Title, area and number
Look
Fields on the tag
Paste a list from Excel
One tag per row. Columns in this order: .
Print at 100% (“Actual size”), not “Fit to page”. Print on red card if you have it. Cut, punch the hole and add string or a cable tie.
What is a red tag?
A red tag marks an item that nobody is sure they need. It is the first step of 5S: Sort. Each tagged item goes to a red tag area for a set time. Anyone who needs it can take it back. After that, the area owner decides what happens to it. Nothing is thrown away by mistake, and the work area keeps only what it uses.
What to put on a red tag
- Date and tagged by: who tagged it, and when.
- Item and area: what it is, and where it was found.
- Reason: for example not needed, not sure, broken or too many.
- Hold until: the last day it stays in the red tag area.
- Decision: for example keep, move, sell or scrap, and who decided.
- A tag number, so each tag matches a line on the red tag log.
How long should the hold period be?
Most teams hold red-tagged items for 2 weeks. That is long enough for anyone who needs an item to notice it is gone. If some items are only used once a month, hold for 30 days. Pick one period, write it on the red tag area sign, and keep to it.
How to run a red tag event
- Pick a red tag area: a table, a pallet or a taped square on the floor. Put up the red tag area sign.
- Walk the area as a team. For each item, ask: “Do we use this every week?”
- If not, or nobody is sure, fill in a tag, tie it on and move the item to the red tag area.
- Write each tag on the red tag log.
- At the end of the hold period, the area owner decides for each item, and ticks the decision.
New to 5S? Week 1 of our 4-week plan shows the whole sort step, with photos. Put the 5S poster on the wall too.