M.M. Shahriar et al.
Cleaner Engineering and Technology 8 (2022) 100488
Fig. 1. The plastic bag production process flow chart.
Fig. 2. Arrangement of sizers in rack before implementing 5S (The large sizers
are at the top of the rack, as shown by the red rectangle). (For interpretation of
the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web
version of this article.)
the roll poly. This section is the last operation in the manufacturing of
plastic bags. Two types of sealing operations, bottom sealing and side
sealing, are performed according to customer requirements. In the
context of the bottom sealing, the heater and the cutting blade are ar­
ranged in a row. The up and down movement of the blades is regulated
by the length of the plastic bag. On the other hand, a heater is used to
make joints on both sides and to cut a poly roll for side sealing opera­
tions. The movement of the heater up and down is regulated by the
width of the plastic bag. For this process, a flap can be put in a plastic
bag. In order to provide a small hole for a plastic bag, a punch machine is
mounted in the room so that air can be released from the plastic bag.
Fig. 5 shows the operating process flow of the sealing process with the
time required.
The sealing operation is simple and automatic. For development
purposes, the authors did not consider any such areas to be updated in
this process. Operators were discovered to be making needless motions
and wasting time when searching for sizers in blowing and blocks in
printing. The average search time for each sizer was 105 s (Fig. 3) and
437 s for each printing block (Fig. 4). Those issues were studied by the
author, and it was found that the high search time was due to the
inorganization of the printing blocks and the sizer. This was not only
about consuming precious working time, but it also posed health con­
cerns. The sizers were randomly stored, and there were no sequences for
keeping them in the rack (Fig. 5). Rather, the large sizers were placed on
the upper part of the rack, which could fall down when searching and
could cause an accident (Fig. 5, marked by the red square). This has been
influenced by the changeover time. These three primary operations have
5
a number of sub-processes that require more time to execute. Searching
for large weight sizers in blowing and tiny blocks in printing, for
example, occupies important operating time and leaves workers
fatigued and demotivated.
The principles of Time-Based Competition (TBC) and Quick Response
Manufacturing (QRM) are used to reduce cycle time (Filho and Saes,
2013), where these terms refer to any strategy that emphasizes time as
the most important factor in achieving manufacturing excellence. VSM
is a useful method for identifying waste from both value-added and
non-value-added activities by accurately mapping all processes, sub­
processes, material and information flow, and inventory levels at
various stages (Ismail et al., 2014). Not only does it focus on identifying
value-adding and non-value-adding operations in processes, but it also
checks for process gaps and work-in-process (WIP) inventories that in­
crease the overall process time and inventory costs (Saraswat et al.,
2015). In this research, simple process sequence charts were utilized to
achieve the same purpose (identifying value-adding and
non-value-adding operations). Blowing and printing are each counted as
separate steps. A single blowing machine is used for the blowing oper­
ation, and a single printing machine is used for the printing activity,
both of which require two operators to operate. There are no sub­
processes or sub inventories involved that can be visualized using VSM.
As a result, the authors discovered that depicting the processes through a
process sequence chart using a time and motion study would be feasible.
5.2. 5S implementation in the Sizer storing area
5.2.1. Sorting
The first step in the implementation of 5S in this area was to sort out
the required and unnecessary items. But there were no unnecessary
items found in this section that could be removed from that area. There
are other questions that need to be answered in section 4.1.1, which is
the frequency of the sizers used in a certain period. For this purpose, the
data of the sizers used in the last 13 months has been collected from the
industry management team to determine the frequency and hierarchy of
the sizers used. The size range of the available sizers was 4–36 inches.
The Sizers were divided into 7 categories based on their size. Fig. 6
shows the distribution of data on the number of sizers used in the last 13
months. The aim was to find out which sizers had been used more often
before. It was a requirement for the sizers to be grouped according to
their frequency of use. When organizing, the highest frequency was
given the highest priority. Employee participation played an important
role in the sorting process, as they participated actively, and the results
were visible through improved working conditions at the workplace.
5.2.2. Setting in order
According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health (NIOSH), the permissible range of vertical manual lifting to avoid
Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) or injury is between 76.2 cm and
177.8 cm (Garg, 1995). The average height of the racks on the
manufacturing floor was observed to be 213.3 cm, which is greater than
the NIOSH limit, and the lower row of the rack was observed to be just
M.M. Shahriar et al. Cleaner Engineering and Technology 8 (2022) 100488

Fig. 3. The blowing operations sequence chart.

Fig. 4. The Printing operations sequence chart.

10 cm above the floor, which also falls short of the NIOSH standard. To
keep the sizers, the uppermost row of the rack was given the last priority,
and the lowermost row was given the second last priority because both
rows violated the NIOSH requirements that the authors followed
(Fig. 7). The big sizers with less frequency of usage were kept at the
bottom of the rack on the ground to ensure protection during the
collection or movement of those large sizers.
5.2.3. Shining the place
In the third step (shine), the entire work area was cleaned and, with
the help of the workers of that unit, all the sizers were marked with black
paint on the body of the sizer according to their size (Fig. 8). These sizers
were then ordered sequentially, giving the highest priority to the sizers
that were used most. There were some sizers that didn’t have the size
that was written on them. So, it was very difficult to find unwritten scale
sizers. There were the other sizers that had been written down, but most

6
M.M. Shahriar et al.
Fig. 5. The Sealing operations sequence chart.
Fig. 6. Blowing Sizers used in last 13 months.
of them were not clear enough to read the size written on them.
5.2.4. Standardize
In the next step (standardize), in order to sequentially arrange the
sizers on the rack, the area in which the sizers were kept according to
their size was written and attached to that particular area of the rack
(Fig. 9). It will standardize the system and reduce the time required to
search for the sizers in each row of the rack.
5.2.5. Sustaining the improvements
Fig. 10 reveals that the average time of the sizer searching and lifting
process was decreased from 105 s to 35 s after a step-by-step adoption of
5S in the blowing operation. Previously, searching for sizers in the
blowing operation contributed 12.12% of the whole operational time,
which is now minimized to 4.40% after 5S implementation. The final ‘S’
is to sustain the aforementioned procedures, which should be done on a
regular basis. For this objective, an auditing format (checklist) with a
point of marking has been established. Management and supervisors are
also included among the auditors. The supervisors will conduct daily
Cleaner Engineering and Technology 8 (2022) 100488
audits, the operation head will conduct weekly audits, and the central
auditors from the management team will conduct monthly audits. The
concept was warmly welcomed, and the corporate management
announced incentives or remunerations for staff who maintain the most
efficient floor. The supervisor responsible for this area shall check, at a
regular interval of 24 h, whether:
✓ The Sizers are placed in their right positions after they have been
used.
✓ The racks are either swept or not.
✓ If the size written on the Sizers is erased or not, if it is not clear to
read, then take immediate action to write it down.
✓ The labels that are hanging on racks with size ranges are torn out or
ok; if it is being found torn out, it has to be reprinted and hang on the
corresponding area for that specific set of Sizers.