Implementing and Maintaining Lean Standard Work: Challenges for Manufacturing Managers and Employees
Standard work (occasionally called standardized work) is a critical piece in the implementation of lean manufacturing programs. It helps stabilize a process and provides a foundation for continuous improvement. However, no matter how good something is, it always comes at a cost. For Standard Work, the price comes in the form of resentment and the subsequent lack of engagement it can cause in some employees.
In fact, a single aspect of the standard job can increase job satisfaction for some people and, at the same time, reduce it for others. Why? Because people are unique. For example, those who love predictability and structure thrive on standard work. But those who are more independent, free spirits, dislike feeling micromanaged and resent feeling forced to do their jobs in specific ways.
So how can leaders make standard work more attractive to employees? A good way to start is to make sure the standard work is structured in a way that makes it easy for team members to get help when they need it. Suppose manufacturing managers are doing a lot of things right:
andon lights are in place to call for help, and teams are encouraged to use them
there is a definite sequence of events that happen when the lights are turned on
leaders enforce the process and make sure people respond as needed
there are team leaders who can hover and offer assistance when help is needed
Despite these efforts, employees can still feel that they are not getting the help they need when there is a problem on the shop floor. Big problems tend to get a lot of attention, but often the hiccups that frustrate employees are the little things that cost a few minutes here and there. It’s about the little problems that seem to happen randomly in Lean production. A screw is threaded crosswise. A bolt is dropped in a hard-to-reach place. Murphy (remember Murphy’s Law: What can go wrong, will) loves hanging out at the shop.
The frustrating part for an employee comes when there is no way to get help to get back on track. Even if someone from a support team shows up right away, an extra set of hands (if the standard work is poorly structured) may not be able to speed things up. The helper often comes to help and may do little more than observe, offer advice, or get tools for a person. None of these things, in most cases, will prevent a production stoppage. Instead, standard work should be organized so that an assistant can pop in and jump right into a task to keep things flowing. It is much easier to do than you imagine. The goal is simply to structure the process so that the last few tasks are independent of the rest of the work. That means:
- Put all multi-operator work first. That way, if one person falls behind, the other person won’t lose their workflow out of sync.
- Put the most complicated tasks first, so if there is a problem, the operator can turn on the and in as soon as possible.
- Don’t put all your freelance work at the same station. For example, instead of one station applying all the decals to a product at the end of an assembly line, distribute the work among the stations. That job can likely be done at any time and gives a floater something to do when it shows up.
- Put the tasks with the lowest quality parts first. If apart is bad, there is time to get a replacement. If it is identified just before a line change, there is little time to resolve the problem. (Of course, if you know about an ongoing problem, you should be working on fixing it, too.)
- Start with all subassemblies completed. End the loop by building the substitutes for the next turn in line. If an operator falls behind, an assistant can come and build the subs, buying time for the operator.
- Make sure tools are available for the assistant to work at the same time as the operator. The helper shouldn’t have to wait because a $5 tool isn’t available.
- The assistant must be trained in the support task. She has to be able to intervene smoothly. She must practice these tasks for each station she supports, so there is never any doubt and no risk of poor quality.
With these fairly simple steps, employees working in production jobs can feel supported. This will make the beat seem more manageable if they feel like there’s a pressure valve (which works!) when things get a little rough. If employees feel supported, they are much more likely to support standard work in return.
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