Standard Work Introduction

Standard Work Defined

Standard Work is the most effective combination
of people, materials, and equipment.

As mentioned in the previous module, the 4M stand

for man, material, machine, and method with the
latter representing Standard Work as a method of
organizing work.

Again, as we discussed in the last lesson, the stability of the first 3 M is key to standardization.
In fact, without stable processes it’ll be impossible to implement standard work in a successful
manner.

Standard Work vs. Standardization

What makes standardization very different from Standard Work is that Standard Work must
specify timing, sequence and outcome very clearly, while standardization is simply making two
different methods alike.

So, the natural question is how does Standard Work specify timing, sequence and outcome?
The answer is that Standard Work is designed around the three elements of takt
time, work sequence, and standard work in process.

Standard Work and Continuous Improvement

Next, I’d like to spend a moment to
discuss the relationship between
continuous improvement and
standard work.

Let’s first assume a standard has

been identified and implemented.
Let’s also assume that, for some
reason, the standard drops over
time.

In this situation, the act of returning to the standard is NOT continuous improvement but
maintenance of the standard.

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You see, authentic continuous improvement raises the standard to a new level as we see in
the image above.

Next, one of the most challenging aspects of Standard Work is how to apply it to types of
work other than simple repetitive production. For example, standard work will be designed
differently for a process that builds 300 identical widgets each day than a process that builds
300 different widgets each day.

Three Types of Standard Work

With this said, I’d now like to introduce the 3 main types of standard work companies such as
Toyota often call Standard Work Types 1, 2, and 3.

Type 1 Standard Work applies to repetitive

single cycle processes.

With this type of standard work, the cycle times of

the work done by people and machines are
identical and do not vary significantly within a run
of products.

Because the work repeats each cycle, this type of Standard Work is the simplest to implement
and employees can normally be trained quickly and efficiently.

Next, Type 2 Standard Work applies to short

but variable cycles that are linked to model
mix.

For example, we may have a production line or cell

where different types of product are produced
quickly and efficiently.

This is the type of production done on many

moving automotive assembly lines. In this environment balancing processes can be
complicated, therefore training, built in quality, and productivity can be difficult to achieve.

Now then, Type 3 Standard Work applies

when repetitive work includes variable
work content.

Unlike Type 1 which is repetitive across each

short cycle, there are occasionally cycles of work
that vary significantly.

However, over a longer period of time the entire

cycle repeats and can be documented as standard work in terms of timing, sequence and
outcome. For this reason Type 3 is sometimes called “long cycle” standard work.

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In Type 3 work team members follow a repeating sequence much of the time, as in Types 1
and 2, but every so often they must perform a task completely different from their repetitive
cycle, such as exchanging inserts on a machine tool, closing and removing packing containers
from the area, making new containers such as cardboard boxes, and even responding to a
question or request for help from another team member.

A Fourth Type of Standard Work

Finally, the last type of Standard Work, that
doesn’t technically fall within the 3 types
discussed so far, applies to more broad
categories such as work done in an office
environment.

Although it’s possible to apply standard work

Types 1, 2 and 3 to transactional work that is
repetitive and similar to production work, such
as call centers, data entry and document preparation, much of the work done in service and
office environments requires a different approach since things like the timing of activities may
be unknown or unspecified, the sequence may vary, and the outcome may be unspecified.

This is especially true for so-called creative work. For example, much of the work we do here
at Gemba Academy falls within this category. You see, our products are online videos, quizzes,
and support documents. As such, we don’t have an assembly line of associates producing new
training content.

Instead, much of what we do is creative, transactional or business development work. But this
isn’t to say we don’t utilize aspects of standard work because we do.

After all, if something happens to any member in an organization like Gemba Academy the
show must go on, and well-documented standard work insures that the business can be
sustained.

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