WK 3 – 04 EXERCISE “Creating Standard Work”

[Mike Hincks]

Chapter 9 of Lean For Dummies introduces the Lean definition of standard work. We at MasterControl conceptually know what standard work is and how it is embodied in SOPs, policies, etc., and how MasterControl software can facilitate the creation and following of standards.

But the Lean definition of standard work, with its three essential elements, may be unfamiliar to you:

1.       The expected process sequence/logic

2.       The expected process time/duration

3.       The expected levels of WIP.

If there exceptions to any of these three in a process, then you know you have departed from your standard and something out of the ordinary has occurred.

An analogy supporting the business value of standards is the small handful of cowboys needed to successfully drive a herd of thousands of cattle down a country road. The cowboys don’t carefully watch each individual cow. That would be impossible. What they do instead is constantly compare the location of the herd to the standard of the road. When they notice a cow off the path of the road, they intervene and return the cow to the herd. A picture of this is included below.

 

Standard work is essential to improvement because it provides a rational way to know when to intervene and/or when a process needs improvement. Without standard work, all intervention and all improvement is relegated to the realm of educated guesswork. We cannot entrust the success of our business to guesswork—even the most educated!

And in the end, establishing and following standards reveals what you truly feel about people. Process standards — embodied in both the work of creating them and in the discipline to adhere to them later — demonstrate respect for people. You honor and respect those who work in a process when you put standards in place that make it easier for them to perform their work correctly. (And you actually disrespect people when you hand them a process that has an absence of standards for consistent operation.) As a worker in a process, you show respect for people when you follow provided guidelines carefully, knowing that those who provided them did so conscientiously in an effort to help you. (You disrespect people when you disregard work instructions and automatically assume you know a better way.)

The setting and following of standards ends up forming the foundation of continuous improvement. There are few things more essential. With standards, processes and products that have been improved stay that way. With standards, process workers can rely on a sturdy basis for consistent high performance and then their intellects and capacities are freed to look for further improvements.

To complete this exercise, select a simple work process you engage in each day, or at least very often. Draft a standard work description that includes the three essential elements for any standard: 1) the process sequence, 2) the process duration, and 3) the WIP levels for the process.

To complete this exercise, reply to this posting with information outlined in the bullet list above. Put this information in the body of your response or save it in a Microsoft Office file that you attach to your response.

To create and send your response, just select this note and click on the Reply button, then after typing your response (and attaching your file, if you choose that route), click Send.

Thanks!

[Ryan]

TSE Bug Process for P1 case

1. TSE determines there is a bug (P1 Case - 1 business day)

2. bugzilla entry created (15 minutes)

3. developer responds (less than 1 business day)

4. TSE either responds back to developer or notifies customer (steps 2,3,4 repeated until completion:(1 business day, unless customer response is needed(WIP), then 2 business days) 

[Ely Mcginty]

TSE Case Creation

1. TSE determines that a case needs to be created (5-10 minutes)

2. TSE creates case in SF with detailed information (5 minutes)

3. TSE researches cause with multiple resources (1 to 3 business days)

4. TSE resolves issue or notifies customer of status if issue is not resolved at that point

5. TSE continues research and escalates to development or escalation team (4-7 business days)

6. Customer has resolution or definitive conclusion

[ajones]

1. Check backlog - review cases in backlog at need to be touched today (5-10)
2. Check time - evaluate the time needed to spend on each case, sort priority (5-10)
3. WIP - start with priority case and work to resolve case or progress resolution with in allotted time (30-1hr)
4. Post it - post result of work in case notes (5-10)
5. 3m's - continue using the previous steps take keep cases up to date an in contact with customer (daily)
6. Adjust - identify when time is not utilized and adjust to make use of this follow more fluid

[David Healey]

Case Transfer/Escalation
1.  Enter all the information into the description, case notes, and links into Sales Force.  (15 Minutes)
2.  Click on the change button (Link) next to your name in the Case Owner Field under Case Detail.  (5 Seconds)
3.  Select the correct option between queue, and user and assign the case to the correct individual or queue.  (5 Seconds)

[Chanse]

Update case progress weekly

1. Check the date of the last case update sent to the customer (partner).
2. If a week or more, check if a bug number is attached.
3. If a bug number is attached, check for notes in bug.
4. If no update in bug, request one.  If there is an update, make notes and inform customer (partner).
5. If bug notes give a fix, work with customer or partner to implement the fix.
6. If the fix worked, close case.  If it didn't, inform bug owner.