Mar 29, 2017 | Posted by Matt Elson
Improvement can’t be sustained without standardized work. It is the foundation for continued improvement. Our motto is “Standardized is a direction”, and importantly, it involves critical judgment to ensure the work content is carried out consistently with a human touch.
Each type of standardized work focuses on a specific part of the production process.
Type 1 standardized work is repetitive, single cycle, doing same task over and over.
When performing multiple different types of work, with a cycle time that could vary from product to product, the work is Type 2 standardized work.
Type 3 standardized work is highly variable, and depends on customer demand, abnormalities that could arise, helping team members and many other factors. Moreover, Type 3 is sometimes known as “leadership standardized work”.
Which type of standardized work should we attempt to improve first?
In our opinion, it is easier and more beneficial to kaizen Type 1 and Type 2 standardized work first. This is because the limited variation is easier to understand. Therefore, when Type 1 and Type 2 are improved, it creates the foundation for further improvements. At that point, Type 3 can be standardized and improved.
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