New 5S Challenge Rewards Teams with Free Lunch

Safety and Quality begin with 5S, so in the HVAC assembly area,  they’re finding new ways to make 5S fun and rewarding.

A new 5S challenge, called “What’s in the Box?” rewards a team with free lunch for practicing perfect 5S in their area.

Lead Associate Sabino Lopez helps lead his area to perfect 5S during his turn to inspect the HVAC work area.

Once per rotation, a different associate does a thorough walk-through of the line. The associate is responsible to pick up anything they find on the floor and put it in the box. This could be anything from a screw, to a hair tie, to a scrap of paper.

“They know we’ll come around with the box, so it helps everyone keep their area clean,” said Lead Associate Sabino Lopez.

At the end of each shift the Team Leader reviews “what’s in the box” with the team. This helps them understand why objects were on the floor, and kaizen their processes to prevent it in the future.

The goal is an empty box. Once the team achieves this, management does a line inspection. The team earns a free lunch if the management also comes up with an empty box.

Each time a team reaches a milestone, they receive a new goal to continuously improve 5S.

“We knew the challenge was helping associates accomplish exactly what they wanted when 5S didn’t drop off, even after the free lunch,” said Eric Cole, HVAC Team Leader.