Build your 5S shadow board in six steps
Pick a size, pick a board, tell us what hangs on it. We draw it, print it and build it in Brantford, Ontario, with design included and unlimited revisions until you approve.
Start a free board designDownload the guide (PDF)
An empty shadow is visible from twenty feet. An empty hook is not.
In most plants, tool location lives in the heads of the people who have been there longest. A shadow board turns that knowledge into information: every tool has a printed outline in a set place, and anyone can see from across the aisle whether it is there.
- Less motion waste. Operators stop hunting. The tool is where the picture of the tool is.
- An instant signal. A missing tool leaves a labelled gap.
- No more migration. Your area name on the board makes ownership obvious.
1Choose the size
Size follows tool count, not wall space. Buy to fill a wall and the board looks half-empty; buy to a budget and three tools have nowhere to go.
Cleaning stations · full height
Tool stations · point of use
Or give us the wall. We cut to any size. Measure the clear wall space, check nothing swings into it, and allow the longest handle plus about 4″ of headroom. A photo with a tape measure in shot is enough.
2Choose the substrate
3 mm aluminum composite · Standard
- Rigid, flat and light: one person can mount it
- Will not rust, dent easily or warp
- Takes print beautifully, so colours stay true
- Right for the large majority of stations
3 mm solid aluminum · Heavy duty
- Heavy tool loads and high-traffic areas
- Washdown, wet process and chemical exposure
- Takes knocks from carts, pallets and forklifts
- Food-safe builds are specified on this substrate
3Add branding and information
This is what turns a pegboard into company property. All of it is printed into the board, and all of it is included.
- Your logo at the top. A branded board gets looked after.
- Header title: the area, cell or line.
- Board colour matched to your zoning, so a tool in the wrong area is obvious.
- Tool codes beside each shadow, so re-ordering is a transcription.
- Instructions: return reminders, cleaning frequency, standard work.
- Reference number so the identical board can be rebuilt years later.
Red, blue, yellow, green, black, white, grey, or your own colour standard (Pantone, RAL or hex) at no extra cost.
4Choose your hooks and holders
Hooks are fitted before the board ships, positioned to the layout we draw. Tell us what hangs where and we specify them.
J-hook
The default: brooms, dustpans, scrapers, anything with a hanging hole.
Extra-long hook
Wide brush heads and anything that sits further off the board.
Single rod, ¼″
Heavy-duty straight rod for hose, rolls and heavier items.
Spring holder
Grips broom and mop handles. Stainless for food areas.
Material: tell us the environment
- Stainless steel is our standard: corrosion-resistant, washdown and food-area safe.
- Coated steel for dry areas where cost matters more than washdown.
- Metal-detected lines: say so and we specify hardware that will not defeat it.
5Choose how it hangs
Board only
Panel with hooks fitted, drilled or bonded to your wall. The most common choice.
Standoff mounted
Held clear of the wall: a finished look and easier to clean behind.
Mobile stand
T-slot aluminum frame on locking castors, for cells that move or walls you cannot drill.
Fixed floor frame
Anchored to the floor where the station must stay exactly where it was audited.
Double-sided
Two boards in one frame: twice the tools, or clean and dirty back to back.
Food-safe frame
Fully stainless mobile frame for food-contact and washdown zones.
Mounting hardware
Standoff mounting kitFrom $30Silver or black, sets of 4, 6 or 8.View product →
Mobile T-slot standFrom $848Locking castors, four widths.View product →
Stainless mobile frameFrom $1,290Food-safe, washdown and pharma.View product →
Assembling a frame yourself? Follow the T-Slot Frame Installation Guide.
6Choose the tools
Keep your own tools · Most common
Photograph what you already use, laid flat with a tape measure in shot. We draw shadows to those exact shapes. Nothing about your purchasing changes.
We supply the tools · Complete station
Board, hooks and a matched tool set, shadowed to fit and shipped together. One line on the PO.
| Tool set | Built for |
|---|---|
| Dry area: standard | General housekeeping in dry production and warehousing |
| Dry area: heavy duty | Foundry, metal-forming, machining and high-debris areas |
| Wet area | Washdown and wet process: corrosion-resistant tools and hardware |
| Food-grade & HACCP | Colour-coded hygienic sets for food-contact and allergen-segregated zones |
| PPE & consumables | Glove, towel and earplug dispensers and first-aid points |
| Hand tools & maintenance | Cleaning and preventive-maintenance tools on one board |
Start with a standard product
Tool station board, small formatFrom $89Hand tools at one bench or cell. The best first pilot.View product →
Cleaning station, board only$245 – $695Printed panel, hooks and wall hardware. You keep your tools.View product →Wet area kit, board + toolsFrom $1,195Washdown-ready board with a matched tool set.View product →Mobile station, complete system$1,345 – $2,420Board on a T-slot rolling frame, single or double-sided.View product →
All shadow boards & cleaning stations → · Kits with tools → · Hooks & hardware →
Coverage beats enclosure
A locked crib that covers 5% of a plant's tools leaves 95% uncontrolled. Fifty open boards covering 80% will find more missing tools, more often. Control is level multiplied by coverage.
| Level | What it looks like | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| 0 · Undefined | Tools live wherever they were last put down | Nothing |
| 1 · Addressed | A cabinet, rack or pegboard. Tools have a home | Where to look, not whether anything is gone |
| 2 · Visually accountable | Printed shadows. A missing tool leaves a labelled gap | What is missing, to anyone walking past |
| 3 · Accountable at handover | Checked at shift change and on the 5S walk | What is missing and when it went |
| 4 · Continuously accountable | The board reports its own status | What is missing, in real time, across the plant |
Most plants sit at Level 1 and believe they are at Level 2. The jump from 1 to 2 is the cheapest, highest-return move in the model.
Included on every board
Design & layout
Full design by our designers, with unlimited revisions until you approve in writing.
Your tools, your brand
Shadows drawn to your actual tools; logo, header and colours printed in.
Rebuild-ready
Printed tool codes and a reference number so the identical board can be rebuilt years later.
FAQ
How do I get approval for the second board?
Run one area properly and photograph it before and after. Count the tools that went missing the month after against the month before. One area, one number, one page. That is how a shadow board programme spreads.
Can you match our 5S colour coding?
Yes, at no extra charge: any background colour in Pantone, RAL or hex, colour-coded zones, your area name, labels and logo.
What are the boards made of?
3 mm aluminum composite as standard, or 3 mm solid aluminum for heavy duty and washdown, with printed graphics under a matte scratch-resistant laminate.
Do the tools come with it?
Only if you order a kit. Board-only products ship with the panel, all hooks for your layout and wall-mount hardware.
We already have a mobile stand. Can you make just the board?
Yes. Our panels fit our T-slot frames; for someone else's frame, send the internal dimensions and we size the panel to it.
How long does it take?
1 to 3 weeks from written artwork approval; a repeat of a design we already hold ships in 3 to 5 business days. Most first drafts go out within a couple of business days of your photo.
Send a photograph of the tools
That is the whole brief. Lay the tools out, take one picture, tell us roughly how much wall you have, and we come back with a scaled layout drawing and a written price, usually within one business day. Design costs nothing whether or not you go ahead.
Start a free board designDownload the guide (PDF)info@cyanvisuals.com · 1-855-919-9392
CYANvisuals.com, Brantford, Ontario. Related: Projected safety signs & virtual walkways · Custom shadow boards · Frames & stands.