Implementation of 5S in a plastic bag manufacturing industry: A case study

Two of the eight wastes included in the lean manufacturing concept are ‘Waiting’ and ‘Motion’. They waste precious operating time and slow down the manufacturing cycle. The major purpose of this study is to use 5S, a lean manufacturing strategy, for reducing these two wastes. The study was conducted at a plastic bag manufacturing company in Bangladesh. The manufacturing process of plastic bags consists of three operations: blowing, printing, and sealing. All activities and sub-processes were recorded, examined, and classified into value-adding and non-value-adding operations, with idle times calculated for each operation. An appropriate step-by-step 5S technique was developed and executed to improve the operational efficiency of the blowing and printing operations by eliminating extra motions and waiting time spent searching for tools. Following the deployment of 5S in these areas, the total operational time was reduced by 8% for blowing and 18% for printing. The assessment was carried out satisfactorily and is documented in this report. Through this study, a window of opportunity for improvement has been explored, which may motivate other researchers to consider applying the 5S tool in their particular research areas as a tool to reduce non-value-adding operational time.