A buddy of mine said his factory is using 5S to control safety. What is 5S?

The Safety Exchange Says: The 5S system is a lean manufacturing concept that applies mostly to housekeeping, and therefore it can influence workplace safety. Five S stands for five Japanese terms (or their English equivalent): seiri (sort), seiton (straighten), seiso (shine), seiketsu (standardize), and shitsuke (sustain). The first four are the fundamentals of 5S and the fifth says that these concepts must become routine.

A sixth interesting Japanese term you should know is kaizen. This word translates to “improvement.” Every brewery safety program grows in its effectiveness through kaizen. Kampai!