The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Except in my neighborhood, where the Reno summer heat has taken its toll on all grass equally. If only there were some written standards that could help run our sprinklers efficiently and effectively, maybe we could keep a nice, uniformly green neighborhood. You’d think that as a Process Improvement professional I’d know about some tools that might help.
Well, I do. But slow down for a moment, this is easier said than done. One topic that creates confusion even among experienced CPI practitioners is the difference between Standard Specifications, Standard Procedures, and Standard Work. Although the names are similar, they all fulfill different functions. Below is a quick rundown of these three “standards”, including their similarities and differences:
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Standard Specifications:
- – This is a document that describes dimensions, tolerances, methods, operation sequence and parameters, and corrective action information.
- – This document can provide a step-by-step procedure on what steps are performed in a task. It does not, however, tell an operator how to do those steps.
- – Standard Specifications provide background details. If you’re envisioning charts and graphs, you are on the right track.
Thanks for making it easy, Rainbird!
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Standard Procedures:
- – Standard work in process, Kanban rules, material flow routes, 5S requirements, production results boards, and color coding are all examples of Standard Procedures.
- – These are visual in nature. Pictures help get the point across.
- – Standard procedures DO NOT take the place of proper training. New employees still need to be trained; Standard Procedures simply maintain visual awareness of current work standards.
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Standard Work:
- – This is the foundation of Kaizen. Standard work provides a reference point; it allows you to compare an operator’s process to a written standard.
- – Documents used to accomplish this include the Standardized Work Chart, Standardized Work Combination Table, and Production Capacity Sheet
- – In order to create Standard Work you must first have a repeatable, reliable, and defect-free process. There is no way to use a wonky process as the standard!
Rainbird wins again!
Much of this information is borrowed from The Toyota Way Fieldbook. This book provides an excellent description of standardization. A full description of the Standard Work documents is provided in the text, and the topic is covered well. So although I’ve added a little to this description, their book really gets the point across and is worth a look.
And just maybe, if I can make the time to work on getting some standards put together, my lawn will be worth a look too.