Start-up Standardized Work

Starting Point of Work ① (hmoperationsmanagement.com)

Many professional athletes have “Routines” to prepare for the game. It could be during the week, before the game, or during play. Some are superstition and not scientific. But many are standardized ways of controlling mindsets. Why not have standardized methods to start our work?

Once you have the starting point & lines to start the work, we can form these into an area, the standardized work.

Compare against allocated time for start-up

Once the tasks and their times are determined, compare them against the allocated time. I have been to places where the total time for the start-up tasks exceeded the allocated time. It is not possible to complete. Increasing the allocated time more than the current will negatively impact the cost. The better solution is to Kaizen each task so that the total time will be lower than the allocated time. It sounds simple & basic. Yet, many places are missing this kind of comparison.

Sequence and timing of work

The sequence of work for the start-up is essential since from the entry point to the start point might be long and complex. Ideally, you don’t want people walking back and forth inside the factory. They should move in one stroke. Factory layout should have a design that allows people to move flawlessly.

Timing of work is also crucial since some tasks require a lead time to complete. Suppose there is an absentee and a substitute worker (later is rare). The manager requires time to determine which substitute to go to and where. The manager must ensure that the substitute has the necessary skills to cover the absence. The reserve must physically move to the station. For these reasons, the need for a replacement must be reported early in the start-up. Otherwise, we will not start the work on time even if the resource is available.

The in-process stock of tools

The in-process stock also applies to start-ups. In previous examples, I mentioned the nurse searching for a fully charged computer. Fully charged batteries are becoming new necessary in-process tools. We must allocate enough time for the battery to charge. Most likely, time from the last use until the start of work is insufficient time to charge. If so, we need additional sets of batteries. Besides computers, scanners, electronic tools, forklifts, and many other tools require batteries. Allocating sufficient charging stations close to the start-up movement is a need today. Some tooling requires maintenance after each use. The rules are the same for such tools.

I mentioned this walk of transition from outside culture to professional culture. Many Japanese factories use “Radio Exercise” to stretch and transition into professional mode. Instead of going through the chaos of figuring out where to start and what to do, standardized start-ups help people get into a professional manner.