We spend a
lot of time with different industries across the U.S, and Canada working vertically
with CEO’s to primary process owners and horizontally across the functional
silo areas that create the order to customer value stream. The majority of them understand the concept of standardization or standard
work and feel strongly they are implementing the right things – some are very
close. Once we hone in on specificity
of the steps we often uncover they are a bit vague, which can allow wiggle room
for interpretation or preference by the individual. One of our favorite responses when we
discuss the importance of standardized work processes is – “but my job is
creative and you can’t standardize my creativity!” Our favorite response is – “we would never
try to!” We just want you to “create” in
the most value-added way for the customer internally and externally taking in
consideration of the greater product or service value stream.
Standardization
is there for a couple of key reasons:
- 1. To control the process not to constrict it (over-processing).
- 2. To have a baseline/benchmark for improvement (kaizen).
- 3. To have a documented process for training (JIT/TWI).
- 4. To quickly see abnormality at a glance (problem solving).
- 5. Elimination of unnecessary variation (quality/cost control).
So can
everyone take a brief moment and imagine yourself about to have a surgical
procedure and someone mentioned there wasn’t total accountability for the protocols
taken to complete the surgery but they said we are “pretty sure” everything would
be fine. Are you good with the words “pretty
sure?” There are numerous standardized
steps that must be followed in those situations to ensure patient health
and safety. I think we all are thrilled
of the creative skills the doctor has gathered over their tenure, but our goal
is to wake up with the issues resolved, zero incidents, and not worry if everything
step was taken or not.
Have you
ever thought about our roadway systems without stop light signals? We all know or should know the default “standard”,
if the power goes out, that the intersection immediately implements a “4-way”
stop process. How many have seen the
sustainability of the default process for over 5 minutes? Most often we see chaos after a while and
the potential for near misses and/or accidents to take place. This situation
is a great example of the quote I use – A
good culture is what people do when you are not looking. I know we all get frustrated when we get
stopped by a yellow light, but I would rather have the standards in place than
not mostly because I understand the purpose.
Lastly, if
you have ever flown into a larger airport you know there is zero tolerance for
not following the control tower standards.
What if several pilots decided that they wanted to get there faster and
disregarded the instructions for what altitude, which runway, or time of
landing. Would you ever fly again if
there was variation in that standard based on how creative the pilot wanted to
be to bring us in based on their past training or experiences?
Point is,
standards are all around us every single day, at stores, online shopping,
banks, and countless other examples. It’s
amazing to actually stop and think about it in our personal lives- give it a
try. Our cultures drive us to put as
much standardization that is needed at that given time knowing standards can
change based on a situation/event or changing needs. Since we were young we inherently know many
of these standards through routine conditioning and have evolved as the world
of technology and other thing have.
Think about the last time the high majority of you have gone inside to
pay for gas at the pump. We like this
convenience and change, but we can’t seem to embed the same type of thinking in
our work lives as easy. Many are resistant to change even though it’s “suppose”
to be better. We have failed to explain
purpose if this is where you find yourself as a leader.
Taiichi Ohno
said – “there can be no kaizen without a standard”, so if we don’t set a
benchmark for improvement, training and variation then an organization/industry
can leave themselves open for damaging situations not just with a customer, but
their own branding. There are a plethora
of examples of companies not having enough standardization for quality and cost
control and some weren’t able to change rapidly enough and lost customer
trust.
Just
remember when we set a standard there must be a purpose for the steps involved
(explain why it needs to be this way) if you are unable to clearly explain then
you should reevaluate the decision process at each step. Also create as much value as possible leaving
the smallest wasteful steps out (reaching, walking, waiting and mental burden.) Most importantly through this process involve your people, engage and discuss at the process - they know!
Until next
time,
Tracey and
Ernie Richardson
@tracey_san
