How Amada Miyachi America implemented the 6S system (Part 1)

The 6S system is a modified version built on the principle of 5S with the 6th S being Safety. Developed by Taiichi Ohno, an industrial engineer at Toyota, the 6S is not only a way to optimize business performance but also ensure labor safety.

6S principles have recently been applied at Amada Miyachi America (AMYA), a leading manufacturer of resistance welding, laser welding, marking, cutting and assembling equipment, and micro-machining systems. With the motto of constantly improving and ensuring customer satisfaction through a streamlined, clean, efficient production process, AMYA is a perfectly suitable enterprise to implement the 6S system.

Four years ago, the company realized that assembly in their production group was inefficient because employees spent too much time searching for tools, and the arrangement of tools and equipment was also at risk. There are high leading to labor accidents. AMYA knows that they need to solve this problem, and eventually, the company sought the 6S solution as a tool to increase labor productivity as well as ensure worker safety.

Right from the start, AMYA has started to consolidate the foundation of the old 5S system including the first 3S: Screening, arrangement and cleanliness. Screening means sorting and organizing items in order, combined with Arrangement, AMYA has organized the remaining items effectively according to the criteria of easy to find, easy to see, easy to get, easy to return. Next, the company aims to clean up the workspace, minimize risks and accidents while improving the accuracy of machinery. On the other hand, keeping the factory clean also contributes to raising the common sense of employees at the company.

After implementing the first 3S, AMYA has significantly improved the working environment and built an improved emulation movement in each department. However, in order to maintain the 5S in a continuous manner, the tool must be standardized with the 4th S. AMYA 5S management board has a specific plan for maintaining the continuous implementation of the first 3 S, Thanks to that, the culture of improvement has gradually formed. At the same time, this is also the original form of the 5th S: Ready anytime, anywhere.

In fact, the good implementation of 5S has somewhat solved the labor safety issues, however, with the 6th S (Safety), the safety assurance has been raised to a new level. The principle of S6 is that all employees are always conscious and strictly comply with occupational safety at all times and at all times, overcoming and eliminating all factors causing occupational safety. The company puts the safety of its employees first, which is a sustainable factor with the company’s development.

In the following section, we will go deeper to learn how AMYA fosters a culture of innovation at their own businesses.

Productivity and Quality Office