On July 19, 2007 Tosoh (Guangzhou) Chemical Industries Inc. convened a conference for the promotion of 5S with all employees in attendance. When Menxie Jin, general manager, addressed on the Conference, he emphasized that the promotion of 5S should be participated by all staffs and workers and implemented in proper sequence, and needed constant effort; all staffs and workers were hoped to start from the little things under their noses and gradually fit it into their routine work, finally develop to “standardization” and “habitation”, so as to lay a solid foundation for the future stable progress of the company, and he also declared the official launch of the 5S promotion campaign of Tosoh(Guangzhou) Chemical Industries Inc. on the conference.

About 5S:

5S was created by Toyota as a part of their lean manufacturing system, a system that has helped make Toyota the top car manufacturer in the world.

The 5S are five action verbs (Sort, Clean, Set in order, Standardize and Progress), all starting with an S in Japanese (Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, Shitsuke). The name "Five S" now identify this method.

The 5S allow to set up a well adapted and functional work environment, ruled by simple yet effective rules.

5S deployment is to be done in a logical and progressive way. The 3 first S are shop floor actions, while the 2 lasts are sustaining and progress actions.

Apparently simple, the 5S are a consistent and powerful set. Their correct deployment allows change and progress far beyond just perform cleaning (or order the cleaning to be done).

5S are the solid base, the foundation on which to build continuous improvement, install lean manufacturing tools and methods.

They are also an effective lever for change management and empowerment.