In order to properly follow through with seiton you are going to need to make sure that you have first successfully completed seiri. The reason for this is that seiri actually leads into seiton, so you cannot do one without having done the other first. Whereas seiri involves getting rid of the things that you do not need or want seiton is concerned with leaving things tidy and available where and when you need items.

Basically seiton means neatly putting things away after you have used them. And in seiton in order to put things away neatly after you have used them you are going to need to follow three basic rules. The three basic rules that you are going to need to follow are: Decide where things belong Decide how things should be put away follow the putting away rules so that you can leave things where they belong. And by leaving things where they belong they can be found quickly and properly the next time somebody needs them

The objective for this phase of the 5 S program is that everything has a place and that everything should be put into its place. This is actually accomplished through properly identifying and labeling items in the workplace.

Similar to seiri there are two main parts to seiton. The first part is putting everything in its proper place. And the second part is to set up some kind of system that makes it easy for anybody to return each item to its proper place, not just the people who regularly use that item. The second part of is where good labeling practices and identification practices are very important. The reason for this is that everything that you use and their proper storage locations need to be clearly identified and labeled so that people can make sure that they return the item to its proper place so it can easily be found the next time somebody needs to use it.

Here are some things that you need to keep in mind when it comes to seiton.

• When setting up the put away rules you are going to want to do an analysis of how the items are used. You are going to want to pay close attention to when and how they are picked up and used because this is the primary driver of how and where they are put away.
• If confusion exists about an item or there is the potential for confusion to exit then you are going to want to identify the object in some special way. The reason for this is if you uniquely mark an item that can be confused with other items then when you go to look for that item it will be easy to find, which saves you time from looking but also helps to prevent mistakes from being made from grabbing the wrong item.
• Labeling and naming should be standardized, meaning make sure that you call all of the same tools or materials the same thing each time you refer to them and then label them with that same name.
• When labeling an item make sure that you use something for naming that cannot get lost, such as paint instead of paper labels. Also write labels clearly so that they can be read at an appropriate distance.
• If you are going to be changing the labels on a regular basis you are going to want to ensure that you are using the correct fixing system. If the sign is going to be permanent you can use something like screws or nails to hold it in place. But if you are going to be changing it monthly or even weekly you want to use something like a clip or a slotted holder.
• Make sure that the item and the storage location match. Some ways that you can do this are to write the same name on both the item and the storage location. You can paint the outline of the tool on the tool storage board, which also allows you to see when a tool is missing. You can cut the outline of an item out of foam if it is breakable. Or anything else that you can think of.
• Marks and signs on walls and floors can be used to indicate walkways, storage areas, special usage, etc. Or you can paint areas of the floor or even complete areas of the floor different colors to symbolize what each section is for, such as rest areas, hazardous areas, etc
• Neaten up wires and cables so that they are not laying on floors or on walls, the best place to put wires and cables is in overhead channeling. The reason for this is that they can get tangled and hard to find in buried ducts, but if they are loose or stapled to the floors they can get damaged or tripped on, not to mention that it looks tacky.
• Make sure that you also cover cleaning when you are developing the put away rules. You want to make sure that the things you are putting away are clean and free from any hazardous materials, but you also want to make sure that you are not putting back any damaged tools. And when you clean the tools you can tell whether they are damaged or not.
• Make sure that you are balancing the storage space with things that need to get stored. The reason that this is so important is that if you have unused storage space you are actually wasting space. But yet at the same time cramming things together to make sure everything fits won't work either. The reason for that is because it can make it hard to find what you are looking for or make it hard to reach the item that you need. But not only that it could cause damage to the items that you are storing.
• When you are working on storing your items one thing that you want to keep in mind is what will happen if you go to get something and it is not there. You want to think about what you are going to do in this case, basically what kind of a back up paln are you going to have. If it is a critical item then you are going to need to make sure that you have easy access to the back-up items, either in a storage cupboard or buying them through another supplier.
• Make sure that the storage that you are using in your company is considered safe. You want it to be safe for the item being stored, but you also want it to be safe for the people who are using it. This means that it protects the item being stored and prevents people from getting hurt when they go to get the item that they need. What you want to look for is sharp corners, avoiding stooping and lifting whenever you can. But most importantly you want to avoid making the storage areas unstable from stacking heavy items on the tops of things.

Here are the things that an auditor is going to look for in an audit of your 5 S program.

• Direction indication are available to all facilities from the entrance onwards o
• Main entrance onwards
• Inside all of the shop
• To all facilities, toilets, etc
• All machines have identification labels
• All buildings, rooms, cubicles and similar areas are clearly numbered or named
• Rooms, departments, units marked
• Toilets, canteens, etc marked
• All equipment, tools, files etc are arranged to the `can see', `can take out', `can return' principle and file index maintained
• Outlines marked
• File index available
• There are visual control methods for defects
• Marking to prevent mix-up
• Markings to enable display highlighting magnitudes
• All gangway areas are clearly marked and respected
• Passageways without any materials
• Platforms in straight line
• Direction of travel arrows
• Parking areas are specified and marked for pallets trolleys, garbage bins, vehicles, etc
• Reserved seat method for all movable items
• Specific areas are demarcated for garbage, rejects, waste, etc
• Switches, fan regulators, controls etc labeled
• All cables, wires, pipes, etc are neat
• Color coding is used effectively for easy identification
• All fixtures are well maintained with identification
• There is a general appearance of orderliness and ability to find any item/document without delay

One thing that you have probably noticed is that seiton actually fits rather neatly into seiri and the reason for this is that being organized and being neat actually go hand in hand. So rather than worrying about what goes into seiri and what goes into seiton you should actually use them to reinforce each other and implement the whole thing.