5S and the Red Tag Strategy

The "Red Tag Strategy" is implemented in the first phase, or sorting phase, of any 5S implementation. Its effects are seen immediately throughout any facility with little or no cost, helping to reduce inventory, improve clerical efficiency and increase productivity throughout.

Red tags are placed on all equipment and tools that are not deemed necessary for a product cycle, thereby eliminating clutter and unwanted or unnecessary items and tools. They are moved to a red tag area for further discussion, warehoused, or discarded. A red tag area may be a local, temporary place for storage of tools or items that may be needed "once in a while", but eventually (and the sooner the better) they must find their place, "when in doubt, throw it out."

The Japanese word for "red" is "dirt", and to remove dirt from a factory helps for several reasons (some obvious). But in this sense, it's for sorting and removal of unnecessary items. Red tags are conspicuous, like stop signs, and help employees realize just how much clutter can be accumulated, and just how much space gets wasted over time.

Like spring and fall cleaning, a good red tag strategy launches no less than twice a year, and the best implementation will be ongoing. The period lasts one to two months based on how many red tag projects have already been implemented. Red tags should be attached by workers outside of their normal divisions, so they have a fresh eye to an area, and no personal ties to those specific tools and equipment.

One reason the "Red Tag Strategy" is so important is that workers tend to "personalize" or get attached to tools and equipment. They often have a hard time determining what is necessary for the production cycle of the product and what is not. There is a natural tendency to want to keep tools and other equipment around "just in case".

Another reason is that some manufacturing facilities or plants have been around for a long time; some may be 100 years old or older. If there are several shifts working for many years, and many different workers throughout that time, different people may hang on to different items. Accumulation can happen quickly, or slowly, over a long time period of time, but it happens.

Target places in the factory for the "Red Tag Strategy" include inventory, machinery, equipment and space in general, such as floors and shelving. A criterion is established prior to implementation of the process, and then the red tag must be filled out properly for inventory purposes; or the item is simply thrown away. You can find red tags and other 5S and lean manufacturing signs, tags and Store-Boards™ at Accuform Signs. For more information on the "Red Tag Strategy" read 5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace.