5S Audit
5S is only as good as the last audit. This skill scores all five pillars, surfaces the gaps, and generates the action plan, with an owner, a due date, and the next audit date scheduled before the session closes.
The Five Pillars
Sort, Set, Shine, Standardize, Sustain
Each pillar builds on the previous. You cannot standardize a workspace that hasn't been sorted. You cannot sustain a standard that isn't documented. Scoring all five reveals which pillar is the weak link, not just whether the area "looks okay."
Scoring System
0 to 3 per pillar, 15 points maximum
The skill scores each pillar from 0 to 3 based on what you observed, not what you believe should be there. Descriptions for each level are shown explicitly so the auditor and the team agree on what a "2" means before the score is recorded.
The most misunderstood pillar. When you clean, you inspect. The point is finding what's abnormal: a slow coolant leak, frayed wiring, wear on a guide rail. It is not about making the machine look clean for the audit. A score of 3 for Shine means abnormalities are being found and logged during cleaning cycles, not that the floor is swept.
Sample Audit Output
Per-pillar scores with an action plan
Every pillar gets a score, a description of what was observed, a corrective action, an owner, and a due date. The audit is not complete until all five rows have an owner and a date.
| Pillar | Score | Gap Observed | Action | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sort | 2 | Three red-tagged items still present from prior audit; no disposition recorded. | Resolve all three red tags: scrap, move, or return to stores. | T. Park | Sep 13 |
| Set in Order | 3 | Shadow boards current; floor tape intact; labels legible. | No action required. Re-verify at next audit. | n/a | n/a |
| Shine | 1 | No cleaning log on machine. Coolant tray overflowing. No abnormality record. | Establish daily cleaning schedule; post at machine. Add abnormality log. | M. Santos | Sep 10 |
| Standardize | 2 | Audit checklist exists but has not been updated since April; two items obsolete. | Revise checklist to reflect current layout. Post updated version at station. | T. Park | Sep 17 |
| Sustain | 1 | Last audit was 11 weeks ago. No trend chart posted. Score is declining. | Schedule monthly audits for remainder of year. Post trend chart at cell. | L. Chen | Sep 10 |
| Total | 9 / 15. Next audit: Oct 6 | ||||
Common Audit Mistakes
Why 5S audits stop working after the first one
How It Works
Describe what you observed. Get a scored audit with an action plan.
Describe what you saw during your walk: red-tag status, shadow board condition, cleaning evidence, posted standards, last audit date. Photos described in text work too.
A 0–3 score is assigned to each pillar based on your observations, with the evidence cited for each score. Any pillar with insufficient evidence gets a clarifying question before the score is set.
Every pillar scored below 3 produces a specific corrective action. Not "improve 5S" but "post cleaning schedule at machine, verify during next shift." Vague actions don't get assigned or completed.
The skill prompts for an owner and a due date before the audit is closed. An action without an owner is not an action. It's a wish.
The audit closes with a scheduled next audit date. The output includes a score trend row to paste into your tier board or management review chart.
Examples
Works for shop floors and clinical spaces alike
Assembly workstation audit. Area recently completed a 5S kaizen event. This is the first follow-up audit, eleven weeks later.
Area: Assembly Cell 3 — Workstation A
Date: 2026-09-06
Auditor: L. Chen
Sort: 2 — three red-tagged items still awaiting disposition from kaizen event
Set: 3 — shadow boards current, floor tape intact, all labels legible
Shine: 1 — no daily cleaning log; coolant tray overflow not logged
Standardize:2 — checklist outdated (April); two items removed from layout
Sustain: 1 — no trend chart; last audit was 11 weeks ago
Total: 9/15. Prior audit: 11/15. Score declining.Score declined from 11 to 9 since the kaizen event. Shine and Sustain are the weak pillars. Both scored 1. Root cause: no cleaning schedule was posted after the event and no audit cadence was established. Actions generated: three owners, three due dates, next audit Oct 6.
Medication room audit on a medical-surgical unit. The skill adapts terminology: "shadow boards" becomes "labeled storage," "floor tape" becomes "zone demarcation," "coolant tray" becomes "spill tray inspection."
Area: Med Room 4W
Date: 2026-09-06
Auditor: J. Rivera, RN
Sort: 3 — expired medications removed weekly; no excess supplies present
Set: 2 — two label holders empty; Pyxis override bin unlabeled
Shine: 2 — spill tray inspected daily per log; one refrigerator seal flagged
Standardize:1 — no posted standard for override bin; no cleaning checklist at refrigerator
Sustain: 2 — monthly audits on schedule; trend chart posted but not current
Total: 10/15Standardize is the weak pillar at 1. The override bin has no posted standard and the refrigerator has no cleaning checklist at point-of-use. The standards exist in policy but are not visible at the location where the work happens. Actions generated: two owners, next audit Oct 4.
What you get
A real run on the sample data
Unedited output. The sample message at the top went to Claude Sonnet 4.6 (an earlier-generation model, so a newer one may word things differently) with this skill pasted in, the same way the steps below show, on September 29, 2026. Scroll inside the frame to read the whole reply.
Installation
Walk the area, then run the audit
resources/examples folder.Related Skills
5S leads to standard work and daily management
A stable, organized workplace is the foundation for standard work. Without 5S, standards decay because the environment changes around them.