Sigma Magic Help Version 15

Standard Work

Overview

Standard work is the foundation for continuous improvement. Without standardization, all improvements will roll back to the older way of working with time. Standardization is a tool that will ensure that the improvements will be sustained over time. As the standard is improved, the new standard now becomes the baseline for further improvements. We need to constantly build on and improve on the existing standards, thus improving standard work is a never-ending process.

Standard work consists of three main elements: TAKT time or the rate at which products must be made in a process to meet customer demand. The precise sequence of work that the operator must perform within the TAKT time and the standard inventory, equipment required to keep the process operating in the right manner.

The standard work forms are used by the engineers, operators, and team leaders to understand the current process, determine what is working and what is not working, and make improvements to the process over time. The benefits of standardization include documentation of the current process for all stakeholders, reduction in variability, training of new resources, and establish a baseline for future improvements.

Note that standardization is not primarily for the people involved in doing the work since they would probably already know how to do the work. It is more for the other stakeholders to understand the process and audit the process to ensure that it is working as planned. Any deviations from the standards need to be investigated to determine the root cause and improvements should be made to ensure that a more consistent process is being followed by all operators.

To add this tool your workbook, click on Lean and then select Standard Work.

Inputs

Click on Analysis Setup to open the menu options for this tool.

Setup

A sample screenshot of the setup menu is shown below.

1	Analysis Type: Specify the tool format for this analysis. This selection is not enabled since there is only one format available.
2	Num Tasks: Specify the number of tasks you would like to define for this standard work tool. The appropriate number of rows will be formatted on the worksheet.
3	View Example: Click on this button to open the example file. You can view the example to get an idea of how to fill out this tool or you can use the example as a starting point and modify it to meet your project needs.
4	Help Button: Click on this button to open the help file on this topic.
5	Cancel Button: Click on this button to exit without saving any changes.
6	OK Button: Click on this button to save changes and update your analysis results.

Checklist

If you click on the Checklist button, you will see the following dialog box. The checklist contains a few pointers on things you need to pay particular attention to while performing this analysis. The checklist has been derived from experience working on past projects. Not all the checklist items need to apply to you. However, you should carefully review the checklist and apply any recommendations that make sense for your project. Make sure to read each checklist item and mark it as completed after you have read and taken actions as appropriate for your project.

Verify

If you click on the Verify button, the software will perform some checks on the data you have entered. A sample screenshot of the dialog box is shown in the figure below. The objective of this analysis as well as any checks that are performed is listed in this dialog box. For example, the software may check if you have correctly specified the input options and entered the required data on the worksheet. The results of the analysis checks are listed on the right. If the checks are passed, then they are shown as a green-colored checkmark. If the verification checks fail, then they are shown as a red-colored cross. If the verification checks result in a warning, they are shown in the orange color exclamation mark and finally, any checks that are required to be performed by the user are shown as blue info icons.

Outputs

Click on Compute Outputs to update the outputs. A sample screenshot of the standard work document is shown below. There are no specific outputs from this study. Work with your team to ensure that you have correctly captured the various process steps and times and the created standard work closely reflects the process that is currently planned or being followed at the workplace.

Notes

Here are a few notes regarding this analysis:

• This form is just one element of the overall standard work. You can include other elements of this to make it more comprehensive such as a work combination table, job instruction sheet, workload balance sheet, etc.

Examples

Following examples can be found in the Examples folder within the software.

• Select a particular process and create a standard work for that process (Standard Work 1.xlsm).