Frescura, the 5Ss and Muda
The 5Ss methodology expresses, more than any other system inherent to the Toyota Production System, the essence of Japanese mentality: eliminating everything that is waste (Muda). In Frescura we have applied the 5Ss methodology to the manufacturing process, reorganising it with a view to eliminating everything that is not strictly appropriate to the activity undertaken and which does not create value for the customer.
 
Origin and meaning of the term
The 5Ss method draws its origins from the initial letters of the five Japanese words which summarise the five steps that embody the methodology:

1. Seiri- sorting: sorting what is needed from what is not functional to the task and is therefore creating disruption, confusion, disorder, and so, a waste of time and resources.
2. Seiton- setting: this could be translated with the old aphorism "everything in its place and a place for everything";
3. Seiso- shining: dirt and disorder always conceals inefficiencies. A tidy, clean environment encourages quality;
4. Seiketsu- standardising: each step in a manufacturing process must be conducted by repetitive and standardised methodologies, in such a way as to reduce times and variables;
5. Shitsuke– spreading: creating across the company a widespread culture of this way of thinking and acting.

The 5Ss methodology has thereby become the basis for the spread within Frescura of a mentality linked to continuous improvement, to ensure that day after day, in our processes, other Muda ready to be eliminated can be discovered. The success of this approach is mainly down to its simplicity, which allows all personnel to play a dynamic role in improving their own tasks and workstations.
Muda: muda is the Japanese term that identifies pointless activities which do not add value or are unproductive and form part of the lean concepts at the basis of theToyota Production System. The TPS identifies seven types of waste.

The Seven Wastes
The following "seven wastes" recognise and classify occurrences that are usually classified as wastes. They were identified by Toyota’s Chief Engineer, Taiichi Ohno, as part of the Toyota Production System:

Defects: defects in quality lead the customer to reject the product. The effort spent in creating these defects is a waste.
Overproduction: overproduction is production or purchasing of goods before they have actually been requested. It is a very dangerous type of waste for companies as it tends to hide production problems. The excess has to be warehoused, managed and protected, generating further waste.
Transportation and internal movement: every time a product is transferred it risks being damaged, lost or delayed, etc. It thereby becomes a cost which does not produce value. Transportation does not introduce any change to the product for which the customer is willing to pay.
Waiting: this refers both to the time spent by workers waiting for the resource to be available and the capital tied up in goods and services which have not yet been delivered to the customer.
Stock: stock, whether in the form of raw materials, materials being processed, or finished products, represents capital that has not yet produced any gain both for the manufacturer and for the customer. Each of these three categories that have not yet been processed to produce value is a waste.
Motion: this is similar to transportation but refers, rather than to the products, to the workers and machines. These can suffer damage, wear or safety problems.
Unnecessarily expensive processes: using more expensive resources than are necessary for production activities or adding more functions, beyond those originally requested by the customer, only produces waste. There is a particular problem in that sense which relates to operators. Operators who are overqualified for the activities they undertake generate costs in maintaining their skills which is wasted when they undertake lower-skilled activities.