Tag Standardized Work

Standardized Work: The Foundation for Learning and Improvement

Standardized work is often misunderstood as rigidity or control. In Lean thinking, it’s the opposite: a shared baseline that makes problems visible, supports learning, and enables continuous improvement. This archive explores standardized work as a living system—one that evolves through observation, experimentation, and respect for people.

Examples range from healthcare and service work to manufacturing and everyday systems, showing how clear standards reduce frustration, improve quality, and make meaningful improvement possible.

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Standard Work for Ice Cream

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No, not for home consumption, but I ended up with a 3 gallon tub of ice cream (used for a Lean batching vs single-piece flow demonstration in a work setting). I was a bit surprised to see such specific “standard…

Is There "Standard Work" for Clinical Care?

Marketplace: Better health care through better information This commentator points out some shocking waste in the healthcare system: Although cancer doctors work long hours, they still fail, frequently, to provide therapies the medical evidence says the patient needs. Sometimes the…

New Book, "Toyota Talent:" Out NOW

Toyota Talent Update 5/6/07: The book is now shipping from Amazon I had the pleasure of reading a pre-publication version of this new book from Prof. Jeffrey Liker and David Meier. You know Jeff from The Toyota Way (and my…

Just as Bad in Canada

globeandmail.com: Private sector health care: Think quality, regulation I don’t think healthcare and quality is a “Private vs. Public” debate. As we’ll inevitably have debate during the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, I think it’s important to keep quality in mind…

LeanBlog Power User Tip #1

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In addition to my “Standard Work” for creating the blog, there are some good practices to share as a blog reader. Here’s one. If you’re interested in following just a particular topic and having email updates sent to you, follow…

What Will You Do Differently Today?

By Dan MarkovitzBack in October, Lifehacker ran a lengthy article on “personal kaizen.” The thrust of the piece is how we can improve our lives by adopting the kaizen approach of the TPS and applying it to our own work…

Standardizing the Standards

Hospitals try to reduce wristband code risks To put this in manufacturing terms, imagine how you might have to change your process if your product might get transferred to another factory for additional processes. In recent years, hospitals have widely…

100% is the Only Goal for Hospital Hand Hygiene

Ledger-Enquirer | 03/27/2007 | Campaign’s goal is to reduce infections To those who might have thought I overstated the situation with hand washing in hospitals, here’s another article about maintaining proper hygiene among hospital staff and caregivers. One particular risk…

Training Within Industry Article

IndustryWeek : TWI Promotes Quick Training, Standard Work Here’s an article about the Training Within Industry program, a key foundation of the Toyota Production System. The article features Jim Huntzinger and mentions his upcoming TWI Summit. You can listen to…