In my last article, I introduced the concept of standardized work and its 3 components. You learned that true lean transformation (which saves your business millions of dollars) is impossible without establishing a process of standardized work.

After standardized work is implemented, you begin the work of learning to see the waste and develop the critical eye.

In this article, I’ll walk you through the 3 steps you need to take if you’re not meeting your lean goals; output targets in lean transformations include improvement in cost, quality, and delivery. I’ll illustrate how to put these steps into practice with a real-life example of implementing standardized work into one of my client’s operations- an area with potential for significant contributions to the bottom line.

3 steps to take if you’re not achieving your lean goals

1. Compare the current condition to the standard/target condition.

When standardized work is initially created, there is an expectation of certain results. Production output is expected to be at or near the target output level used to calculate takt time. The number of team members is based on the total work content and takt time. The number of hours worked is the amount of time available in a standard production shift, which was used to calculate takt time.

The actual results need to be measured and compared to the expected results. Determine the difference between actual results and expected results. A good TPS condition would have actual results be ~95% of target. If not, then we must find the problems and eliminate the root causes one by one using a structured problem solving method. Note: as a company makes progress in the lean journey, problems will continue to be exposed and need to be solved as they happen.

2. Observe the standardized work

Standardized work is the basis for cost, quality, and delivery. Team members must be able to follow the work sequence- within takt time- with the appropriate standard in process stock. Observe the work place: are the team members following standardized work? If not, you need to identify the reason.

Are there are material shortages? Or is the material is in the building, but not at the work station? Of course, shortages will cause production delay, which results in not meeting target results.

Is the team member is struggling with meeting takt time because of a defect in the components? Observe the work sequence. The team member will have to complete extra steps if the material is defective, like sorting or repairing the defect, which causes production delays. If machines are involved, are the machines producing defects? All manner of defect generation by machines will cause production delays as team members are forced to make adjustments, rework the defects, etc.

When standardized work is first implemented, you should expect to discover many problems that impact production. It’s often assumed that these are new problems brought on by the implementation of lean manufacturing. The reality is that they existed prior to standardized work, but were hidden by excess resources. As Taiichi Ohno said, “Having no problems is the biggest problem of all.”

These problems can only be eliminated one by one. Most traditional problem solving is actually problem hiding: leaders add headcount, work overtime, buy more equipment, etc. These ‘solutions’ add cost to the business, but not value. The problems remain, but they are no longer visible. When problems are hidden, the need to solve them is obscured and they remain in place. Lean manufacturing intentionally exposes problems and forces a company to acknowledge them and implement permanent solutions that eliminate the root cause.

3. Create stability of manufacturing processes through problem solving

Stability is defined as the dependability of the 4 M’s:

· Material: no shortages, no defects

· Machine: no breakdowns, no defect generation

· Man: reliable to perform the work, good work habits, proper skill level, good attendance, and punctuality

· Method: standardized processes, standardized management roles and practices, standard maintenance practices

The lean manufacturing approach is to expose and attack problems that cause production issues, seek out the root cause, and fix problems one by one (find one specific problem to solve).

Many organizations lack what my sensei called ‘the management will’ to follow this requirement. A lean transformation can’t happen without the will of leadership and management to be involved and accountable for:

· Proper metrics and measurements. Metrics must be meaningful such that the real issues are exposed. Metrics need to be timely, routine, and reviewed fanatically. For example, monthly labor metrics inform what happened in the recent past, but are too large and vague to be used to impact the result TODAY.

· Leadership must respond in a meaningful way to the metrics. For example, if the area in question is performing poorly, you can’t assume it’s a ‘performance’ issue. Metrics allow you to dive deep into questions about the root cause. Does the area suffer from a Machine or Material stability issue? Both are defined as prerequisites for standardized work, but often pre-existing metrics or other causes hide these problems. Tiachii Ohno said, “The more inventory a company has, the less likely they will have what they need.”

Here’s how this 3-step approach looks in practice:

Scenario: A small assembly area with 5 team members isn’t meeting a production output requirement of 480 units per day. They’re tracking failures using a pareto chart, but aren’t making progress improving output.

We observed the process and found a high failure rate at the final testing station. The units passed the functional test, but many were rejected because there was fluid leaking at a flared fitting- a defect that wasn’t listed on the pareto chart. Rather than attempting to solve problems based on data alone, we worked to eliminate the problem we actually observed. There was no standard regarding leaks at the fitting, so I established a standard- no leaks permitted- after the problem was identified.

Problem solving through observation revealed that this failure was due to a defect caused in an upstream process in a different department (machine). Further investigation uncovered that there was no clear quality criteria or process specifications in place in the area that generated the defect, and inventory of acceptable and defective components were being made in batches and sent to the assembly department for later use. So when the defective components reached final assembly, team members were forced to assemble, test, rework, test repeat, until passed.

First, we established quality criteria and process specifications that guaranteed zero defects. Next, we established standardized management methods to make sure that the upstream processes and quality checks were followed AND to use the one-by-one problem solving method in final assembly for each of the various defects as they occurred rather than gathering data to determine what specific problem to solve.

Without standardizing the quality criteria, process, and management method, this defect would likely continue. Like when you’re committing to anything new, standardized methods are required to prevent the backsliding into old habits.

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