Standardized work requires collaboration
The primary idea behind standardized work (Training Within Industry) is that it functions as an agreement developed through collaboration between leaders and employees (typically operators, but it can also be customer service specialists, HR personnel, engineers, or similar). Standardized work is not something that some people develop and then “distribute” to those who are supposed to do the job.
Definition of standardized work
Standardized work is the safest, simplest, and most waste-free way to do a job that we currently know of. It is developed and owned by operators, team leaders, and supervisors working together and provides a basis for future improvements. It is very flexible, can be changed through Kaizen (change for the better), and meet the cycle time because it can be changed. It works smarter – not harder or faster.
Standardized work is not work instructions developed by engineers. Standardized work does not focus on standard efficiency and is not tied to cost accounting and product calculations.
History
As the United States prepared to join World War II, the country was already a major supplier of war equipment to the Allied forces of Great Britain, France, and even the Soviet Union. The United States needed to rapidly increase its industrial production while mobilizing the industrial workforce to participate in the war. People who were not mobilized (primarily women) were employed in production but had no experience in industrial work. Therefore, the TWI (Training Within Industry) method was developed.
After World War II, Japanese companies (such as Datsun, Toyota, Yamaha, Sanyo, Mitsubishi) developed standardized work as a cornerstone of Lean production. Over the years, it evolved into a corporate culture that was later called the “Japanese miracle” during and after the 1970s when the products from these companies outclassed everything else in the world.
What many do not know is that the Japanese received extensive support and training after the war from those who drove the American war industry to the top level, using, among other things, the method.
Example of advertising posters used by the United States Department of War during the 1940s
Success metrics for standard work
Standardized work is successful when it drives the organization to Kaizen (change for the better). A mentor told me: – If your standardized work hasn’t changed in three to six months, it’s not standardized work. You should always strive to improve.
As the best currently known way of working, it allows an organization to capture small changes between operators, so that everyone can learn and benefit. In this way, it helps the business capture the professional knowledge that so many people struggle to obtain.
It functions as a diagnostic function. With standardized work, operators can analyze their work and identify which steps they cannot perform according to the current standard. This gives them the opportunity to ask for help rather than explain poor results.
Standardized work also allows leaders to review the process in real-time and observe operators as they perform tasks (it is part of the leaders’ standardized work). When a task differs from the documented process, a leader can determine whether the deviation is more effective (and thus drives Kaizen) or less effective (drives coaching opportunities).
Standardized work functions to eliminate waste and eliminate problems. It gives everyone a chance to see the waste in the process.
The founder of the Toyota Production System, Taiichi Ohno, said: – Without standards, there can be no Kaizen.
Would you like to know more about how we at Qestio can help you analyze the savings potential in your production facility and support you in making the necessary changes – contact us.
