Implementation of “5S” Methodology in Laboratory Safety and Its Effect on Employee Satisfaction

Abstract

Health institutions use the accreditation process to achieve improvement across the organization and management of the health care system. An ISO 15189 quality and efficiency standard is the recommended standard for medical laboratories qualification. The "safety and accommodation conditions" of this standard covers the requirement to improve working conditions and maintain the necessary safety precautions. The most inevitable precaution for ensuring a safe environment is the creation of a clean and orderly environment to maintain a potentially safe surroundings. In this context, the 5S application which is a superior improvement tool that has been used by the industry, includes some advantages such as encouraging employees to participate in and to help increase the productivity. The main target of this study was to implement 5S methods in a clinical laboratory of a university hospital for evaluating its effect on employees' satisfaction, and correction of non-compliance in terms of the working environment. To start with, first, 5S education was given to management and employees. Secondly, a 5S team was formed and then the main steps of 5S (Seiri: Sort, Seiton: Set in order, Seiso: Shine, Seiketsu: Standardize, and Shitsuke: Systematize) were implemented for a duration of 3 months. A five-point likert scale questionnaire was used in order to determine and assess the impact of 5S on employees' satisfaction considering the areas such as facilitating the job, the job satisfaction, setting up a safe environment, and the effect of participation in management. Questionnaire form was given to 114 employees who actively worked during the 5S implementation period, and the data obtained from 63 (52.3%) participants (16 male, 47 female) were evaluated. The reliability of the questionnaire's Cronbach's alpha value was determined as 0.858 (p< 0.001). After the implementation of 5S it was observed and determined that facilitating the job and setting up a safe environment created a statistically significant effect on employees, and some sufficient satisfaction was observed. In addition, the non-conformity score, which was identified in the laboratory during the previous years, was significantly reduced at a rate of 69.7% after the implementation of 5S. 5S practices have successfully contributed to the establishment and to the sustainability of laboratory safety systems in the first public ISO 15189 accredited public clinical laboratory in Turkey. It is concluded that 5S methods can be used as an effective improvement tool in order to maintain a safe environment, to facilitate the job, and to encourage employees to participate in the management process.

Empirical investigation of contributions of 5S practice for realizing improved competitive dimensions

“…5S is a Japanese philosophy that imbibes its 780 IJQRM 35,3 cultural and societal values for improving motivation, ethical values of all employees in the organization. The Japanese principles of Shintoism (cleanliness of mind), Confucianism (orderliness) and Buddhism (self-discipline) have led to the evolution of 5S philosophy (Watsuji, 1952;De Mente, 1994;Dogan et al, 2014;Ikuma and Nahmens, 2014). These principles are frequently referred by Shinto (the way of the Gods: Shintoism), do (methodology), butsudo (Buddhism) and (kendo, jyudo, and karatedo) martial arts for training mind and body through discipline (Sugiura and Gillespie, 2002).…”

Structural equation modeling for validating impact of 5S implementation on business excellence of manufacturing organizations

“…The historical roots of 5S were based on the principles of Shintoism (cleanliness of mind), Buddhism (Orderliness) and Confucianism (self-discipline) related to Japanese culture while its value and ethics have existed from the times of Samurais (De Mente, 1994; Ohno, 1988). Takasi Osada (1991) was the first person who formulated the framework of 5S, based on five pillars, in Japanese acronym for Seiri (organization), Setion (neatness), Sesio (cleaning), Seiketsu (standardization) and Shitsuke (discipline) (Dogan et al , 2014; Ikuma and Nahmens, 2014). 5S initiatives are aimed at building standardization and eliminating waste from the Toyota Production System (TPS) (JISHA, 1999; Gapp et al , 2008; Osada, 1989, 1991).…”

The impact of a readiness program for implementing and sustaining continuous improvement processes

“…Organization, order and cleanliness are elements which, when they are present in work routines, ensure quality and excellence in organizations. This idea was taken up in the 1960s as a principle underlying improvement methodologies, which originated in Japan and later extended throughout the world as a collection of principles called 5S (Dogan et al, 2014;Ikuma and Nahmens, 2014;Hirano, 1996;Ho, 1998;Imai, 1989;Warwood and Knowles, 2004;Ahuja, 2014, 2015). The 5S's are composed of five easyto-understand steps, which has made this technique accessible to many companies around the world.…”