The three elements of standard operations: the foundation of operational standardization

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When it comes to standard operations, many people confuse them with work standards. Some people are aware of the concept of standard operations, but they are unclear about how to implement them. Among Chinese companies, less than 1% actually use \"standard operations\" and enable them to play a substantive role. To help everyone clearly understand the basic concepts of standard operations and grasp the key points for their implementation, this article will introduce the three essential elements of standard operations, in the hope of assisting your company in adopting them. The three elements of standard operations: Standard operations form the basis for efficient production in the workplace, serve as a foundation for supervisors to manage their respective processes, and also provide a basis for further improvements. Thus, in order to carry out production effectively, it is necessary to take into account the various conditions for carrying out standard operations, and to effectively combine materials, machinery, and people. The Toyota Production System refers to this process of combining tasks as task combination, and the result of such combination is the standard operation. Standard operations consist of the following three elements, all of which are essential: ① cycle time, ② operation sequence, and ③ standard inventory level. Another feature of standard operations in the Toyota Production System is that it is primarily the team leader who decides on these standards. Generally, in other companies, standard operations are established by technicians acting as third parties who use IE methods to conduct operation analysis, and are finalized based on the results thereof. Once something determined by the team leader becomes a standard, it is used to guide the workers to comply with it. The standard operation must allow the team leader to demonstrate it to the workers at an appropriate speed, and a third party must confirm that this speed is indeed appropriate. It is important that supervisors have a better understanding of the on-site processes they are responsible for, and the standard operating procedures established must certainly be things they themselves are capable of carrying out before assigning them to their subordinates. It is also highly necessary for supervisors to investigate whether the standard procedures have been fully followed, as well as any unfavorable factors such as areas that are difficult to operate. Therefore, at first glance it might seem like an unscientific decision-making method; however, it is not inappropriate for the team leader responsible for setting the standards to make such decisions with confidence, based on past work achievements and knowledge. However, standard operating procedures cannot be set once and then left untouched; they represent an ongoing process that is not yet fully realized and requires continuous improvement. Both those who establish these procedures and the workers who follow them need to pay attention to process improvements in order to make progress together, and they revise the standard operating procedures repeatedly based on such improvements. My own experience shows that if a factory supervisor uses unmodified standard operating procedures at all times, he is a “failure” when it comes to making improvements. 01. Cycle time: The so-called cycle time is the amount of time, in minutes and seconds, required to manufacture one unit or product. This is determined by the production volume and working hours. To calculate the cycle time, divide the number of working days by the required amount per month to obtain the average required amount per day; then use this figure to divide the daily working hours. Cycle time = Working time / Required amount per day (Note: When the daily working time varies, it is calculated using a schedule.) Once the cycle time is determined, it also determines the amount of work assigned to each person who is to complete the task within that time frame; however, in this case, the margin factor used in standard work study is not taken into account. In such cases, standards such as work speed and proficiency are set by the team leader themselves. Therefore, when a newcomer can work for the same amount of time as the team leader, it means they are capable of handling tasks on their own. Once the cycle time is determined, individual differences arise depending on the producer. And since the remainder is not taken into account, anyone can understand whether there is waste, which in turn is related to improvement. In other words, this provides the factory with a direction for improvement: when the cycle time is slightly longer than desired, what improvements should we make in order to meet that cycle time. 02. Task sequence: The task sequence refers to the process by which an operator transforms materials into a finished product, step by step, and it includes transporting items and installing or removing them from machinery. It is the order in which tasks are carried out over time, and it does not refer to the order in which the products move from one place to another. If this order of tasks is not specified, everyone will work in whatever order they prefer, and even if the same person carries out the same tasks, the order will vary each time. Furthermore, if this sequence of operations is not followed, products that have been forgotten to be processed or installed incorrectly will proceed to subsequent stages, leading to machine damage, shutdowns of the production line, and even product recalls. On the other hand, when carrying out standard operations, in order to avoid waste, unevenness, and irrationalities, it is necessary to carefully define and understand the current situation in a specific and quantitative manner regarding the sequence of operations. For example, clearly define how to use both hands, the position of the feet, how to engage in the work, etc., so that operators understand these rules and standardize them. To make everyone aware: “This is how the assignment should be done.” Those who set standards must be able to express themselves clearly, so that a safe and efficient workflow for producing high-quality products can be established. 03. Standard inventory: The so-called standard inventory refers to the semi-finished products that are necessary for the smooth progress of operations within a production process, including also the products installed on machines. The standard stock level varies depending on the methods used for machine configuration and the ways in which the order of operations is determined, but it is not possible to carry out operations without any semi-finished products at any stage of the process. Generally speaking, even with the same machine configuration, if operations are carried out in the order of the processing steps, only what is necessary for installing the machines is required, and there will be no inventory between different steps ； However, if the operations are carried out in the reverse order of the progression sequence, it is necessary to have a stock level after each product is manufactured among the various stages (i.e., two levels when two products are installed). The standard stock level also takes into account situations where, due to quality inspection requirements, a certain number of semi-finished products must be available in a specific place; or where further processing cannot proceed unless the temperature drops to a certain level; or where a certain number of semi-finished products are needed in order to use up the oil. Standard operations are easily confused with work standards, but standard operations and work standards are different. The so-called operating standards are various standards stipulated for performing standard operations. For example, in heat treatment, these include the temperature at which the material is processed, the duration of processing, and the type of cooling fluid used. In machining, they encompass the type, shape, material, dimensions of the lathe and cutting tools, as well as cutting conditions and cutting oil. To achieve the specified quality, economic considerations related to the operations are also set as standards. In the standard operating procedures thus established, the standard operation sheets are posted in visible locations at each work site, serving as a guide for new workers when they begin working. Furthermore, the experienced workers are already *accustomed to that task, which also acts as a brake preventing them from performing tasks outside the standard procedures. If there are any inconveniences in carrying out tasks based on the standard work sheets, it will lead to subsequent improvements, resulting in the creation of new standard work sheets and operation manuals. On the other hand, by posting the instructions and standard work sheets, managers can immediately see whether the workers are performing the tasks correctly or if there are any deficiencies in the instructions.