Within the past two years, GMI has undergone an amazing internal face lift. GMI has invested in new equipment and replaced older equipment, added new square footage and renovated older areas. In addition, GMI launched an aggressive schedule to implement a shop floor management tool which will offer management dash board controls and evolve GMI into a paperless work place. Finally, GMI has aggressively pursued energy efficiency and environmental sustainability projects under its IS014001 initiative.

All of these efforts were to set the stage for our next initiative: 5S+1. The five S’s represent Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standard and Sustain. The +1 S that GMI has emphasized since the company’s beginnings 31 years ago – SAFETY! (0 time lost due to safety related incidents).

SORT means that you remove all items from the workplace that are not needed for current production operations. The principle is “only what is needed, only in the amounts needed and only when needed”.

SET in Order means arranging needed items so that they are easy to use and labeled so that anyone can find them and put them away. The key here is eliminating waste in motion, searching, human energy, excess inventory, defective products and unsafe conditions.

SHINE is the removal of dirt, grime and dust from the workplace. The key is to turn the workplace into a clean, bright spot that is in top condition and a place where everyone will enjoy working.

STANDARDIZE is the method we use to maintain and integrate the first three pillars.

The fifth pillar is SUSTAIN; this means to make a habit of properly maintaining correct procedures.

It takes a dedicated, empowered and disciplined staff to sustain and maintain the 5s platform. Now that GMI has its facility optimized, GMI plans on launching the 5S+1 initiative this current fiscal year.