Sigma Magic Help Version 18

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 improvements are sustained over time. As the standard is improved, the new standard now becomes the baseline for further improvements. We need to build on and improve existing standards constantly; 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 to meet customer demand. The precise sequence of work that the operator must perform within the TAKT time, the standard inventory, and the equipment required to keep the process operating correctly.

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 improve it over time. Standardization benefits include documenting the current process for all stakeholders, reducing variability, training new resources, and establishing 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 it to ensure it works as planned. Any deviations from the standards need to be investigated to determine the root cause, and improvements should be made to ensure that all operators follow a more consistent process.

To add this tool to 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 want 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.
6a	Create Button: Click on this button to save changes and update the worksheet layout. You can edit the information on the worksheet and then click on Compute Outputs to generate analysis results.
6b	OK Button: Click on this button to save changes and update your analysis results.

Checklist

You will see the following dialog box if you click the Checklist button. The checklist contains a few pointers on things you must 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.

1	Item: The items on the checklist are listed on the left
2	Status: The status of whether the checklist has been answered is listed on the right.

Ideally, all items on the checklist should be marked as reviewed/completed.

Verify

If you click the Verify button, the software will perform some checks on the data you entered. A sample screenshot of the dialog box is shown in the figure below. The software checks 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, they are shown as green checkmarks. If the verification checks fail, they are shown as a red cross. If the verification checks result in a warning, they are shown in the orange exclamation mark, and finally, any checks that are required to be performed by the user are shown as blue info icons.

1	Item: The left-hand side shows the major tabs and the items checked within each section
2	Status: The right-hand side shows the status of the checks.
3	Overall Status: Shows the overall status of all the checks performed. If all the checked items are okay, the status image in the header will show a green checkmark. If any checks fail, then the status image in the header will show a red cross mark.

Outputs

Click on Compute Outputs to update the outputs. A sample screenshot of the standard work document is shown below. If there are no errors, the software will display a message on the screen, as shown below. Work with your team to ensure that you have correctly captured the various process steps and times and that the created standard work closely reflects the process 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

The following examples are in the software's Examples folder.

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

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