Date of Conferral

2016

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Lilburn Hoehn

Abstract

The 5S process is one of the techniques born out of Japanese manufacturing. Ohno, the developer of 5S, found that when manufacturing waste is eliminated, costs are reduced and profits increase. This is the bases of 5S and this research. The cost of U.S. manufactured products is higher compared to the cost of products from other global manufacturers that use 5S. This study was conducted to determine if implementing 5S in U.S. manufacturing could change U.S. manufacturing cost and if using 5S could impact U.S. manufacturing. The research questions focused on the relationship between 5S and changeover/setup times on production machines. The method was quantitative utilizing a quasi-experimental pretest/posttest design. Three manufacturing companies in Oregon made up the sample. A baseline 5S scorecard was completed recording changeover/ setup times on production machines at each of the companies. Interviews were conducted in a 30-minute training intervention on implementing 5S at each company location. Using a 5S scorecard, the waste in each company was assessed once every 2 weeks for 4 months. The number of 5S assessments varied based on the time each company location took to implement 5S. Once 5S was implemented fully, changeover/setup times for each machine were measured and analyzed using z or t statistics. Results showed a significant (p < .05) decrease to changeover/setup times at 2 companies, supporting the hypothesis that 5S could reduce cost in US manufacturing. Positive social change may be possible when showing how 5S can decrease changeover/setup times providing more production time and reducing overhead cost going into U.S. manufactured products, which in turn makes them more competitive in the global marketplace and potentially brings manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.

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