Standard Work
The current best way to do the work
What Is Standard Work?
The documented, agreed-upon best method for performing a task today—serving as a baseline for improvement.
Standard Work is the current best-known way to complete a task safely, efficiently, and with quality. It's not bureaucratic documentation—it's a living baseline that workers themselves help create and improve. Without a standard, there is no basis for improvement.
Standard work typically includes three elements: (1) takt time—the pace of customer demand, (2) work sequence—the order of tasks, and (3) standard inventory—the minimum work-in-process needed to maintain flow. These are documented visually, often with photos and simple diagrams.
Critically, standard work is not "frozen." It's designed to be improved. When a worker or team finds a better way, the standard is updated. This creates a ratchet effect: improvements are locked in, never lost. Without standard work, one shift might improve while another regresses, and gains disappear.
- •Any repeatable process where consistency matters
- •Onboarding new workers quickly and safely
- •Creating a baseline for improvement
- •Reducing variation in quality and performance
- •Enabling multi-skilled workers to flex between tasks
- •Purely creative work with no repeatability
- •One-time projects that won't recur
- •When the process is in rapid flux (stabilize first)
- •If standards will be imposed without worker input
- •Creating standards that workers didn't help develop
- •Documenting the ideal instead of the actual best method
- •Treating standards as permanent and unchangeable
- •Writing novel-length procedures nobody reads
- •Not updating standards when improvements are found
Standard Example
Standard Work: Daily Customer Order Processing
Takt Time: 4 minutes per order (120 orders/shift ÷ 480 min)
Work Sequence:
1. Open order from queue (30 sec)
2. Verify customer info in CRM (45 sec)
3. Check inventory availability (30 sec)
4. Process payment (60 sec)
5. Generate shipping label (30 sec)
6. Update order status (15 sec)
7. Send confirmation email (30 sec)
Total Cycle Time: 4.0 minutes
Standard WIP: 3 orders maximum in processing
Quality Checks:
• Address verification popup on step 5
• Payment confirmation before step 6
Visual Standard: (Photo showing ideal screen layout, checklist position)
Abnormality Response:
• Payment decline → Flag for supervisor
• Inventory shortage → Offer alternative within 24h
Last Updated: Jan 15, 2026
Updated By: Sarah (with team input)
Next Review: Feb 15, 2026
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