5s master that doesn’t practice 5s

A-not-so-uncommon Vietnamese manufacturer director weakness

“I’m a master level of 5s,” said the production director of a big copper valve manufacturer.
 

And I absolutely believe the man. He’s mid-thirty, top grad, 5 years as an assistant manager in Samsung electronic. Personally, he got everything, knowledge, experience, training, and certification. He’s definitely someone I would like to work with.
 

They are a big company, revenue ~US$50mil annually, with a 3-levels factory not far from Hanoi. They can extrude 16 tons of copper alloy per week for their own production. Making millions of valves per year, they are the number one water valve manufacturer in Vietnam and exceed the second by a fair distance. That’s certainly a business to be proud of.
 

However, water leaks everywhere, un-used machines covered with nylon canvas on the line. WIP and stocks in the millions of US dollars.
 

“We need 10 Samsung managers to do proper 5s,” said the man. Sigh… I believe he’s being honest.

 

What do you think that causes this? shouldn’t they or should they not try to do a proper 5s program? How can they do it most effectively?