For many locations - a scheduled shutdown occurs at least 1 or 2 times per year. Generally - the times around 4th of July and Christmas.

Although it varies location to location - these two times of the year are traditionally the most unstaffed.  This is in part to the holidays they surround, children being out of school, and/or people taking vacations.

These shutdowns are done for various reasons - including (but not limited to) deep cleaning/organization, maintenance/repair of equipment, inventory, inspection, and safety implementation.

By having the regular production staff off - it's much easier to complete the tasks above.  The staff is out of the way for cleaning/organization, won't be inconvenienced or slowed down from doing their regular tasks, and are out of harm's way for any other tasks that go along with the shutdown maintenance.

As providers of Mighty Line Safety and Organization Products - 5S Warehouse's involvement with scheduled shutdowns occurs throughout the entire process.

From a safety standpoint alone - the process begins with a detailed plan on the health and environmental needs that have to addressed and implemented. This could include any of the following:

Travel Lane and Corridor Marking

Safety Tape, Footprints, Dots, and Arrows

Pallet Marking

Angles and T’s

Color Coding of Specific Areas

Yellow - Caution, such as Pedestrian Walk/Aisle Ways

Red - Safety Areas, such as Emergency Exit Ways and Do Not Block Fire Extinguishers

White - Productions Equipment, such as Machines, Carts, or Incoming Racks

Green - Safety Related Equipment/Raw Material Areas, such as Eye Wash Stations and Spillage Showers

Orange - Parts for Machinery Areas

Blue - Work in Progress Area or Equipment Under Repair Zone

Black - Finished Goods Area

Yellow/Black - Extra Caution Areas, such as Pedestrian Walk/Aisle Ways

Red/White - Safety Equipment Areas, such as Fire Extinguishers, Electrical Panels, and AED Machines.

Signage

STOP
Do Not Block - Fire Extinguishers and Electrical Panels
Pedestrian Crossing
Tow Motor Crossing
DO NOT ENTER
Eye Wash Stations
Hearing Protection Required
First Aid
Emergency Evacuation Route
No Parking
No Smoking
Safety Glasses Required
Slippery Area
Protective Mask Required
Steel Toe Shoes Required
Fire Extinguisher
Fire Exits
Trash
Recycling
AED/Oxygen
Hard Hat Required

As you can imagine - making sure EVERYTHING is marked and identified properly, is quite a process to complete!  And it's one that never ends. All of this planned maintenance revolves around the 5S (PLUS Safety) Methodology and Kaizen. In essence, it’s all about a place for everything, everything in its place, and continuous improvement.

It’s accomplished with the above-mentioned 5S Methodology.

Sort (Seiri): Sort and categorize items and separate what is needed – allowing only the bare essentials needed for operation and removing everything else. The elimination of excessive items frees up space, saves time, improves process flow, and allows staff to operate efficiently.

Straighten or Set in Order (Seiton): Arrange items that are needed so that they are easy to locate, transport and use. Identify locations for all items so that anyone can find them. Once the task is completed, return the items to specified locations.

Shine (Seiso): Clean the workplace and equipment on a regular basis in order to increase safety, maintain standards and identify defects.

Standardize (Seiketsu): Revisit the first three of the 5S on a regular and frequent basis and evaluate the condition of the workplace.

Sustain (Shitsuke): Maintain the standard and improve every day.