Unit of competency details

Elements describe the essential outcomes of a unit of competency.

Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. Where bold italicised text is used, further information is detailed in the required skills and knowledge section and the range statement. Assessment of performance is to be consistent with the evidence guide.

1

Plan for 5S implementation

1.1

Facilitate agreement within the team on prioritising and scheduling the application of 5S across target work areas

1.2

Assist the team to identify own and office team functions in the target work areas in terms of internal and/or external customer requirements

1.3

Assist team to identify how their own and office team tasks contribute to the office functions

1.4

Establish communication and reporting processes with team

1.5

Facilitate management support for 5S

2

Facilitate the set-up of 5S

2.1

Assist team members to determine what are necessary and unnecessary items in the work area

2.2

Assist team members to determine optimum assigned location for all necessary items

2.3

Liaise with relevant production and occupational health and safety (OHS) personnel to determine optimum locations

2.4

Assist team members to determine the appropriate place for unnecessary items

2.5

Assist team members to determine 5S schedule

3

Facilitate the implementation of 5S

3.1

Ensure procedures reflect 5S practices

3.2

Assess skill base of team members in 5S and arrange for any required training

3.3

Ensure that any damage and/or safety risks reported by the team are addressed through correct mechanisms

4

Monitor 5S

4.1

Check work area for 5S implementation as part of normal routine

4.2

Identify non-conformances

4.3

Negotiate solutions to non-conformances

5

Improve 5S

5.1

Work with team members to find areas for improvement

5.2

Assist team members to develop improvement solutions

5.3

Facilitate the availability of resources required for the improvement solution

5.4

Facilitate the implementation of the improvement solution

This section describes the skills and knowledge required for this unit.

Required skills 

Required skills include:

• communicating with team members and managers to engender commitment to achieving 5S outcomes, conduct formal and informal meetings and to explain 5S and related concepts
• facilitating team goals, activities and communications and accessing resources
• visualising normal office procedures in terms of flow and contribution to customer outcomes
• planning and prioritising team activities
• problem solving to determine potential improvements to the 5S system
• reading and interpreting the application of office-related procedures
• analysing work practices, procedures and 5S principles to facilitate setting up the 5S system and to identify improvements
• identifying gaps in skills and/or knowledge and options to address them

Required knowledge 

Required knowledge includes:

• principles and purpose of 5S
• types of office waste (muda)
• methods of identifying waste in the work area, such as:

• waste walk
• document tagging
• tracking/log sheets
• spaghetti diagrams
• monitoring and data gathering systems used by an organisation, such as customer relationship management (CRM) database, accounting packages, business intelligence or other office process-related database programs and proprietary systems which are used within an organisation and which require office input

• organisational policies, plans and procedures
• methods of identifying and evaluating options
• OHS requirements relevant to the target work areas
• principles of efficient workplace organisation

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit 

A person who demonstrates competency in this unit must be able to provide evidence of the ability to:

• identify the scope of the services and/or functions supplied by the office and the deliverables expected by customers
• facilitate systematic approach to identifying and reducing office muda in work areas
• lead and motivate others in achieving 5S outcomes and make improvements to the 5S systems
• set up systems for monitoring and improving 5S implementation in an office
• manage non-conformances in implementation of 5S.

Context of and specific resources for assessment 

Assessment of performance must be undertaken in a workplace using or implementing one or more competitive systems and practices.

Access may be required to:

• workplace procedures and plans relevant to work area
• specifications and documentation relating to planned, currently being implemented, or implemented changes to work processes and procedures relevant to the assessee
• documentation and information in relation to production, waste, overheads and hazard control/management
• reports from supervisors/managers
• case studies and scenarios to assess responses to contingencies.

Method of assessment 

A holistic approach should be taken to the assessment.

Competence in this unit may be assessed by using a combination of the following to generate evidence:

• demonstration in the workplace
• workplace projects
• suitable simulation
• case studies/scenarios (particularly for assessment of contingencies, improvement scenarios, and so on)
• targeted questioning
• reports from supervisors, peers and colleagues (third-party reports)
• portfolio of evidence.

In all cases it is expected that practical assessment will be combined with targeted questioning to assess underpinning knowledge.

Where applicable, reasonable adjustment must be made to work environments and training situations to accommodate ethnicity, age, gender, demographics and disability.

Guidance information for assessment 

Assessment processes and techniques must be culturally appropriate and appropriate to the oracy, language and literacy capacity of the candidate and the work being performed.

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Competitive systems and practices 

Competitive systems and practices may include, but are not limited to:

• lean operations
• agile operations
• preventative and predictive maintenance approaches
• monitoring and data gathering systems, such as CRM database, accounting packages, business Intelligence or other office process-related database programs
• statistical process control systems, including six sigma and three sigma
• Just in Time (JIT), kanban and other pull-related operations control systems
• supply, value, and demand chain monitoring and analysis
• 5S
• continuous improvement (kaizen)
• breakthrough improvement (kaizen blitz)
• cause/effect diagrams
• takt time
• process mapping
• problem solving
• run charts
• standard procedures
• current reality tree

Competitive systems and practices should be interpreted so as to take into account:

• the stage of implementation of competitive systems and practices
• the size of the enterprise
• the work organisation, culture, regulatory environment and the industry sector

5S  

5S primarily covers organising how work is done. In the office environment it usually focuses on the physical and/or virtual work space to ensure that information, equipment, materials needed for the job are available where and when they are needed. Originally developed in Japan it is based around five housekeeping principles, usually translated as:

• sort
• set in order
• shine
• standardise
• sustain

Sort 

Sort involves keeping only what is absolutely necessary for the processes in the work area. Sort includes.

• clearing the work area of all non-essential equipment and materials

Non-essential items are those not required to conduct the office related processes or operations, or to make required adjustments to office equipment.

Set in order 

Set in order includes:

• assigning required equipment and materials appropriate locations in the work area

Shine 

Shine includes:

• keeping the work area clean at all times. This should be carried out to a regular daily schedule against allowed time and, on most occasions, at the end of a job

Cleaning includes:

• noting any signs of wear, damage, leakage, safety risks or other issues that require immediate attention

Standardise 

Standardising includes:

• activities that help maintain the order and the housekeeping standards
• using procedures and checklists developed from a procedure

Sustain 

Sustain includes:

• making sure that daily activities are completed every day regardless of circumstance
• undertaking inspections, including:

• informal inspections of work spaces, office equipment, storage and records and other office facilities that should be carried often, at least weekly

• generating continuous improvement actions from daily activities
• formal inspections that should be carried out at least monthly

Items in work area 

Items in an office work area include all equipment and accessories, including:

• office supplies
• materials
• paperwork
• furniture
• storage systems and cabinets
• lighting, wiring, plumbing and other services designed to support a working environment in the office
• manuals
• personal items (e.g. bags, phones, lunch boxes, clothing, photos and ornaments)
• safety and personal protective equipment
• any other item which happens to be in the work area

Team 

The term team is used to apply to all individuals in the target office work area who are involved in the implementation of 5S. The team may or may not be a formally designated team working to a team leader

Work area 

The work area includes:

• all areas where aspects of the job are performed and that are under the direct control of the employee. In a team environment 5S should be applied to all work areas under the control of the team

Target work area 

The target work area may be identified as a physical and/or virtual work space:

• used by a person, a team or a cross-functional group
• common to part/s of a process or value stream (already defined)
• shared by people who undertake a defined procedure or set of procedures
• needed to support a particular function

Appropriate place 

Appropriate places may include areas designated for:

• recycling
• rubbish removal
• staff room/lunch room/kitchen
• office supplies, filing and other storage
• functions, such as printing/copying
• holding until status is confirmed

Optimum assigned location 

The optimum assigned location may include:

• making changes to the layout of furniture, equipment and personnel in order to facilitate the smooth and continuous flow of work through process steps taking into account OHS considerations

Management support 

Management support for the 5S implementation may include, as required:

• provision of facilities for meetings, records and communications
• release for training when needed
• support and authorisations for changes when required
• financial resources for any new or modified equipment
• any other support outside of that able to be generated within the 5S implementation group

Procedures 

Procedures may include:

• work instructions
• standard operating procedures
• checklists
• regulations
• standards
• guides and similar instructions that define the performance of the job

Procedures may be:

• written, computer-based, visual depictions or in some other format

Non-conformance 

Non-conformance includes:

• incorrect or incomplete application of 5S procedures, including any daily tasks, scheduled inspections and continuous improvement procedures

Unit sector

Competitive systems and practices