Seiri (Sort): The First Step in the 6S Method

The 6S Method is a Lean approach used to improve workplace organization, efficiency, and safety. It is based on five practices—Seiri (Sort), Seiton (Straighten), Seiso (Shine), Seiketsu (Standardize), and Shitsuke (Sustain)—with Safety integrated throughout the process.

The five stages follow a simple logic. First, remove what is not needed. Then organize what remains, keep the workplace clean, establish standards, and maintain the improvements. Safety is considered throughout each stage.

The first of these steps is Seiri, or Sort.

Seiri is about deciding what is necessary and removing what is not. It applies to physical workplaces, but also to digital environments. Tools, materials, documents, folders, files, emails, and information can all accumulate over time.

This first step matters because it is difficult to organize a workplace effectively when it contains things that should not be there in the first place.

What Does Seiri Mean?

Sorting means separating necessary items from unnecessary ones.

This applies to everything used in a workplace:

• Tools and equipment

• Spare parts and materials

• Paper documents

• Digital records

• Emails and folders

• Forms and templates

• Old versions of procedures

• Information stored on shared drives

The objective is not simply to throw things away. It is to make a clear decision about what needs to remain.

Some items may be used every day. Others may only be required once a year. A document may not be used regularly but may still have to be retained because of a regulatory or contractual requirement.

The question is therefore not simply, “Have we used this recently?”

The better question is, “Do we need to keep this, and why?”

Start With Clear Criteria

Before starting a sorting exercise, the team should agree on the criteria for keeping or removing items.

For example:

• Is it required for current work?

• Is it required by a regulation?

• Is it required by a contract?

• Is it needed for traceability?

• Is the information still valid?

• Is there another item or document serving the same purpose?

• Who is responsible for deciding its status?

These questions are particularly important in regulated environments.

Without clear criteria, sorting can quickly become a matter of personal opinion. One person may consider a document obsolete while another considers it essential.

A simple rule can help: do not remove something unless its status is understood.

Sorting the Physical Workplace

In a physical workplace, the process can begin by looking at everything in a specific area.

Open the cabinets. Check the shelves. Look at the tools, documents, materials, and equipment that have accumulated over time.

Each item can then be classified.

Some items are clearly necessary and should remain. Others are no longer required and can be removed. Some may be necessary but belong somewhere else. There will also be items where the answer is not immediately clear.

For these uncertain items, a red-tag system can be useful.

The item is identified and temporarily separated while its status is reviewed. Someone is then given responsibility for making the decision.

The final decision could be to keep it, relocate it, return it, repair it, archive it, or dispose of it.

This prevents the common situation where an item stays in the workplace simply because nobody wants to make the decision.

Sorting Digital Information

Digital workplaces need the same attention.

A shared drive can become just as difficult to use as a crowded cabinet.

Old versions of documents, duplicate files, closed projects, obsolete templates, and incorrectly stored records can remain for years. Because digital files do not occupy much physical space, their accumulation is often ignored.

The consequences are familiar: people cannot find the right file, several versions of the same document exist, and employees create another copy because they are unsure which one is current.

Digital Seiri means reviewing this information and deciding what should remain, what should be archived, and what can be removed.

The same caution applies here as with physical records. A file should not be deleted simply because it is old.

Retention periods, regulatory requirements, contractual obligations, and company procedures must be checked first.

Avoid Sorting for the Sake of Sorting

Seiri should have a clear purpose.

Removing items simply to make a workplace look cleaner does not solve much. If the same unnecessary items return a few months later, the problem has not been addressed.

The team needs to understand why the items accumulated in the first place.

Was there no defined retention period? Were responsibilities unclear? Did employees lack a suitable storage location? Were old versions never removed? Was it easier to keep something than decide what to do with it?

These questions can reveal problems in the process itself.

If employees repeatedly keep unnecessary documents because they are unsure whether they can delete them, the problem may not be the employees. The process may need clearer rules.

Seiri Requires Discipline

Sorting is often seen as a cleaning exercise. It is more than that.

It requires people to question why something is being kept.

“This might be useful one day” is not always a good enough reason. At the same time, “We have not used it recently” does not automatically mean it can be removed.

The decision needs to be based on facts.

When Seiri is applied properly, the workplace becomes easier to understand. There are fewer unnecessary items, fewer duplicate files, and less time spent searching for information.

Most importantly, people know what belongs in the workplace and why.

That is the purpose of Seiri.

Sort first. Then organize what remains.

Once unnecessary items have been removed, the workplace is ready for the second stage of 6S: Seiton (Straighten).

Learn to apply the 6S method and create more efficient workplaces →