When one of Australia’s largest mining operations partnered with 5S Solutions and Management to improve efficiency, they didn’t expect to uncover more than $5 million in excess steel stock sitting idle in their yard. But that’s exactly what happened during a structured 5S implementation in their workplace, supported by time in motion studies and inventory flow analysis.

This discovery not only free up critical space across the mine’s fixed plant maintenance yard—it also provided a roadmap for long-term operational savings, safety improvements, and a scalable lean management model now being rolled out across multiple departments.

The Challenge: A Cluttered Yard and Untraceable Inventory

The department responsible for ordering steel stock faced a common issue: not knowing what the team on the floor required to complete their day to day maintenance tasks, this lead to inconsistent material storage, major overspending, and no unified system for stock identification. Steel was being ordered faster than it could be used or stored properly, and valuable materials were left exposed, duplicated, or lost in overflow areas.

Space constraints and poor visual management led to frequent safety hazards and excessive downtime. As personnel spent time navigating disorganised zones to locate parts or verify material availability, they were wasting significant amounts of time that could have been used to complete more crucial/time prudent tasks.Unorganised Steel Yard

The Solution: A Tailored 5S System with Visual Management and Stock Segregation

5S Solutions and Management conducted a department wide audit and engaged the execution workforce through a series of workshop, floor walks, and feedback forms. Using our proven 5S lean methodology, we:

  • Sort: Found all of the materials, categorised all on-site materials, identifying obsolete or duplicated items.

  • Set in Order: By creating racking systems and dedicated material drop points from the company’s Suppliers/logistics team.

  • Shine: visual management tools including signage, labelling, colour-coded racks, and floor markings.

  • Standardise: inventory processes, integrating checklists and workflows to avoid over-ordering (this client ceased their orders for a period of months based on the stock that we found on hand).

  • Sustain: improvements through routine audits, digital tracking, and employee training.

Through this process, we uncovered over $5 million in underutilised and excess stock, previously untracked across various staging zones.

The Results: Reduced Waste, Improved Cash Flow, and Safer Work Areas

Uncovering this volume of surplus material allowed the business to immediately pause all new steel procurement, directing teams to use existing inventory. This alone translated to a projected saving of $2 million over the next 6 to 12 months, with longer-term gains expected through:

  • Improved cash flow and resource allocation

  • A safer, clearer yard layout with reduced trip and manual handling risks

  • Better communication between procurement, planning, warehouse, and maintenance teams

  • Time savings by reducing material search time by an estimated 45%

The Future: Scaling 5S Across the Operation

Following this success, the mining company is now applying the same 5S workplace organisation strategy across other departments, including tooling management, parts storage, and PPE distribution. Our team is currently implementing standardised visual management systems and layout blueprints at additional sites across Western Australia.

By starting with one department and building internal capability, the client is now on track to embed lean workplace strategies across their entire operation.

Ready to unlock hidden value in your operations? Contact 5S Solutions and Management to book a tailored 5S audit and discover how our system can transform your business—just like it did for one of Australia’s largest mining sites.