot, making it easy to locate whatever was needed and to restock.

4. Follow through. By walking the floors and site regularly, superintendents can quickly point out any debris or other problems to a foreman. If a second reminder doesn’t result in the necessary change, the superintendent can take action to adhere to the 5S standards.
   

5. Share responsibility. To help reinforce the 5S standards, the Home2 Suites project has implemented a checklist that requires the foremen to walk their floors and sign off that they’ve met the sorting, straightening and shining requirements before leaving for the day. Since giving the trades more ownership of the process, the superintendent has scaled back his walk-throughs to once a week.

Not only does 5S streamline workflow and increase productivity, it also improves project safety performance and contributes to world-class quality. At Mortenson, 5S is now the gold standard for running our projects.

Mark Jagiello is senior superintendent at Mortenson.