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Much has been written about the need for standardized work to maximize worker efficiency and process performance. And rightly so. Without standardized work, huge variances in efficiency and effectiveness are virtually inevitable. Studies indicate there can be as much as a 200-percent difference between bottom and top performers due, largely, to a lack of standard methods.
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Many tools exist to support a standardized work environment. Those used frequently include:
• Standard work combination chart
• Standard work chart
• Standard work production board
• Standard work audits
• Standard work skills matrix
• Standard work week
But to effectively implement standardized work for an organization’s work processes, we should start with the cornerstone of standardized work: work standards.
Work standards
At its core, a work standard describes the best available method for performing an activity and the time required to perform it. An effective work standard outlines five key characteristics of a work activity:
1. Procedure for performing the work activity
2. Equipment used
3. Materials used
4. Batch size used
5. Time to produce one work item using the above four characteristics
Many approaches are available to organizations for developing work standards. Depending on the degree of common practice of the work activity, internal or external benchmarking can provide valuable insight into best methods for performing the activity and other key work characteristics.
A more conventional approach to establishing work standards, one that is probably used by more organizations than any other, is to conduct a lean Six Sigma project or kaizen event to increase process efficiency—i.e., design the next best available method—then document, train, and ensure everyone consistently applies the new method.
A similar approach deploys much shorter process analysis and improvement cycles to achieve a new best available method. In addition, these continuous improvement analyses are conducted at the work-unit level by work-unit employees and the work-unit leader trained in plan-do-check-act (PDCA) problem solving.
Predetermined time systems
One tool specifically developed for establishing precise and accurate work standards is predetermined time systems (PDTS). A PDTS is a library of engineered time values for the common motions required to perform human work activities. PDTS have been developed for a wide variety of work settings, including manufacturing, healthcare, and office and administrative services.
A PDTS can be used in developing a work standard. For example, it can be applied
• To the current standard work procedure if one exists
• To the work procedure used by the highest performer
• To design a new best available method
Applying a PDTS starts with effectively documenting the current procedure. This is accomplished by a combination of interview, observation, and key data collection. Figure 1 shows a documented work procedure for an administrative activity.
Once the current procedure is documented, the PDTS can be applied. Figure 2 illustrates the application of an administrative PDTS, in this example it’s for lean office controls, to the sample work procedure in figure 1.
Because of the nature of their derivation (i.e., micro-analysis of worker motion and mental response time), time values in a PDTS are unique but directly convertible to normal seconds, minutes, and hours. In this example, the administrative PDTS measures time in lean measurement units (LMUs). Below is the relationship between LMU and normal time:
• 1 LMU = 0.036 seconds
• 1 LMU = 0.0006 minutes
• 1 LMU = 0.00001 hour
Based on administrative PDTS research, the time for the average well-trained worker to perform one keystroke of the letter keys on a QWERTY keyboard is 5 LMU, or 0.18 seconds. Using this as the foundation, time values for entering multiple-keystroke tasks like complete words, names, and sentences can be developed. A PDTS is composed of these higher-level, motion-time representations, called standard data, to enable rapid application of these accurate measurement systems. For instance, in our administrative procedure example, the average number of required keystrokes for a complete name has been predetermined based on detailed frequency analyses, and the engineered time calculated and represented in the PDTS. For the administrative PDTS used in our example, the time required to enter the average number of keystrokes for a complete name by the average well-trained worker is 110 LMU or 4.0 seconds. In applying a PDTS, an improvement team need only understand three basic things about a work activity:
1. What cycles of action are performed?
2. How many work items comprise the average batch of work?
3. How often is each cycle of action performed in the average batch of work?
With these three questions answered, an accurate standard cycle time can be determined for the activity. Standard cycle time represents the time it should take the average well-trained worker to perform the activity at acceptable output quality.
PDTS allow a view of a work activity that no other lean tool provides. With a PDTS, a continuous improvement team can quickly identify cycles of action that constrain the efficiency of the procedure then apply leaning levers that work in concert with a PDTS to design a current best-method for performing the work activity. PDTS leaning levers:
1. Eliminate the cycle of action
2. Reduce the frequency of the cycle of action
3. Substitute a less time-consuming cycle of action
An example of applying leaning levers to the example administrative procedure “Enter Credit Report Requests” is shown in figure 3.
Armed with the detail that a PDTS provides, an improvement team can quickly analyze the entire work activity for opportunities for improving efficiency. In the example in figure 3, the time for grasping the computer mouse and moving the cursor to the first name field can be eliminated (Lever 1) by having the system place the cursor in this position when the program is accessed. Additional time can be saved by substituting automatic tabbing for manual between text or data fields. We can also increase the efficiency of the work activity by moving the quality assurance analyst workstation closer to the data-entry team, thus reducing the steps the processor must take when delivering batches of entered credit report requests.
Although these are simple changes to make, these alone can increase the productivity of this activity by nearly 20 percent (cycle time reduced from 0.0051 hrs. per request to 0.0042 hrs. per request). The greatest effect comes from applying these same levers to cycles of action that consume the greatest amount of time to create even greater process efficiency.
Work standard publishing
Once the standard cycle time for a work activity has been developed, a work standard, based on the best available method, can be published. Figure 4 illustrates a work standard for our sample administrative work activity.
PDTS advantages
PDTS offer many advantages for organizations implementing standardized work. Among these are the ability to:
• Create precise descriptions of work procedures
• Enable accurate standard cycle time development
• Represent the pace that should be expected by the average well-trained worker
• Enable objective analysis and improvement of work procedures
• Eliminate stopwatches to measure human work activity
• Enable accurate measurement of team and individual productivity
• Enable accurate calculation of staff requirements
• Limit disagreements about activity time to “method” rather than the pace of a particular worker
• Evaluate a new work method in advance of actual implementation
• Enhance the effect of other standardized work tools and techniques
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