In 5S and lean production, tool control removes the time lost hunting for a missing tool. On shadow boards and drawer inserts every hand tool has its own silhouette, so a gap is obvious at the end of a shift. Vortex Ambalaj produces die-cut EVA foam layouts sized to your bench or drawer. With two-tone foam, lifting a tool exposes the contrasting colour underneath and the gap reads from across the workshop. High-density EVA foam resists oil and swarf, wipes clean and holds its form in daily use. Send the tool list and drawer dimensions and we prepare the layout; series production follows sample approval.
The point of tool control is not a tidy image but noticing a missing tool before anyone starts hunting for it. When tools lie on top of each other in a drawer, only counting them reveals what is gone; cut each tool its own silhouette and the empty recess is visible across the room at the end of a shift. That is exactly what keeps 5S standing: the check no longer depends on anyone's memory or attention.
Tool-control foam is normally two layers: a working layer on top, where the recesses are cut, and a base layer in a markedly different colour underneath. With the tool in place only the top colour shows; lift it and the contrasting base appears, so the gap reads like a signal. That contrast layer is not decoration — it is the whole mechanism. In single-colour foam a full recess and an empty one look alike from a few steps away; with the contrast layer even someone walking past sees what is missing. Colours are chosen to suit the plant; what matters is that the base separates clearly from the top layer and stays distinguishable in a dusty, oily environment.
In aviation and defence maintenance the issue is safety rather than tidiness. A single hand tool left on an aircraft or an engine can cause foreign object damage, so the completeness of the kit is verified visually at the end of the job. A silhouette-cut layout reduces that verification to seconds and makes the result provable at a glance. The same approach is used in tool-and-die maintenance and in food and pharmaceutical production, where the question of where a missing tool ended up can also stop the line.
The two apply the same principle in different places. A shadow board hangs on a wall or behind a bench: the tools stand upright, they are visible from a distance, and the format suits shared kit. A drawer insert keeps the tool enclosed, out of dust and swarf, and suits kit tied to a station or a person. On a board the cavity depth and the way the tool is held matter more, because it must not fall out under its own weight; in a drawer the free height decides everything. Most plants end up using both: frequently shared tools on the board, precision gauges in a closed drawer.
The layout is drawn from the drawer's internal dimensions; cabinets of the same make and model can still differ inside, so the measurement is taken from the drawer itself. Tools are arranged by how they are used: those used together sit together, the most frequently taken sit at the front. Thickness follows the drawer's free height and the tool's thickest point — stand proud of the surface and the drawer will not close, sit too deep and the tool cannot be lifted out. Finger reliefs are added so a gloved hand can grip. Thickness, density and the number of layers are all set per project.
In a workshop the material has to stand up to oil, swarf and constant contact. Dense, closed-cell foams wipe clean and keep their cavity edges in daily use. To start, a tool list, the drawer dimensions and a photograph of the tools are enough; once the sample is approved the same layout repeats for further drawers and multiplies as the line grows.
Two-tone tool-control foam: lift a tool and the red base shows through, so a missing one is spotted in seconds — the most practical aid there is for FOD prevention and 5S audits.
EVALifting a tool exposes the contrasting colour beneath.
EVAA soft bed that protects gauges from scratching.
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