CPS FOR DEALERS

Drive Standard Work

Overview

VST Phase: Find-It / Fix-It

Module 24
Version 3 - 2010
Version 3 Caterpillar: Confidential Green
Objectives
At the end of this module, you will be able to:

 Identify the impacts of Standard Work practices within a

value stream
 Describe Standard Work
― Main documents created
― Related documents
― Roles and responsibilities
― Steps to create main Standard Work documents
― Audit guidelines for Standard Work

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‘Standard Work’ is:
 An initiative, vision, goal, or philosophy like Quality and Safety
― It reduces variation in the processes enabling us to achieve
consistent safety, quality, velocity, and cost

 Performing a task consistently, achieving consistent results

― Consistency alone does not ensure quality, velocity, etc.
― Reduces variation

 Identification and documentation of most efficient way of

performing a task
― Using current tools, processes, thinking

Stability implies general predictability and consistent availability in

Stabilize terms of manpower, machine, material, and method

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Why Standard Work?

If you can’t repeat it, you can’t improve it.

“Today’s standardization… is the necessary foundation on which tomorrow’s

improvements will be based. If you think of “standardization” as the best you
can do today, but which is to be improved tomorrow – you get somewhere.
But if you think of standards as confining, then progress stops.”
– Henry Ford

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 Standard Work Components
Standard Work Sheet (SWS) “Planned Method” Audit
• Describes WHAT is done. • The complete details of • Focused attention on a particular
• What are the work elements? the work elements process
• Who does them? documented in the SWS • Gains deeper understanding of
• In what sequence? and SWES the process
• How long do they take? • Results in CI issues or employee
• Used by the team training
member on a regular
Standard Work Element
basis
Sheet (SWES) Audit Log
• Describes HOW to do the steps • Tracks
• Examples:
listed in the SWS • Completed audits
• Instruction Manuals
• What are the smaller steps? • Lessons learned
• Standard Jobs
• What is critical about those • Improvement action plans
• Testing & Adjustment
steps? • Metrics conformance
Guides
• Why are those items critical?

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Standard Work Sheet and Standard Work Element Sheet
Are: Are Not:
 Visual Workplace Elements  Detailed Work instructions
 Used by the Team Lead, Auditor,  Referenced daily by the
Planner, RIW team, new team experienced team member
members  Analysis sheet used in RIW
 Basis for Rapid Improvement  Developed by the team
Workshop members or by the planners
 Developed with the team
members

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Why Standard Work?
ERP
Wait too long to order parts Customer
lead time longer then the
time to get it back
Too many people PSSR Information
scheduling Current Demand – 10
Caterpillar Production End Customer
Cyls Per day
Future Demand – 15
Control MTA for use Cyls per day
Working Days per
Dan Express Equipment
week - 5

North Branch Operations

OEM Supplier(s)
Need to wait for
authorization from
customer
Finished Goods

Inventory
10 Cylinders

New
Technicians
Branch Parts
Warehouse Do not
understand
RIW #3
Develop Shipping and
receiving lanes to
create flow and reduce
over processing

RIW #4
Create Scheduling
Process No clear lanes
For Shipping
process to handle Once work
various levels of RIW #1 Need better distribution Is completed
product Excess of Dealer Exchange
New Technicians inventory Stabilize and Parts Contamination
Control Issues
Do not understand Flow Changes
Process

No Scheduling
-Priority Receiving

Shipping Wash Bay Staging/Holding Teardown & Repair Assembly & Test
Process Area Paint Tag & Ship
Inventory Receiving Inventory Inventory Inventory
Inspection Inventory Rod, Tube, Piston Inventory Inventory Inventory
50 Units 20 Units 10 Units 20 Units 40 Units 130 Units 5 Units 15 Units
Team Members .25 Staff Team Members .25 Staff Team Members 1 Staff
Team Members .25 Staff Team Members 2 Staff Team Members 2 Staff Team Members .25 Staff Team Members 1 Staff

Available Time 480 Mins Available Time 480 Mins Available Time 480 Mins Available Time 480 Mins
Available Time 480 Mins Available Time 480 Mins Available Time 480 Mins Available Time 480 Mins

Process Time 10 Mins Process Time 5 Mins Process Time 64 Mins Process Time 60 Mins
Process Time 10 Mins Process Time 90 Mins Process Time 20 Mins Process Time 5 Mins

Cycle Time 10 Mins Cycle Time 5 Mins Cycle Time 104 Mins Cycle Time 80 Mins
Cycle Time 10 Mins Cycle Time 110 Mins Cycle Time 25 Mins Cycle Time 15 Mins
Changeover Changeover Changeover Changeover
Changeover 10 Mins NA Mins 10 Mins Changeover Changeover Changeover
NA Mins Time Time Time 10-20 Mins 30 Mins 5 Mins 2 Mins
Time Time Time Time Time
OEE 50 % OEE NA % OEE 60 %
OEE NA % Need to OEE 30 % OEE 50 % OEE 50 % OEE 40 %
forecast
REMAN rods
needed Machining
utilization hurts
product flow Assembly area
Parts washed Access exchange Holds various levels RIW #2
then left outside Parts in Yard of completed Cat SIMS
product, parts WIP Invoicing System

Close Invoice Enter into SIMS

(Hydraulic Assistant) (Hydraulic Assistant)
Outside Inventory Inventory VSM Summary
Supplier for polishing 30 Units 150 Units Max Available Time 480 Mins
rods Team Members .75 Staff Team Members .25 Staff
Total Customer
Available Time 480 Mins 10 Units
Available Time 480 Mins Demand
Process Time 30 Mins Process Time 5 Mins Takt Time 48 Mins
Cycle Time 60 Mins Cycle Time 20 Mins Total Team
Need Clear Process for 7.00 Staff
Changeover Changeover
NA Mins
Members
closing Hyd Cyl Rebuild Time
NA Mins Time
Invoices
OEE NA %
Work In Process 450 Units
OEE NA %

Cycle Efficiency 1.18 %

Need Clear Process Summary

Total Product
114.22
2400Hrs 960 Hrs 114.22
480 Hrs 960
29.0 Hrs 0.0 Hrs
1920 6240
0.0 Hrs 1440
0.0 Hrs 7200
0.0 Hrs 21600 Hrs

for closing Hyd

Cycle Time
28.2010Hrs 1.0 Hrs
10 5
1.0 Hrs 45
1.0 Hrs 0.0 Hrs
60 90
0.0 Hrs 30
0.0 Hrs 0.05 Hrs Total Value
255 Hrs
Added

Cyl Rebuild
Invoices

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Express Equipment Hydraulic Cylinder Rebuild
Example Scenario - Express Equipment - SWCS Tear Down Sheet.xls

NeedMoreNewPartShelves

Shipping
AssemblyArea
Heads

AddShelves

LargeLathe PartsWasher HoneBench

FromWR

Tear DownBench FIFOLanes

Hotvs. NotHot

Nut Buster
Rod&SolidStock

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Group Discussion

 What are some examples of where

standard work is applied at your
dealership?

 What are some examples of where

standard work needs to be applied at
your dealership?

5 – 10 minutes discussion within Teams or entire class

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Standard Work Lifecycle
Create / Update the standard
Document the standard

Analysis Implement the standard

Improve the standard Train team members

Audit the standard

Monitor the outputs

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Create / Update Standard - Prework
 Communicate with team members,  Gather Existing Documentation
team leads and section managers ― Process Flow Diagram
― Plans for their area ― Process Failure Mode Effects
― Understand roles Analysis (PFMEA)
― Process focus (not on people) ― Quality plan
 Go See – become familiar with ― Safety FMEA
process area  Outstanding or recurring issues
 Calculate Takt Time (management ― Existing CI cards
helps determine target) ― Safety incidents
― Current ― High Safety FMEA scores
― Next 3-6 months ― Rework
― Next 1-3 years ― Repair logs related to the area

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SWS / SWES Creation Process

1. Identify and draft work elements for SWS

2. Validate the elements and sequence
3. Identify work elements that need more detail (SWES)
4. Draft sequence, key points and reasons for SWESs
5. Validate SWESs
6. Document safety scores / issues
7. Document cycle times
8. Complete documents including pictures etc.
9. Validate and get sign-offs
We will go through these steps after we Plan, Do, Check, Act

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Use of Documents – Plan

 Helps identify and eliminate variations in team member work

sequence
― Establishes process stability
― Ensures performance consistency
 Creates baseline for continuous process improvement
― Assists problem solving
― Enables effective employee involvement and mistake proofing
 Establishes organizational knowledge
― Means of sharing best practices across shifts, work areas, etc.

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Implement – Training on the Standard – Do
 Utilize Job Instruction Training Process
― Plan training needs
• Determine who needs what training
― Break down the job
• From the Standard Work Sheet(SWS) and Standard Work Element Sheet(SWES),
what exactly does each person need to learn
― Prepare
― Train
• Prepare the learner
• Present the standard process
• Have the learner do the process
• Follow up

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Use of Documents - Do
 SWS and SWES used to educate new team members, RIW teams,
Managers, or anyone that should understand the activities of a work area
― Include SWS and SWES elements in training program
― Represents current best way to perform job
― Require team members to follow the standard
― Challenge team members to propose better methods
― Record improvement ideas via Continuous Improvement process (CI
cards)
― Maintain current standard until improvement ideas:
• Reviewed with team members, team leads and manager
• Validated
• Documentation updated
• Team trained on the new standard

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Use of Documents – Check
 When process fails or nearly fails – re-evaluate for improvement
opportunities
― Injuries or near misses
― Repairs / modifications needed downstream
― Differences between standard time and actual times – recurring issues on
metrics boards
 Look for:
― What went wrong?
― Standard process errors
― SW document errors
― Unclear documentation
― Better training for standard needed
― Workstation lay-out or maintenance (5S) improvements to enable efficiency

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Identify Opportunities – Check
 Standard Work Audit identifies process improvement
opportunities. It includes observation followed by Process
Improvement Dialogue (PID):
― Where to improve the process
― Where to improve the documentation
• Robust enough to produce the desired results?
• Has critical variation been removed from the process?
• Has too much detail been added?
― Is everyone following the standard?
 If the audit is after a process failure:
― What went wrong?
― Why did it go wrong?
― What (process, paperwork, person) needs to be addressed?

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Improve – The perfect process isn’t designed,
it’s discovered – Act

 Improve the process using existing improvement methods

― Prioritize improvements - so those with most impact receive first attention
• Implement minor improvements through CI process
• Implement major improvements through RIWs
 Improve the documentation – more or better instructions
 Improve adherence – re-educate & audit

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Evaluate Improvement Opportunity – Act
 Conduct Standard Work audit – focus on trigger event process step
― Include appropriate Safety, Quality and other expertise to address the issue
 Improvement opportunities may include:
― Process
• New fixtures, tooling, lifting devices, etc.
• Change the order
• Load rebalance
• Improving supporting processes
― Paperwork
• Add PQVC symbol to appropriate work element
• Document any process changes including new cycle times
• Provide additional detail / clarification
― People
• Provide additional training for person who made mistake

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Additional Improvement Tools – Act

 Time Observation
― Helps determine actual process cycle times
― Used to determine actual capacity Toolkit: Standard Work Analysis.xls
― Used to balance the workload Worksheet – Observation Form
 Standard Work Analysis Tool (Waste Analysis Module)
― Helps identify and analyze waste in the process
― Helps prioritize which wastes to attack Appendix: Combination
 Combination Table Table reference
― Used when more than one resource (two people,
person and one or more machines) is involved in the process
― Helps identify where interferences are causing waste in the process

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 Express Equipment Example
During a RIW: Created Standard Work for 797B Truck Assembly

Objective:
 Document the most efficient way to assemble 797B trucks to ensure quality and
velocity.
 Provide a stable process that will enable continuous improvements.

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Wastes: Defects
Over Processing

Before After
Standardized
Assembly
Sequence

The Caterpillar assembly manual.is not in the correct

assembly sequence and does not follow the
standard format

P Qualification of assemblers

Q Defined sequence

V Reduction of assembly time

C Equipment programming

Gantt chart is not in the correct assembly sequence

and does not reflect the current process.
Additionally the Gantt chart does not provide process,
safety or quality details

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Drive Standard Work Culture

 Plan – Create
― Work together – everyone brings insights to the team
 Do – Implement
― Use the documents as foundation for training
― Follow the standard
 Check
― Audit the process, not the person
― Work together to identify improvement opportunities
― Do not assign blame
 Act
― Start with current process and improve it rather than reinventing
― Can’t change everything at once – prioritize the improvements

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CPS FOR DEALERS

Developing Standard Work

Creating SWS / SWES

Module 24
Version 3 - 2010
Version 3 Caterpillar: Confidential Green
SWS / SWES Creation Process

1. Identify and draft work elements for SWS

2. Validate the elements and sequence
3. Identify work elements that need more detail (SWES)
4. Draft sequence, key points and reasons for SWESs
5. Validate SWESs
6. Document safety scores / issues
7. Document cycle times
8. Complete documents including pictures etc.
9. Validate and get sign-offs

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 Toolkit: SWS SWES Templates.xls
Step 1: Identify Work Elements for SWS
Select SWS format

SWS Key Points format for Business process

(when SWES detail not needed)

SWS Layout format to include photos &

area layout diagrams etc.

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Step 1: Identify Work Elements for SWS
SWS Work Elements
 Work Element Description
― High Level Step Detail
• Understandable to new person
 Sym (Key elements only, if needed)
― PQVC order
― If multiple, highest priority
 Safety Score
― Optional – FMEA Score
 Cycle Time
― Time it takes to complete the
documented step
 Walk Time
― Is it necessary to physically move at any time during
your process?
― Typically left blank for Transactional Processes
 Standard Work Element Sheet ID & Rev
― Naming convention – typically expanded on from the SWS ID
― Column shows if a SWES was necessary for the SWS step

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Step 1: Identify Work Elements for SWS
Standard Work Sheet
– Key Points
Work Elements

 Reference
― Any already published documents that support this process
― Examples: FMEA, Presentations, Desk Books, etc.
 Key Points
― Information to remember while completing the process
 Reasons
― Why the information on that step and in the key point are important
― If you have a key point, you need to have a reason

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Step 1: Identify Work Elements for SWS
Standard Work Sheet - Footer

 Standard Work In Process (SWIP)

― What does it take to keep this process moving?
― What do you need to complete the process?
 Cycle Time
― Total Time it takes to complete an entire process cycle.
 Takt Time
― How quickly do you need to move items through your process?

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Step 1: Draft Work Elements
How much detail is necessary?

 Standard Work is not training, the person understands basic steps

 Enough detail to know if the general process is followed
― Create separate elements for:
• In-Process Validations (IPVs) & SWES for more detail
• High safety risk & SWES for more detail
• Any steps that need to be done in a specific order

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Step 1: Draft Work Elements
How much detail is necessary?

 Combine multiple sequential, insignificant / short cycle time work

elements into single work element.
 Keep enough detail to enable:
― Team member to stop after completing work element to hand off to next
shift
― Work to be moved to balance the line
― Team to track velocity and issues

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Step 2: Validate the Elements and Sequence

 Review the work elements against any work instructions.

 Observe and discuss with team member completing work
elements and look for gaps.
― Often experienced team members do work elements so automatically and
quickly they are difficult to identify
 Review with additional experienced team members who work in
that process.
― Come to agreement
 Update the work elements.

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Step 3: Identify Work Elements Needing More Detail
- Standard Work Element Sheet (SWES)

Toolkit: SWS SWES Templates.xls

Worksheet: SWES

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Step 4: Draft Sequence, Key Points and Reasons for SWESs

 Work Element Description

― Detailed steps for completing the high level SWS step
 Sym Symbol – Only for steps that require a symbol
― If you give a symbol to a SWS step with a SWES, you should have a symbol on the SWES
calling out the step that requires that symbol.
― Similarly, If you have a SWES that has a need for a symbol, that same symbol should be
shown for that step on the SWS.
― If multiple symbols seem to fit that step, use the one with the highest priority
― PQVC Order

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Step 4: Draft Sequence, Key Points and Reasons for SWESs

 Key Points
― Information to remember while completing the process.
 Reasons
― Why the information on that step and in the key point are important.
― If you have a key point, you need to have a reason
 Cycle Time
― Time it takes to complete the documented step
― Time on the SWES should add up to the time shown on the SWS
 Photos
― Open section to the right
― Including photos can help make a point that is difficult to put into words
• Include photos only that enhance the message
― Include numbers on the photos to tie the photo to the work element
― Resize and crop the photos before pasting them into SWES
• Resizing or cropping in Excel may cause the SWES file size to be much larger than
necessary and make it harder to work with

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Step 5-9: Validate SWES – Document!

 Review the SWES against any work instructions.

 Review with Quality and Safety.
 Discuss with team members / team lead.
― Determine if there are any tips or techniques that make the work element easier
or more consistent
― Determine if there is something that can be shown in a picture to make the
message clearer.
 Review with additional experienced team members who work in that
workstation.
― Come to agreement
 Update the SWES work elements.

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Step 7: Document Cycle Times
Time Observation Purpose

 Document the time it actually takes to complete each step in a

process.
― Repeatable time – not best possible
― Time needed by an experienced team member, qualified for the process,
and following the Standard Work
― At a reasonable time of day – not start of shift
 Includes both value added and non-value added work.
― It is important to separate value added from
non-value added. That is covered in a separate module
― The purpose here is to observe how long the process actually takes

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Step 7: Document Cycle Times
Standard Work and Line Balancing Drop Page Fields Here

Sum of CT
100

 Only by Identifying and documenting 90

individual work elements with cycle times 80

can you balance the workload.

70

60

 Example: 50

― Workstations 3 and 4 cannot meet

40

30

demand. 20

― 5 and 6 have less work. 10

― Individual work elements may be able to WS 1 WS 2 WS 3

Workstation
WS 4 WS 5 WS 6

be moved between workstations to

enabling the entire line to meet demand.

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Step 7: Document Cycle Times
Time Observation Preparation

 Team members and team lead need to know that you will be doing time
observations. They will be able to help with the following:
― Determine the appropriate time for the observation
• Ensure appropriate team members are available
• Ensure appropriate product will be scheduled
― Determine the best position(s) to observe, reduce risk and enable line of site
― Watch the process in advance to become familiar with the process and area
― Determine logical start and finish steps

 Prepare the form

― Include all work elements being timed on the observation form. This is normally
done at the SWS level, but may also be done at the SWES level.

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Step 7: Document Cycle Times
Time Observation Process
 Review and follow all required safety procedures.
 Put the team member at ease, especially if videotaping.
 Ask the team member to perform the job in the normal way.
 Do not obstruct the team member in any way.
 While observing the work elements, leave the clock running and record
timestamps at the end of each work element on one of the Time Observation
Sheets.
 If additional, optional work is observed, gather the times, but document these on
a different sheet. These may become additional work elements.
 Note anything that interferes with the work. These may be included in
improvement opportunities.
 On a short cycle process it is advisable to record at least five cycles. Observe ten
if possible.
 Always thank the team member for their assistance and remind them that if they
have any feedback that they should not hesitate to share.

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Step 7: Document Cycle Times
Time Observation Analysis

 Calculate work element time by taking the difference between the

ending time of the work element and the end of the prior element.
― Excel template calculates automatically - fill in the yellow
cells.
 Identify the lowest repeatable time for each work element and
record in the Repeatable Time column by work element.

Toolkit: Time Observation Form V2.1.xls

Worksheet – Observation Form

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Step 7: Document Cycle Times
Time Observation Analysis - Example

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SWS / SWES Creation Process – Dealer Example

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SWS / SWES Creation Process

1.Validate the elements and sequence

2.Identify work elements that need more detail (SWES)
3.Draft sequence, key points and reasons for SWESs
4.Validate SWESs
5.Document safety scores / issues
6.Document cycle times
7.Complete documents including pictures etc.
8.Validate and get sign-offs

What do you do to ensure the SWS / SWES

creation process is used? Audits!

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Standard Work Audits
 Purpose:
― Enforce standard work documentation discipline
• Audit the standard work document
• Audit employee adherence
• Continuous Improvement
 Prioritization & Standard Work Audit Schedule
Example
Role Requirement Frequency Priority
Supervisor Required 1 job per shift PQVC
Area Manager Recommended 1 job per week Schedule / coverage
Branch Manager Required 1 job per week PQVC
Quality As Required Q
Safety As Required P

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Standard Work – Audit Form and Audit Log

Toolkit:
Standard Work – Audit form_v4.0.xls
Standard Work – Audit Log_v4.0.xls

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Standard Work Audit Questions

 Is the Standard Work readily available within the work area?

 Is all required safety equipment referenced on the Standard Work document
being used?
 Are all identified safety key point(s) in the Standard Work document being
followed?
 Are all identified quality key point(s) in the Standard Work document being
followed?
 Are all the referenced documents and systems up to date?
 Are all required elements of Standard Work documented on the form?
 Are the employees following work sequence, planned method and practices as
referenced on standard work documentation?
 Is the process capable of meeting documented cycle time?

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Questions?

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Exercise
Improve Standard Work for the Racecar
production operations example:
― Get the Standard Work Sheet and assembly materials
for your assigned function
― Complete a Time Observation form
― Complete a Standard Work Sheet
― Look for opportunities to improve work sequence and
work area layout
Exercise Time: 30 minutes

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Review
 What is Standard Work?
 What are some of the reasons for documenting Standard Work?
 How can Standard Work be used to improve a process?
 List the main documents created as part of Standard Work.
 What are some of the related documents used in creating Standard
Work?
 What are the triggers to improve the standard?
 What are examples of improvement opportunities?
 What are the steps to validate and update process improvements?
 What are the rows and columns on the Time Observation form?
 How many cycles should be observed when using the Time
Observation form?
 Why do we not use the fastest time?

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Appendix

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 Identify and draft work
elements for SWS

Special Cases - Periodic work

 Required periodic work should be documented within the sequence to ensure it

gets done
― Periodic work are steps that are part of the process, but do not happen every
time the process is completed.
• Change gloves every 5 batches
• Inspect every 10th part.
― Note how often or include a reference to the control plan which tells how often
― Include the fraction of the time related to the frequency
― Note: Periodic work does not include elements that are not part of the process
(daily 5S activities, team meetings, etc.)

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 Identify and draft work
elements for SWS

Special Cases – Too Many Products

 Standardize what you can

• Create families and standardize within a family
• Identify work elements that are the same sequence across families
• Is there a best sequence all families can follow? If not, why not?
• If a work element is unique to a family, add it as a standard element and
have other families skip it
• Avoid too much detail that differentiates one product from another (part
numbers, fixtures numbers, etc.). Keep necessary details at the SWES
level to enable SWS level to be standard.
• Try to move differentiating work into specific work elements to enable
other work elements to be standard

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 Identify and draft work
elements for SWS

Special Cases - Multiple Processes in One

Workstation
 Often a team member completes different process for different product families
or at different times during the day. These should be documented on separate
sheets
― Don’t combine start of shift, end of shift, setups, and actual value-add process into
the same document. Create a separate page for each.
 If there are multiple team members in a single area, put their processes on
separate pages unless their work needs to be synchronized
― If they work together on some tasks
― If there is risk if one of them completes steps out of order of the other person.
― Examples:
• One team member installs hoses on left side while another installs hoses on the
right. Give them each their own SWS.
• Two team members install hoses independently, but some of the connections
completed by team member two cannot be done until the first team member
completes connecting and clamping those hoses on his side. Put them on the same
SWS.

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 Identify and draft work
elements for SWS

What To Do If You Find Waste or Other Issues in the

Process
 This question should have been addressed as part of the project plan.
 There is always waste in a process. If you try to remove all the waste before
moving on, you will never implement any standards.
 It may be appropriate to fix portions of the process first and then document it.
You don’t want to standardize on a process that is inadequate.
 Until you have valid cycle times to compare to takt, you cannot determine if the
amount of waste remaining in the process is critical.
 You should not standardize on a process that cannot be done as documented.
― Ex. Don’t put a standard in place calling for tools / fixtures which are not yet
available.

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 Document Cycle Time

Cycle Times in Mixed Model Environments

 Many of the work elements will be the same regardless of the
model. Take time observations for these elements.
 Relative to total cycle time, the times of some work elements are
not significant enough to differentiate. Use time observations for
a representative sample.
 A Standard Work Options template (discussed later) can be used
to document different cycle times for specific work elements by
product family.
 If cycle times and demand are highly variable, a special team may
need to be established to address the issue.

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 Document Cycle Time

Cycle Times in Mixed Model Environments

 Weighted Average Cycle Time (WACT) can be used in some environments.
― Family mix needs to be fairly consistent.. Need to work with scheduling.
― If used on line where products are all indexed together (moving line), will need to
determine how to cover additional work for high cycle time models.

 WACT =  demand * cycle _ time

 demand
 Example:
Demand Cycle Time
 Family A 40 30 minutes
Family B 10 90 minutes
Total 50 (40 x 30) + (10 x 90) = 2100
WACT 2100 / 50 = 45 minutes

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 Document Cycle Time

Mixed Model Analysis Example

Takt Time
Maximum Observed
Target Cycle Time
Average Observed
(85% of Takt)
Periodic
Minimum observed

Model B

Model C
Model A

45% 20% 15% WACT

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 Document Cycle Time

Additional Cycle Time Best Practices

 Make sure you have the right people having the discussion
 MEs have usually established some sort of time for the work element already.
― Make sure you all understand what that number includes. It may include items
that have been separated out in the SWS. Don’t include them twice.
― The time could represent how long the work element took when the machine was
new, the cutting tool was new, and the experienced team member was just
starting the shift. This may no longer be valid.
 Keep perspective – Don’t sacrifice time or teammate trust by arguing over a few
seconds when the total cycle time is very long.
 Get a standard implemented to be improved upon.
 The time will be revisited when the team determines that a specific work element
is critical to value stream velocity.

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 Document Cycle Time

Additional Cycle Time Best Practices

 Long Cycle Times

― When the cycle time is very long, it is often not practical to make several observations in
person. There are other alternatives
― Use industry average times for the individual minor steps and calculate the work element
time.
― Work with experienced team members, MEs, and the team lead determine reasonable
times with the expectation that these will have to be validated.
― Validate the sum of the estimated element times against the total. Slight exaggeration in
each work element results in an extremely high total.
 Use of Video
― Use of video will enable the team to easily identify work element cycle times without
having to watch the process at normal speed.
― Video will enable observation of multiple cycles
― Video will also make it easier to identify waste

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CPS FOR DEALERS

Standard Work Combination Table

Reference Material
Module 24
Version 3 - 2010
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Review Process in
Combination Table

 Default Combo Table tab

― Change location of cycle times for machines.
― If a work element is dependant on other than previous work element,
indicate predecessor.
― Suggestion – color code work elements related to different machines /
resources
― Save as baseline Toolkit: Standard Work Analysis_v3 dlr.xls
Worksheet – Default Combo Table
Refer to example file

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Analysis Tips
 Assume SWIP is in place and the process is running smoothly.
 Determine which resource(s) and specific work elements are truly constraining the process.
― Eliminating a waste from some resources may simply increase waiting time later in the process.
 Organize the work elements to enable understanding of what can be done by one resource
while another is busy.
― List the longest cycle time work element first.
― If there are work elements that must be accomplished while that resource is idle, list those
immediately before the longest element.
― Leave space and put in the first work element that is accomplished once that longest work
element is complete.
― Begin adding additional resources and work elements between the longest element and its
successor. List the times of these work elements as During Machine Time (DMT). It is almost
always best to add the work elements that feed the constraining work element and working
backwards through the cell back to the constraint.
― Use the Gantt chart to help see when the manual work exceeds the amount of DMT time
available for the constraint. At that point you will need to return to the constraint, unload, load,
and start the cycle again.

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Analyze Improvement Opportunities
(Use Combo Table tab)

 Start with constraint( longest cycle time)

work element.
― Put at top with its predecessors before it
(usually load)
― Put its successor(s) at the bottom (usually
unload)

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Work Elements Feeding Constraint Are Next

 Include work elements feeding (up stream of)

the constraint between the constraint work
element and its successors
― If there are multiple machines prior to the
constraint, list the longest cycle time first.
― Include some space and then list its successors.
― Update the predecessor column as needed.

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Repeat for Work Elements
After the Constraint
 Use the same thought process for the
work elements after the constraint.
― Keep the predecessors column accurate.
― Continuously try to adjust the sequence to enable work
to be done During Machine Time (DMT).
― When all the work elements are documented, it will be
easier to identify which elements need to be improved.
• In this example, eliminating waste from the work
elements with green bars will result only in
increased wait time.
• To reduce the total cycle time, the work elements
with red and yellow bars need to be addressed.
― In this example, we got the cycle time under our takt time.
― There is still 10 minutes of waiting, but it is grouped together to enable the team member
to accomplish non-process tasks when needed.
― Notice, machines 1 and 3 actually sit idle. It is important to understand that trying to keep
these running will only cause additional inventory, not improve our process time.

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Multiple Constraints

 If everything cannot be
accomplished during the
constraint machine’s cycle,
the process is the same
 Split between During
Machine Time and one of
the other columns

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Validate and Update

 Validate any process changes with team leads and team members
― It is worth testing the process to uncover unintended consequences or
other deficiencies.
 Utilize Standard Work update process with MEs to update the
Standard Work and any impacted Planned Method documents
― Changes to cycle times can impact scheduling, product cost and other
downstream systems.
 Utilize implementation process to ensure all team members have
been educated on the process changes

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