📏 Standard Work: the key to producing better, with fewer errors and greater peace of mind.

In many industrial workshops, you often hear:

"Everyone does it their own way"

"You have to ask Jean, he’s the only one who knows how to do it"

"Mistakes? Well, it happens."

What if we moved from random execution to a structured, safe, smooth, and almost predictable environment?

Welcome to the world of Standard Work: a powerful tool, but too often ignored, that fundamentally transforms the way we produce on a daily basis.

🔍 Why it matters, especially in an industrial SME

In an SME, resources are limited, teams are often multi-tasking, and every mistake is costly. Too much variability in how the same task is performed leads to:

• ❌ Increased risk of errors or non-conformities

• ⏳ Wasted time during restarts or onboarding

• 🤔 Quality that depends on the “star operator” rather than the process itself

Implementing Standard Work means:

• Laying the foundations of quality and performance

• Securing actions and transferring knowledge

• Providing a concrete lever for continuous improvement

It’s just like a proven recipe:

• Everyone knows what to do, how, and with what expected result.

• And when the recipe is good, we keep it, we improve it…

• But we don't reinvent it every time.

📊 Standard Work explained simply (and practically)

Standard Work is not an administrative document or a 48-page manual.

It’s a clear, visual, and shared synthesis of the best-known way to perform a task today.

📍 Example: tool change on a press

Currently, depending on the operator, the sequence varies. The order of checks changes. Sometimes, tightening is forgotten.

🔻 Consequences? Downtime, rejected parts, safety scares.

✅ With a standard work:

• Each step is described simply

• A diagram or photo illustrates the action, the tool, the order

• The key safety and quality points are highlighted

• The document is displayed at the workstation, at eye level

And above all: it is co-constructed with the operators.

👉 It showcases their know-how, not a procedure imposed from an office.

📘 How to implement effective Standard Work

Here’s a simple, concrete, and proven method in many companies:

🔄 Step 1: Identify key processes

• Focus on 3 to 5 critical areas: recurring defects, human errors, unexplained stoppages.

• Involve operators, supervisors, quality, maintenance.

📸 Step 2: Observe with a Gemba Walk

• Go see. Observe the actual actions.

• Note the variations, inconsistencies, micro-wastes.

📝 Step 3: Build the standard

• Map the process (SIPOC, flowchart, steps)

• Write clear instructions, with pictograms, photos, critical points

• Add a standard work form if necessary (time, position, checks)

📈 Step 4: Test, adjust, validate

• Test with a volunteer operator

• Adjust unclear sections

• Get team agreement on the final version

📍 Step 5: Display and keep it alive

• Display at the workstation (laminated, QR code, simple format)

• Integrate the standard into rituals: "Is it still useful, applied, clear?"

🧰 Tools & indicators to monitor deployment

Useful tools:

• Gemba or Kaizen events to identify needs

• Standardized Work Instructions (SWI)

• Training Within Industry (TWI)

• Document management and version tracking

Indicators to follow (examples):

• ⏱ Cycle time

• 📉 Defect rate

• ⚠️ Non-conformities

🧩 Conclusion: One small standard, one big step

Standard Work is not just another document.

It’s a framework for control, a collective reference, a real lever for continuous improvement.

And above all, it’s a simple tool that any SME can put in place starting today.

What is the first position you will standardize this week? 📋 Launch a small pilot project. Test. Adjust. Capitalize.

Because real improvement always starts with a clear starting point. And a good standard is exactly that: a solid foundation. 💪