Shitsuke is Discipline

I have come across various definitions of Shitsuke in books and websites, such as:

a) Training and discipline
b) Sustaining
c) Continuing training
d) Maintaining standards
e) Commitment
f) Adherence to standards

I believe the original meaning of this word Shitsuke is used in the context of teaching children and it means manners and discipline. In Japanese, it is written as 躾.

In the context of the work place, I would define Shitsuke as discipline. It means Conforming, or “doing what’s been is decided”. I have taken this definition from a passage that I came across in a book entitled; The Canon Production System, Creating Involvement of the Total Workforce by Alan T. Campbell.

"Canon has benefited in two important ways through the 5S Movement.

First is the workers’ change in consciousness - a readiness to follow rules and “do what’s been decided”… For example, keeping parts and tools in their place was once a hard rule to enforce. It is never broken now; this reduces delays and wasted motion and helps visually control the workplace.

The second benefit can be seen in the manufacturing process itself, in fewer accidents and equipment breakdowns, increased work efficiency, and lower defect rates."


This definition implies that Shituke is something that comes from within a person. It is more than simply following rules and regulations. It includes unwritten rules and basic courtesies and consideration for others. And it is something the person will do as a habit, without having to be reminded.

For example, I often meet clients in their premises. Sometimes, to the embarrassment of the host, we find that the whiteboard in the meeting rooms are quite dirty and there’s writing left on the board from a previous meeting. This is so even in many office blocks which are being kept clean by cleaners. Although there are no written rules which say that the user should clean the whiteboard after use, it is something that is ‘understood’.

In this regard, I think of something that I find quite shameful as a Singaporean. There was a time when I often see stickers in public toilets warning of a fine of $500 if you did not flush the toilet after use. As a Singaporean, don’t you feel ashamed that our authorities need to put up posters reminding us to keep our toilets clean and threaten people with a fine for doing something that should come automatically; and in the process live up the our reputation of being a ‘fine city’.

Anyway, this threat apparently did not work and so nowadays, they have installed auto-sensors to flush the toilets automatically. Alas, this measure has become counter-productive because in many public toilets, especially those in our kopitiams (coffee shops) these sensors do not work. Consequently, the toilets become even dirtier and smellier than before. I am very much tempted to put up a photo of one of these typical toilets here, but I think I will spare you the dear reader of the torture.

Photo by Flickr member neajjean

Photo by Flickr member doc_ido

Shitsuke is a fundamental requirement for any organisation that wants to excel in quality, productivity and safety. We all know that without cooperation, consideration for our fellow workers, it is very difficult to develop a culture that ensures safety and productivity. Hence in explaining Shitsuke to my trainees, I emphasize 3 aspects. (And by the way, integral to these 3 qualities is punctuality):

a) Cooperation
b) Consideration
c) Care

As members of an organisation, we have a basic responsibility to be considerate, and to cooperate with and even care for the safety and welfare of our fellow workers. This is the heart of Shitsuke.

In the beginning of this blog, I wrote about the littering problem in Singapore and compared ourselves with the Japanese. Have you ever wondered why the Japanese are able to do what we have been struggling to achieve for so many years? I think the answer lies in the homes and the schools. I will elaborate next time.

Another reason why you should 'Seiri"

Seiri, as you may recall, means Clearing - to get rid of clutter.

I recently came across a Focus on Family article in Today newspaper which says that clutter causes stress. The title of the article is: Decluttering Your Life. Here are some excerpts from the article:


** Experts say the most common cause of stress among women (housewives) is Clutter. The more stuff you accumulate, the more stressed you get. And the less likely you’ll be to function effectively.

** The sooner you stop putting things off the better.

** Don’t be afraid to throw a few things away.

Seiketsu is Maintaining

As you practice the previous 3 S’s regularly, you will naturally progress to the 4th S which is Seiketsu. Seiketsu means maintaining the uncluttered, neat and clean condition that you have achieved in practicing Seiri, Seiton and Seiso. It means preventing the condition from backsliding to the previous condition.

For example, after doing Seiri, you may find that new junk reappears in no time. And then you have to do Seiri again. After a while, you start to ask yourself; “Why do these unnecessary items turn up so often? How can I prevent them from reappearing so quickly?”

Likewise, after you have done Seiton, the whole place looks neat and tidy. But before long it gets messed up again, and so you ask yourself; “Why does this place get messy so quickly? Can I prevent it from getting untidy so quickly?”

Similarly it’s the case for Seiso.

Hence, in Seiketsu, we often have to adopt a problem solving approach to maintain the clean and tidy condition. In this sense, Seiketsu is more difficult than the previous 3 steps. It requires the use of our brains more than our hands.

Example 1

Let’s consider an example from the home, in this case the kitchen. You may find that frying produces a lot of oil mist which is difficult to remove from the walls of your kitchen. You then decide to install a cooker hood to extract the oily fumes. But of course you need to ensure that the cooker hood is well-maintained and functions properly. But this is not enough to remove all the fumes and so you next think of changing your kitchen walls to tiles which are easier to clean. Another measure you may want to take is to switch to non-stick frying pans which do not require much oil. And finally, you could decide to eat less fried food and switch to steaming instead.

All these measures that you come up with make it easier to maintain the clean condition of your kitchen falls under Seiketsu.

Example 2

Another example is from the public roads. In Singapore, the government has very strict rules for earth-moving trucks which travel on public roads. Before any truck leaves the construction site, its wheels must be washed to remove the mud. At the same time, these trucks are fitted with covers to prevent the earth from spilling onto the roads; although I often see trucks filled to the brim with the flaps not fully closed. Finally, construction workers have to clear away any mud that is inadvertently carried out onto the main road outside the construction site.



I hope my Malaysian friends do not get offended if I use Kuala Lumpur for comparison. When I was last there, (which was at least 10 years ago; maybe the situation has changed) I saw a lot of construction going on. I also saw a lot of dried mud outside construction sites. When a vehicles passes by, it kicks up a cloud of dust. As a result the air was quite hazy. But my Malaysian friends tend to put the blame on the forest burning habits of their fellow countrymen and neighbours in Indonesia.


Example 3

Finally, let me share with you an actual case from one of my clients. The place in question is a small office in the warehouse. When the staff embarked on 5S, they soon found that their equipment like fax machine and printers become dusty quite quickly. Initially they were quite puzzled as to where the dust came from because their office was air-conditioned. On closer examination, they realized that the dust came from the warehouse outside where lots of movement of forklift trucks took place. The dust found their way into the office through the single door which was opened frequently because of the human traffic.

The 5S team then brainstormed for ideas on how to reduce the frequency of opening and closing of the door. Finally they decided to change some procedures so that production and delivery staff need not come into the office so often. They put a box near the counter outside their office for the production and delivery personnel to deposit their documents like production orders and gate passes. They also provided a chop and staplers and other facilities near the outside counter. They even provided a sofa for people to wait outside instead of coming into the office.

These and other measures helped to cut down on the amount of dust entering the office and thus made it easier to maintain the cleanliness of their office and office equipment.

On a broader scale, Seiketsu also encompasses the routines that you put in place as part of the 5S system in you workplace. This could include doing regular checks and inspections of the 5S conditions.

But of course all these measures will not work unless people cooperate. And that brings us to the final S which is shitsuke or discipline, which I will touch on next time.

How to carry out Seiso (for equipment)

An Example from the home

My kids are very fortunate. They each have their own personal PC’s. But I was quite angry when I saw how dirty their machines were. Not only were the difficult-to-reach cables at the back of the PC filthy, even the PC body and monitor were covered with a layer of dust. They promised (after repeated naggings) to do it after their exams.

One day, they told me they have done it. I was surprised, because I didn’t recall seeing them cleaning their workstation in the manner that I expect. On checking I found that only surface of the PC body has been wiped. The back was just as filthy and dusty as ever.

An Example from the factory

Once I was working with a small local furniture manufacturer. This was many years ago, and I had just started working as a management consultant and was still quite new to the technique of 5S. I noticed that their machines were very dirty and I convinced the boss to implement the third ‘S’ – Seiso. He allowed the workers to stop work about 10 to 15 minutes before the end of their work shift to clean their machines.

On the first day, I eagerly went down to the factory 5 minutes before closing to see how the workers were doing. I expected to see them busily cleaning their machines. Guess what I saw. They were all cleaned up and waiting for the siren next to the clock card machine. I then went to one of the machines. It looked quite clean. The saw dust have been swept away from the surface of the machine. But when I banged on the machine, lots of dust fell to the ground.

The lesson from these two examples is this: Cleaning must be properly planned and should not be left to the workers. The supervisor or group leader should make a Cleaning Schedule and supervise its implementation until he is happy that everyone understands his role.

How to prepare a Cleaning Schedule

It’s quite simple really. All you need to consider are the “5 wives and 1 husband”. Well actually in this case, 3 wives will suffice.

1) What – make a list of the cleaning tasks. If the machine is a huge one, divide it into sections first.

2) When – decide on the frequency of each of the cleaning tasks; which ones need to be done daily, which ones weekly and so on.

3) Who – where more than 1 persons are involved, divide out the work.

4) How – decide on the best method for each task and the tools required.

After that it is just a simple matter of putting all the above into a big chart; preferably with diagrams to illustrate the key points and of course some warnings about safety precautions and so on. Put up the Cleaning Schedule on a prominent place near the machine and supervise the implementation. Fine-tune your procedure as necessary along the way.

F-Label Technique

Seiso is a form of Checking or Inspection.

Remember this principle that we learned last time. As the workers carry out their cleaning or Seiso, make sure they keep a look out for minor defects. Minor defects are problems in the machine or equipment which do not need urgent attention because the machine can still run with them. Examples are dents, broken catches, missing nuts and screws, loose wires etc. In most factories, operational people will not take the initiative to rectify or report these minor problems. As a result they will tend to accumulate until the machine finally breaks down.

The secret is to achieve a situation where your machines are all working like new is to thoroughly implement Seiso and ensure that all these minor defects are repaired as soon as possible. The Japanese like to use a technique called F-label technique to handle such minor defects.

1) As soon as a minor defect is discovered, the worker should repair it himself if possible. Sometimes it could be something as simple as a missing screw or a loose wire.

2) If practical, attach an F-label to the machine near to this minor defect. F stands for “fault”, but our local boys like to think of a dirty word.

3) Make a list of all the minor defects and discuss them with the Maintenance department to work out a plan to repair them all.

4) After each defect is repaired, remove the F-Label from the machine. Otherwise keep it there, even if they make the machine look unsightly, as if it was plastered with bandages; which it actually is in a certain sense.

If you implement the Seiso technique for equipment cleaning that I have recommended here, I assure you that you can safe yourself many heartaches resulting for machine malfunctions and stoppages.

Remember Murphy’s Law, anything that can go wrong will go wrong ….. and they usually go wrong at the worse time, if I may add.

Seiso is Cleaning (1) – The Importance of Seiso

The third ‘S’ in 5S is Seiso; and it simply means Cleaning.

Example 1: Our beloved AR-15

Many of us who have gone through NS (National Service) will remember that all soldiers were given a ‘wife’ when they joined the army. During my time it was the AR-15. Now they have a new one, SAR-something. Right from day 1, we were told to take good care of our wives. We have to keep it clean. And so we were taught how to dismantle our weapons and clean it thoroughly using a variety of tools like tweezers, rifle cleaning rod, steel brushes, flanelite etc. Every morning, when we drew our rifle from the armoury, we had to clean it. Every evening before we return it, we had to clean it again, no matter how late the hour or tired we were.

We had regular rifle inspections, and if our rifles were found to be dirty, it usually meant ‘extra duties’. Cleaning our rifles became such a basic part of army life that we could even dismantle our rifles and clean them in the dark. If you gave me an AR-15 today, it is likely that I would still be able to do it by instinct.

Question is; why is it so important to keep the rifles clean? The simple answer of course, is that we want it to be in tip-top working condition at all times. A dirty rifle is likely to give rise to problems. And in the battlefield this could spell disaster.



Example 2. The beloved lorry.

Some years ago, when I was still working as a management consultant with the National Productivity Board, I was assigned as a Productivity Manager to a company called Tat Seng Paper Containers Pte Ltd on a part time basis. This company produced carton boxes and delivers them to various MNCs. The company had 4 delivery trucks; two were owned by the company and two were owned by subcontractors.

One evening, we had a meeting until quite late in the evening. When the GM, Mr S M Low and I went to the car park, we noticed someone passionately cleaning a delivery truck. I said to Mr Low; “Wow, your staff is really hardworking; cleaning his truck at this hour.”

“That chap is not our employee,” replied the GM, “He is one of the contractors”. You can see why this contractor was so diligent in taking care of his truck. He knew that his livelihood depended on it and thus he needed to keep it in tip-top working condition. He also needed it to last for as long as possible as it represented a big chunk of his investments, probably bought with his hard-earned savings.

The lesson from these two examples is this:

Cleaning is a form of Preventive Maintenance.

Cleaning removes dust and dirt from our equipment. Dust and dirt are the cause of many equipment problems. Hence, we can say that cleaning removes the direct source of many equipment problems. This basic principle is applicable to all equipment; including those that our Creator gave us.


Example 3: Our teeth

Our teeth are important equipment which we use regularly. Some people do not take care of their teeth resulting in their loss before they even reach the age of thirty. But some people, like my dad have a good set of teeth even when they reach a ripe old age. Why the difference? The answer is mainly because the second group of people take good care of their teeth. How?

1) By regular brushing and flossing.
2) By visiting their dentist regularly.

Have you ever thought about what the dentist does whenever you saw him? The first thing he does is to do scaling. Scaling removes the ‘dirt’ which your normal brushing could not. Plus, in the process of scaling, the dentist carries out a detail check of your teeth to detect any minor problem and take action before it becomes serious. You could say, Early detection saves teeth.

Herein lies the second function of Seiso.

Seiso is a form of Checking or Inspection.

Perhaps you can understand better now what I wrote in my first article concerning my visit to Japanese factories. We were told in no uncertain terms that a dirty factory simply cannot be a productive factory. All Japanese workers are responsible for keeping their machines clean. In other words, to take ownership of them.

So far, I have limited my discussion to equipment cleaning. The logic applies to other aspects of your workplace as well - your parts and materials, your facilities, environment etc. although maybe not to such a large extent as equipment.

Next time, I will blog about how to carry out Seiso.

Seiton is Organising

The second ‘S’ in 5S is Seiton; and it means Organising or: To set in order.

It’s another fundamental principle of good workplace organization. Arrange everything systematically, and in a disciplined and user-friendly manner so that anyone can find the right thing without delay. The guiding principle in Seiton is:

► A place of everything,

► Everything in its place.

When I teach this topic, I often advise my trainees to follow three simple rules:

After you have gotten rid of unnecessary items in Seiri, you have only necessary items at your workplace. Arrange or organize them systematically such that they are:

1) Easy to See
2) Easy to Take,
3) Easy to Return.

Furthermore, under Easy to See, you should design a visual control system where it is:

A) Easy to see WHERE

You should have a good address/location system so that each item has its designated location with an address. This includes using a colour code system. Then ensure the system is user-friendly by using large, clear labels. This way, when an item is not returned to its designated location, you can easily spot it.

B) Easy to see WHAT

You should try to implement a system of ‘reserved seats and matching names’. This is especially important when you have many different items that look similar. You want to avoid costly mix-ups and using the wrong items.

C) Easy to see HOW MANY

You should arrange things neatly to facilitate easy counting or measuring. Where applicable, you should indicate clearly when it is time to reorder or replenish; and how much to order.

A Personal Story

In this regard, I would like to share a personal story with you.

When my father was quite old and bed-ridden, my siblings and I hired a Philippino maid to look after him. It was not easy to find a good maid to undertake such a messy job; as most of them were young ladies who shunned this relatively easy but rather ‘dirty’ job. But we were fortunate to find any intelligent middle aged lady by the name of Lita who understood English well. All my father’s doctors praised her because she could quickly follow their instructions on my father’s medications; which made our lives much easier. Of course we had to pay her a comparatively high salary to compensate for the unpleasantness of her duties.

Her biggest fault, however, was that she did not have a good understanding of the concept of Seiton. I remember one occasion when I was conducting a class and she paged me several times. Expecting the worse, I called her as soon as I could and got this ‘urgent’ message, “Sir, sir … no more diapers.”

“How many pieces left?” I asked. “Two” she replied. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” I said in irritation.

I very well couldn’t interrupt my class to go and buy diapers, and thus waited till the end of the day before I rushed down to this shop at Ang Mo Kio Community Hospital called Abdeen’s where adult diapers were sold at a very reasonable price, and bought 2 packets of 10 pieces each. Meantime, my father had to ‘suffer’ some discomfort because his normal consumption of diapers was about 5 pieces per day. Our usual practice was to order via fax from a small company which made home deliveries if you purchased a minimum of 2 boxes. Their lead time was 2 days. It was much cheaper too when we order in bulk like this.

And so I gave Lita a lesson in 5S using the principles of Seiton I mentioned above. Being the smart lass she was, she quickly came up with a system which went something like this.

When the 2 boxes of supplies arrived, she would take out 4 or 5 packets (1 packet has 10 pieces) at put them at the end of my father’s bed. (We bought him a second-hand hospital bed). These 5 packets served as a safety stock. When the rest of the 2 boxes had been used up, she would inform me (the purchasing officer) and then start using the 5 packets which had been set aside. This way, I have sufficient time to react and my father need not suffer from lack of diapers.

I should digress to inform you that it is no simple matter to look after a bedridden old man. Besides diapers, there are many other items to manage, such as gloves, milk powder, Vaseline, urine bags, urinary catheters, disinfectant, cotton buds etc. etc. But as you can see, with a little planning and application of the 5S principles, we can have things under control and minimize the number of crises.



Of course, an in-depth application of Seiton goes far beyond what I have covered here. I shall go into it at a later date.

Clearing Campaign

This past week, I have been doing a lot of Seiri.

As of next week, I will be shutting down my office and working from home. For the past 6 years, I have been sharing office with a couple of friends and associates. But recently, they have gone separate ways, and so to cut costs, I have decided to give up the office and work from home.

The volume of work that my firm has been handling has reduced quite significantly over the past 2 years. And as I approach my 55th year, I think it is good time to move back home and reevaluate my options. I will continue to do free lance consultancy, specializing in 5S; but what I really enjoy doing most at this stage of my career is writing. I have been doing a self-study course with the Writers Bureau and if the opportunity arises, I certainly would like to diversify into this area of work. I ask myself, If not now, when?

Initially, I wanted to bring back 2 steel cabinets to store all by stuff. Then I decided, I better put into practice what I have been teaching others. So I did the first ‘S’ in 5S which is Sort and Discard. Over the past 10 years, I have accumulated tons of equipment, books, files, course notes and documents which I don’t really use or have too many copies of. So, I discarded most of them. I even gave away a mini-fridge, an old photocopier and a pc and laser printer. I also left behind some furniture for the next tenant. Now, I don’t even need the 2 steel cabinets. To save space, I converted many project reports to soft copy, videos tapes to DVDs and CDroms to an external hard disk.

One important principle that you should bear in mind in Seiri is this. You should do it regularly and not wait till an occasion such as the one I am facing, when you are forced to make quick decision. Your chances of making the mistake of accidentally throwing away things you actually need, and keeping things that you don’t need will be much smaller.