Standard Work - A Component of Lean Management

Standard Work, also called Standard Operating Procedures or SOP’s, are a goal of most organizations and a key component of Lean Management. There are many misconceptions about Standard Work that hinder the adoption of these best practices.
Here are my top 5 observed arguments against SOP’s:
1. Standard Work is too restrictive. (I don’t want to use my right hand to open the jar.)
2. Standard Work limits creativity. (If you write SOP’s the improvement stops.)
3. Standard Work is often wrong. (We don’t do it that way anymore.)
4. Standard Work is not easy to understand. (I can’t find the “help” key on the computer.)
5. Standard Work takes too long to create. (I am too busy doing my job to write it down.)
And the BONUS, and often unsaid; argument I have encountered –“If I help write Standard Work, they will replace me!”

For ease of writing and possibly ease of your reading, I will address these issues in separate articles. Let’s take on the bonus argument first. Experienced workers are often concerned about job security. Writing down what they do may sound exactly like, “Tell us what you do so we can replace you.” Oh, and by replace we mean fire you. I have met very few workers that are really interested in getting replaced, much less fired. So the real issue here has nothing to do with creating a best practice, it is all about ensuring the worker is secure in their position and employment status. For many years the efficiency and improvement efforts have specifically stated reduction of headcount as a goal. This is not very encouraging to the workers. As a former General Manager, I remember trying to reduce labor cost. The workers always saw this as headcount reduction, while I approached it as freeing employees to do more value added work. This could be the classic “glass is half full or half empty” argument.
There are two ways to overcome this misconception; the workers can trust the company’s efforts to use Standard Work are not about headcount reduction or the company can demonstrate commitment to assuring job security while implementing Standard Work. I believe the best option is to do both. I have seen contracts written in organizations that clearly state; “No employee will be eliminated as a result of the improvement achieved through Standard Work implementation.” People often base their trust in others on past experiences. If you do not have a record of demonstrating employment security in the past, a written commitment may be necessary.
There are many benefits of using Standard Work – You must include removing misconceptions in your implementation strategy.