#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. The 6S system, a system for organizing and rationalizing the workspace, which became the basis of the Lean Production project of Nornickel, was launched in the Polar Division in February 2019 and today it already unites more than six thousand people.
According to Sergey Hromov, Deputy Director of the Department for Improvement of the Polar Division’s activities, 2020 was a difficult year for the project, nevertheless, the planned was fulfilled.
“Despite all the difficulties, we managed not only to fulfill the goals set for the year for the coverage of the sites of production departments with the 6S system, but also to overfulfill the plan. And this is primarily the merit of our production workers. I would like to address all the project participants: we are all great fellows. We have learned a lot, revised our views on many things, new interesting solutions have appeared, team interaction has become even stronger. There is still a lot of work ahead, but I am sure that the quality of the results will grow”, said Sergey Hromov.
For a simpler understanding, we note that the 6S system (sorting, self-organization, systematic cleaning, standardization, sustaining, safety) is an optimally organized workspace, when the workplaces are clean, tools are ordered, and documents are in order. These seemingly simple, but at the same time important rules, according to the creators of the system, create a favorable climate in production facilities, thereby increasing labor efficiency.
For example, recently at the Copper Plant the control room was transformed, where the senior smelter and operators are sitting at the furnace control panels around the clock. The 57-square-meter room was completely renovated and the equipment was updated – new modern monitors were installed. What was before and what is now are very different. The team is happy: it has become much more comfortable and cozy.
As Valery Savitsky, acting Head of the Bureau for Increasing Production Efficiency at the Copper Plant noted, the plant has already passed six stages of replicating the 6S system:
“We were one of the first to test the system. We ourselves choose the premises where renovation is needed: a drying shop, an elemental sulfur production area, a smelting shop, a metallurgical shop… In general, we have already implemented the system at ten sites. We regularly conduct audits, explain to employees that 6S is a necessary and useful system”, he stressed.
At the same time, the United Warehouse Management enterprise approached the implementation of the system more creatively. They not only systematized the working equipment, but also decorated the walls of the warehouse. They painted them in their free time. The result was almost a work of art.
6S has already been introduced at six sites of the enterprize. In the future, the company also plans to continue replicating the system: at least at four more sites this year.
Text: Mikhail Tuaev, Photo: Nikolay Shchipko
