1. What Is a Standard? A standard is a rule or example that provides clear expectations. Continuous improvement methods depend on identifying, set­ting, and improving standards. Standards form the baseline for all improvement activities, and they define the breakthrough goals you strive to achieve as your continuous improvement activities gain momentum. In manufacturing, standards are applied to two aspects of production: 1. Product specifications and quality, to eliminate defects in products. 2. Production process analysis and improvement, to eliminate all process waste, which also includes defective products.

34. Step Four: Create a Standard Operations Chart (Standard Work Sheet) a. Create a drawing of the machines as they are laid out in the cell or line and enter their work sequence number. Connect the machines with a solid line according to this sequence. Draw a bro­ken line between the last and first step of the process. b. Enter the quality checkpoints. c. Enter the safety checkpoints, d. Enter the WIP. e. Enter the takt time and the net cycle time (including only the quality and safety checks or setups that are done for each cycle). f. Enter the amount of standard WIP. g. Enter the breakdown numbers to indicate different operators in the cell and total number of operators.

38. Improvement of Operations for Standard Work 1. Improvements to the flow of materials 2. Shifting from specialization to multi-skilled lines and operators 3. Improvements in motion 4. Establishing rules for operations 5. Improvements in equipment 6. Separation of people and machines 7. Preventing defects Improvements in operation motions can be achieved by focusing on several aspects of an operation. 1. Placement of parts—See Figure 3-10 for an example of this. 2. Picking up parts—See Figure 3-11 for an example of this. 3. Shifting from one-handed to two-handed tasks—See Figure 3-12 for an example of this. 4. Elimination of walking waste —See Figure 3-13 for an example of this. Improvements in motion are among the most important changes that can be made in the standardization process.

44. Training by specialists or managers :