Standardized Work

In Lean Manufacturing, you must fight your current thinking when it comes to the conventional wisdom of work standards. In doing so, you may make the leap to a different understanding of Standardized Work. These mental gymnastics are very difficult to achieve through shop floor practice however; mainstream Standardized Work training is very limited and current business trends tend to follow the mainstream. It is an uphill battle for Lean practitioners to work at implementing true standard work.

Here is what we know about Standardized Work (SW) based on Toyota literature:

  1. Standardized Work is ideally never static,
  2. Standardized Work is based on three components:
    1. Takt time, or the rate of customer demand,
    2. Work Sequence, the order each step should occur,
    3. Standard Work-In-Process, or the amoung of materials used to prevent overproduction.
  3. Standardized Work is best maintained by the authority closest to the process, preferably the supervisor./li>
  4. Standardized Work is the preferred shop floor management tool.

What does all of this have to do with TWI? First Job Methods (JM) gets to the root of some of the standard work components, particularly work sequence. When we think of work sequence in JM, we talk about staffing levels, who does the work at each step, layout, etc. In other words, JM helps us improve work cells and workflow. Standard WIP is mostly controlled through achieving single piece flow (minimal WIP) or through the use of kanban (signals which authorize a predetermined level of inventory based on demand [takt time] and work cell capacity.

Standardized work has long been documented in the form of industrial engineering principles for many years. The difference in Lean, is that very few people know how to apply it to non-assembly or non-discrete manufacturing applications. This fact alone is evidence that many people don’t understand SW and the resulting action of mostly cherry picking the Lean tools adapted from the Toyota Production System. Mis-understanding of standardized work then, is one of the root causes of why it is so difficult to sustain Lean in U.S. companies. As Taiichi Ohno is often quoted as declaring: “Without a standard, there is no kaizen.”

Job Instruction cycle of Standardized Work

It has been argued in recent years however, that the main root cause for not sustaining lean through standardized work, is the lack of a critical component of the concept. It is relatively easy to calculate takt time, implement kanban and impose work & time standards on people. It is quite another to understand if everyone is doing the job the same way. If we go through the trouble to establish SW because we are “lean”, then why do we not go through the trouble to determine best methods, capture the methods, and train people in those methods? Why, then do we “audit” people in adhering to the work sequence when they can’t meet takt, when instead we should be pulling out the Job Breakdown Sheet (JBS) and coaching and questioning the person through opportunities to improve their ability or improve the work methods? We have a lot to learn about Standardized Work in this country. Standard work is not a piece of paper, it is the way to meet business needs by engaging the people that do the work.


SWT Materials

  • Coming Soon!

TWI Materials


Archives


TWI & Lean

Thank You

Feel at ease to browse the original materials, subscribe and contribute to the TWI blog. Learn and share as much as possible about the wonders of this program. Whether you are interested in the rich history, philosophy, the people behind the program or how the program works with business, there is something here for everyone. Have fun, and contact us with comments and suggestions!

Fair Use & You

TWI Service considers the wartime manuals available at this site within the public domain. They are free to download and use according to Fair Use and current copyright law.