In brief
5S is known as a productivity method, yet each of its steps directly reduces a specific type of accident: sorting targets fire load and obstructions, setting in order targets searching and struck-by accidents, and shining targets slips and hidden faults. Combining the 5S audit with the OHS site walk on a single form removes the burden of two separate audits and makes it easier to follow up findings.
What is 5S, and why does the 5S method matter for workplace safety?
5S is a workplace organisation method that spread from the Japanese production system and consists of five steps: Sort (Seiri), Set in order (Seiton), Shine (Seiso), Standardise (Seiketsu) and Sustain (Shitsuke). Some companies add safety as a separate step and call it 6S. In fact, the 5S method is already a safety tool in its own right; rather than adding a separate "S", it is more productive to see which accident each step prevents.
5S is not named in the legislation, but it has a legal equivalent. Art. 5 of the Regulation on Health and Safety Measures in Workplace Buildings and Annexes requires the employer to keep emergency exit routes and doors usable at all times and to organise the workplace in a way that does not create health and safety risks. Annex 1 of the same regulation requires floors to be sound, dry and non-slip, and access routes to be free of unevenness and slippery surfaces. Housekeeping in OHS is therefore not a matter of "appearance" but the on-site expression of a legal obligation.
In most automotive supplier plants in Bursa, 5S is already applied because of customer audits. This article explains how to combine your existing 5S work with OHS.
Sort: removing the unnecessary, reducing the fire load
Sorting means removing everything that is not needed in the work area: broken fixtures, unused dies, excess stock, empty packaging, scrap. In practice the "red tag" method is used; material whose fate cannot be decided is tagged, moved to a designated area and decided on after a set period.
Sorting contributes to OHS in three ways:
- The fire load falls. Cardboard, pallets, oily rags and excess chemicals make it easier for a fire both to start and to grow.
- Escape routes open up. A pallet left "temporarily" in a corridor often becomes permanent.
- The chemical inventory shrinks. Unused chemicals carry storage and incompatibility risks for no reason.
Set in order: a place for everything, a line for every route
Setting in order means putting everything that remains in a defined, marked and easily accessible place. Shadow boards, shelf labels, floor lines and colour codes are the tools of this step.
From an OHS perspective, the biggest gain is the reduction of searching-related accidents. Stepping on a stool or the bottom shelf of a rack to reach up for a fixture, reaching under a running machine, or squeezing through a narrow gap all stem from "not knowing where it is". In addition:
- Pedestrian and forklift routes are separated by floor lines; for details see our article on the forklift and pedestrian traffic plan in the warehouse.
- The areas in front of fire extinguishers, electrical panels and emergency exits are marked with hatching and kept clear.
- Heavy parts sit at waist height; light and rarely used items go on the upper shelves.
- Cables and hoses are routed overhead or through ducts so that they do not cross walkways.
Shine: cleaning is an inspection
On a line where the shine step is applied well, cleaning is also a check. The operator wiping down the machine is the first to notice dripping hydraulic oil, a loose bolt, a cracked hose or a guard that has moved out of place. That is why, in 5S, cleaning is not about "removing dirt" but about making abnormalities visible.
Points to watch from an OHS perspective:
- Find the source. If oil on the floor is wiped up every day, the problem is not the cleaning but the leak. Contamination whose source is not eliminated recreates the slip risk every shift.
- Isolate energy before cleaning machines. Cleaning close to moving parts is done only after the machine has been stopped and locked out; for details see our article on lockout and tagout.
- Do not clean clothing or workbenches with compressed air. Chips and dust are blown into the eyes and the air; use a brush, broom or extraction.
- Do not let dust accumulate. Combustible dust building up on beams and ducts is a fire and explosion risk.
For other causes of slips, trips and falls, see our article on preventing slips, trips and falls.
Standardise and Sustain: making order permanent
The sort, set in order and shine steps can be completed within a week; the hard part is keeping the order in place three months later. Standardising ensures that everyone sees the "should be" state in the same way: a photograph of the station hangs on the board, the cleaning plan states who does what and when, and at shift handover the station is handed over against this standard.
Sustaining is about behaviour and depends on managers being visible on the shop floor. Short weekly walks, sharing results on the board and making good examples visible turn 5S from a campaign into a habit. Near miss reports should also be reviewed as part of this step; most near misses are the first sign of order breaking down. We describe the reporting system in our article on the near miss reporting system.
The effect of 5S by accident type
| Accident type | Most influential step | What it looks like on site |
|---|---|---|
| Slips, trips and falls | Shine, Set in order | Eliminating the source of leaks; removing cables and hoses from walkways |
| Struck-by and caught-between | Set in order | Separating pedestrian and forklift routes, limiting stacking height |
| Falling materials | Set in order, Standardise | Shelf labels and capacity markings, heavy items on the lower shelves |
| Fire | Sort, Shine | Daily removal of combustible waste, cleaning up dust build-up |
| Searching-related accidents | Set in order | Shadow boards, labelled shelves, fixed tool locations |
| Difficult evacuation | Sort, Set in order | Keeping the areas in front of emergency exits and escape routes clear |
For escape route dimensions and door rules see our article on escape route and emergency exit rules, and for general fire checks see the workplace fire prevention checklist.
Combining the 5S audit with the OHS site walk
In many plants the quality team carries out the 5S audit and the OHS specialist carries out the OHS site walk; both come to the same station on different days with different forms. This tires employees and scatters the findings. A more efficient approach is to add the OHS equivalent to each item on a single 5S audit form. A sample form might start like this:
| Item | 5S step | OHS equivalent | Score (0–4) |
|---|---|---|---|
| No unused fixtures, scrap or excess stock at the station | Sort | Fire load, tripping | |
| Escape route and area in front of emergency exit clear | Sort | Evacuation | |
| Tools on the shadow board, none missing | Set in order | Searching accident | |
| Pedestrian and forklift route lines clear | Set in order | Struck-by | |
| Area in front of extinguisher and panel hatched and clear | Set in order | Fire, electrical | |
| No oil, water or chips on the floor; if present, the source is known | Shine | Slipping | |
| Machine guards in place, not left removed after cleaning | Shine | Limb entrapment | |
| Station photograph and cleaning plan up to date | Standardise | Continuous control | |
| Findings from the previous audit closed | Sustain | Follow-up |
Follow three rules in the combined audit:
- Track the trend, not the score. A station's one-off score says little; the monthly trend shows whether order is deteriorating. For indicators, see our article on OHS performance indicators.
- Record with photographs. Before and after photographs show beyond dispute that a finding has been closed.
- Report OHS findings separately in writing. Significant OHS deficiencies found on the form should also appear among the specialist's written findings and recommendations to the employer.
As part of its OHS specialist services, Bursa Sistemer adapts site walks to the company's existing 5S system; in automotive supplier plants it handles the audit form together with customer requirements. You can plan audit dates with the OHS calendar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 5S a legal requirement?
5S is not mandatory by name. However, the employer is obliged to organise the workplace so that it does not create risks, to keep emergency exits usable and to keep floors non-slip and even; 5S is a practical way of meeting these obligations.
How many items should a 5S audit form have?
10–15 items per station are enough. As the number of items grows, the audit takes longer and the form stops being filled in; every item should be linked to an accident type.
Can the 5S audit and the OHS site walk be carried out by the same person?
Yes; with a combined form, the department manager and the OHS specialist can carry out the walk together. The specialist's statutory findings and recommendations are still reported to the employer separately in writing.
What is the difference between 6S and 5S?
6S adds safety to 5S as a separate step. In practice, the difference is whether safety is handled as a separate heading or within each step; the second approach makes it easier for people to take ownership of findings.
A certified specialist matched to your hazard class: site inspections, approved logbook, training plan, annual plan and report follow-up.
Bursa SİSTEMER OSGB Technical Team — written from the field experience of our OHS specialists and workplace physicians. Legal information is valid as of the publication/update date; contact us for an assessment specific to your business.