November 25, 2019
At PLP, we are committed to providing ever-increasing value to our customers. This culture of continuous improvement drives us to constantly seek ways to work together to improve the company’s products and services. One of the primary goals of PLP’s continuous improvement efforts is to use “creativity before capital,” which places value on finding creative solutions rather than just throwing money at a problem. This approach was recently put into action through PLP’s new Continuous Improvement Challenge. This quarterly challenge issued to all our locations around the world is an additional way for the company to identity and share global best practices and to celebrate the positive impact our CI efforts make around the world.
This Quarter's CI Challenge: 5S
5S is a workplace organization method that uses the principles of five Japanese words (seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke) to provide clean, uncluttered, safe, and organized areas which ultimately helps reduce waste and optimizes productivity. These principles have been translated to an English language version as: sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain, respectively.
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Seiri (Sort) – Eliminate unnecessary items from a location.
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Seiton (Set in order) – Put all necessary items in the optimal place for ease of use.
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Seiso (Shine) – Clean and inspect the work area on a regular basis.
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Seiketsu (Standardize) – Establish procedures and schedules to ensure first three “S” practices are regularly repeated.
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Shitsuke (Sustain) – Ensure the 5S approach is sustained over time through self-discipline and habits.
The benefits of 5S can be seen through improved safety, lower defect rates, reduced costs, increased productivity, and improved employee morale, among others. But first and foremost, PLP finds value in creating an environment of team collaboration where engaged, empowered employees contribute to the overall success of the company.
An employee at PLP's Indonesia location inspects and cleans equipment. A key element of the 5S method.
This Quarter's CI Challenge Winner: PLP Indonesia
PLP’s team in Indonesia took the 5S challenge to heart by holding company-wide training, developing the system needed to support and sustain a 5S culture, challenging their teams to apply the training, and, ultimately, celebrating the success of their teams. Their focus on continuous improvement has helped to create engaged, empowered, and excited teams that continually provide exceptional results. Congratulations to PLP Indonesia!
Wawang Sukmoro, Operations Director for PLP Indonesia, and Doug Cozzens, Director of Manufacturing for PLP's Asia-Pacific region, congratulate the team in Indonesia for their 5S efforts.
A Culture of Continuous Improvement
PLP’s goal with our continuous improvement efforts continues to be to help our people be more productive by working smarter and leveraging the many great ideas of our diverse global workforce. This all starts with creating a culture of continuous improvement, a culture of innovation, and a culture of teamwork. PLP's Indonesia location is a perfect example of this C.I. culture. The location recently held a Quality Culture Day to celebrate the efforts of their teams.
Dancers perform as part of PLP Indonesia's Quality Culture Day.
Thanks to the efforts by all our locations through global initiatives like PLP’s new Quarterly Continuous Improvement Challenge, this culture of continuous improvement has never been more impactful!
Written by:
Tammy Stanziale, Safety & Continuous Improvement Manager