Standardized work

In the Lean organization, a combination of work is a mixture of people, processes,

materials, and technology that meet to carry out a process. It is the most efficient
way to manufacture products without waste through the best combination of working
methods. Work standards can be used for training, performance monitoring and
continuous improvement activities. By dividing tasks, it is easy to identify where they
move, so that employees take actions and find the best way to do things. The
standards have a high impact on the quality of products and services.
Eight steps are followed to develop the operating standards:
 Establish improvement teams
 Determine the takt time
 Takt time = Available production time per day /
 Determine the cycle time
 Time taken by the tasks required for a process or part of it.
 Determine the work sequence
 Determine the production standard of the station
 Prepare a flow chart of standard activities
 Prepare a standards sheet
Continuously improve the standardized operations sheet Standardization means:
 Always follow the same work sequence
 Fully standardized, documented and visible methods
 The material is always placed in the same place

Work standard
Its purpose is to achieve a perfect process flow and are determined by:
 Takt time
 Ergonomics
 Parts flow
 Maintenance procedures
 Routines
The work standard is the documentation of each action required to complete a
specific task.
Elements of operational work standards:
 Cycle times: required to play a part, compared to Takt time
 Work sequence: to produce a part. Take, move, hold, etc. include times,
layout and machine capacity chart
 Inventory standard: minimum inventory at each station to maintain a
continuous flow.
 For the flow to occur within processes that add value, workers must be able to
produce within takt time and consistently improve the cycle time of the assigned
work items. What is intended is very simple, nobody wants an operator to improve
the cycle time and achieve 45 seconds in an operation, while his partner
improved the operation to 60 seconds. Here we seek to standardize the cycle
time to 45 seconds and observe that all
Standardized work is a set of work procedures that establish the best method
and sequence for each process. The standardized worksheet helps illustrate the
sequence of operations within the process, including the cycle time. This sheet
should be placed in the work area.

The steps to follow to fill out this sheet are:

1. Draw the layout of the cell on the sheet and identify all the items.
2. Assign the location of work items by number.
3. Show the trajectory of the movements.
4. Fill in the required information within the sheet.
5. Place it in the work area.

Standardized work provides the basis for high levels of productivity, quality and
safety. The Workers develop kaizen ideas to continually improve these three areas.
Here are some steps to implement standardized work:

Work together with operators to determine the most efficient work methods and
ensure that everyone agrees. This may include the revision of the proposed system
of the revised work items, with the entire group that will use them. Not surprisingly,
people unilaterally impose new standards and procedures. Use the standard work
combination sheet to understand how process cycle times are compared to takt time.
This document shows the flow of materials and people within the process. Specifies
the exact time of each work sequence within an operation, including the time while
walking. If the cycle time is longer than the takt time, the operation must be improved
to reach the takt time. This may include the assignment of some elements of work
to operations that are faster than takt time
The recommended steps to fill out this sheet are:
1. Separate each worker's activities into different elements.
2. Take time to each item.
3. Document the time spent walking.
4. Fill the sheet:
a) List the elements and associated articles.
b) Graph each element and the time spent on walking.
5. Place the sheet on the workstation.
Add takt time, a critical measure for standardized work. Do not try to make
substantial changes in workloads when the takt time changes. If this decreases,
harmonize the work and add the necessary employees. When it increases,
assign a few people to the process.

Line Balancing
Typically, some operations take longer than others, leaving operators with
nothing to do while waiting for the next part. On the other hand, some operations
may require more than one operator. The balancing of the line is a process
through which, over time, the elements of the work are distributed within the
process in order, so that they reach the takt time. Line balancing helps to optimize
the use of personnel. By balancing the workload, some will be prevented from
overworking and others do nothing. Considering that consumer demand
fluctuated, change the takt time and then rebalance the line every time this
occurs.
 Operator Balancing Chart Line
Balancing starts with the analysis of the current state of the process. The best
tool for this activity is the operator balancing graph (Operator Balance Chart). It
is a representation of the work items, the time required and the operators of each
station. It is used to show improvement opportunities by visualizing each
operating time in relation to the takt time and the total cycle time. The steps to
create a graph of operator balancing are as follows:
1. Determine the current cycle time and assigned work items. For example,
consider the following process, where you have 7 operations (stamping,
placing wheels, placing tires, welding part, welding roof, trunk welding, final
assembly), 7 operators, a 32 second takt time and a cycle time total of 173
seconds .

2. Create a bar graph that gives a better representation of the conditions. The
current state graph clearly shows that several bars exceed the value of takt time,
and in addition, there is an imbalance between operations.

3. To determine the number of operators it is necessary to divide the total cycle

time of the product by the takt time.
# of operators needed = 173 sec. (TCT) / 32 sec. (takt time) = 5.40

5.4 people are required, which means that there is more than the necessary number
of operators, since six are required to handle the process. This fact represents a
problem, but also an area of opportunity to improve the process. If enough waste
was eliminated in the process, everything would be done with six operators; In
addition, the cost of direct work by the party would be maintained and no other
person was required. According to slender thinking, when the number of operators
is taken and the decimal obtained has a value that is less than or equal to 0.5 (in this
case, 0.4) it is a good indicator, since you can work to eliminate the operator from
more and Reduce waste. In the improvement process, each of these operators must
say what they need to play a part within 32 seconds. Then, the total cycle time must
be less than or equal to 173 seconds.

The solution must be the combination of operations, for example stamping and
placing wheels and leaving the other work stations as they are. Here the operations
are distributed so that the operators achieve a cycle time of 32 seconds, which is
within the takt time.