Standard Work is a brilliantly
simple concept. The current best practice for a process or activity is defined
and then improved upon when opportunities arise.
Easy, right?
Unfortunately, it is a little trickier than it sounds.
We work with organizations every day that are implementing a variety of
improvement techniques, including Standard Work. We’ve seen it executed
perfectly, but we’ve also seen a multitude of ways it can go wrong.
Here are some of the most common mistakes we see managers make when it comes
to Standard Work.
When we see employees who are resistant to Standard Work, or who think it
will stifle innovation, we usually find that the Standard was issued by the
manager rather than developed by the people who actually do the work.
This is a mistake.
For one thing, the people who execute the process are the ones in the best
position to know what works best. They understand the inputs required and what
can get in the way of quality outcomes. Why would you try to create and enforce
a Standard without the input of the people with that level of knowledge?
Engaging front-line employees in creating the Standard is also the best way to
develop a sense of ownership and accountability.
When first implementing Standard Work it can be tempting to simply record
what is being done today and then enforce that as the standard. However, that is
somewhat of a wasted opportunity to look at the current process and identify any
potential improvements that can be implemented as you set the standard. Sure,
you want to start with identifying your current state - but follow up on that
with engaging the people doing the work to see what ideas they have (or are
already doing!) to make that better. Of course, any changes should be carefully
considered before rolling them out as the standard (see #5).
Standard Work is only useful if it is consistently applied. We’ve seen
managers work with their teams to create a Standard, just to ignore it on a
regular basis. It is not uncommon for supervisors to assume that work is being
done to the Standard without validating that fact. To address this, we recommend
a management technique called Gemba Walks, where leaders go to the place where
work is done to ask questions and observe. This isn’t a performance review, but
rather an opportunity to see how the Standard is applied and find out why if it
isn’t. If your documentation isn't matching what's being done in real life, you
have a problem. Take the time to compare the documentation and reality to see
which is best, and update what needs to change.
It is essential that everyone be very clear about the fact that the Standard
merely is today’s best practice for the target process or task. It is not,
however, written in stone. Instead, it forms the basis of any future
improvement. It is the baseline for innovation, not the end of it. I like to
think of your documented Standard Work as climbing a staircase. Your current
best practice is the first step, and everyone should stand on that step
together. If someone identifies a way to improve that standard, you update your
documentation and use that to help everyone up onto the next step of the best
practice staircase. Everyone stays on that step together until someone
determines a new best practice, which then pulls the entire organization up onto
the next step - a higher level of performance.
The Standard is meant to be altered when opportunities for improvement are
identified, or conditions evolve. But changing the Standard is not something
that should be done without great care. The best way to ensure positive change
is to use an improvement cycle. Two of the most popular are DMAIC (Define,
Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) and PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act). Using these
tools helps ensure that changes to the Standard are made intentionally and with
great care, and ultimately, improve results.
Standard Work documentation must be thorough enough to give staff all of the
information they need to perform the given process or task. Every person should
be able to read the documentation and execute the job at hand in the same way.
When necessary charts, graphs, or even photographs should be included to help
achieve consistency.
On the other hand, you don’t want the documentation to become so complicated
that it is confusing, difficult to understand, or hard to update. Document
everything that is necessary, but only what is required. Remember, you're
creating documentation that is intended to be USED - you're not creating it to
be filed away and forgotten. Create the documentation with real people in mind,
and include everything they need to know - and nothing that they don't.
Standard Work documentation is not very useful if it is not accessible to the
people who need it. We always cringe when we see Standard Work printed on a
piece of paper and stuck in a filing cabinet. A better approach is to use
improvement software that makes Standard Work documentation and supporting
information available to everyone, 24x7 on whatever device they prefer to use.
This way, there is one version of the truth available anytime it is needed. The
best platforms will help you incorporate your standard directly into the
templates and workflows people use to perform the work.
We talked about the Standard as the basis for innovation. It should be
revisited whenever someone recognizes a problem or an opportunity. However, it
is also essential to set a regular schedule for reviewing the Standard even if
things seem to be working fine. Maybe you’ll determine that no changes are
needed, but often just opening up the matter for discussion reveals incremental
improvements that should be considered.
It would be great if every task were executed to the Standard 100% of the
time, but that’s not very realistic. Exceptions will happen in even the most
disciplined of teams. Sometimes raw materials or other process inputs will be
unavailable, equipment may fail, or other obstacles may arise that require a
temporary change to the process. It is important to have a plan in place to plan
for predictable and completely unexpected exceptions. They should be documented
and discussed to make sure that the best available response is executed, and
that work returns to the Standard as quickly as possible.
If you can avoid these frequent mistakes, you’ll find that Standard Work is
an extremely valuable approach that is popular with employees. It’s all about
creating the control that is necessary for moving your processes closer to
perfection.
0 Comments