Insights

Training Within Industry and Standardized Work

Standardized Work is a people-focused tool designed to document work functions performed in a repeatable sequence, which are agreed to, developed, and maintained by each team member, be it on the production floor or within a service and administration environment.

Standardized Work principles closely follow the process of Training within Industry (TWI) which was introduced in Japan post-World War II and is a foundation of Toyota’s success in continuous improvement, and more importantly, in their ability to sustain improvements. For decades, organizations across every industry have attempted to unlock the secret to the Toyota Way, which involves a unique ability to achieve and sustain standardized work processes and to relentlessly innovate and improve.

The purpose of TWI as it relates to Standardized Work is to establish a repeatable, predictable baseline for continuous improvement and to involve the team in both the initial and ongoing improvements in order to achieve the highest levels of safety, quality, delivery, and productivity. The Incito Consulting Group has developed a TWI/Standardized Work Implementation Model that supplies companies with change management strategies to support, lead, and mentor their organization through the improvement and transformation process. This model will coach and prepare management, staff, and team members to effectively and methodically document, deploy, and sustain Standardized Work Processes within a given area or across your entire business system.

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Job Instruction

The Incito Consulting Group TWI program of job instruction has been developed to provide our clients–front line supervisors and team members–with the tools and methodologies to build an effective culture of knowledge transfer and standards. Our job instruction involves:

  • Discussion of the importance of training to production
  • Teaching instructing ability as a personal asset
  • Demonstration of faulty instruction
  • Demonstration of correct instruction
  • Discussion of the “Four Basic Steps”
  • Discussion of the four things an instructor does to get ready
  • Explaining and providing extensive detail on training timetables
  • Practicing instruction demonstrations with coaching on job breakdowns
  • Building an effective job instruction plan

Job Methods

The Incito Consulting Group TWI program of job methods has been developed to provide our clients–front line supervisors and team members–with the tools and methodologies to build an effective culture of standards and problem solvers. Our job methods program involves:

  • Effectively capturing current best practices
  • Effectively breaking down a job into its elements, identifying critical key points, and present the operation until success is achieved
  • Developing a centralized work balance chart (Yamazumi)
  • Conducting an ergonomic evaluation
  • Developing and documenting a standardized work chart for each process
  • Developing and documenting a job analysis data sheet for each process
  • Developing and documenting a standardized work combination table for each equipment-driven process
  • Developing and documenting a production capacity sheet for each capacity-constrained process
  • Capturing and analyzing the average weighted cycle time for each process and associated work group

Building an effective Standardized Work improvement plan and “winning” the culture through a systematic deployment approach.

Job Relations

The Incito Consulting Group TWI program of job relations has been developed to provide our client–leaders and group leaders–with the tools and methodologies to build an effective Lean leadership culture.

Training Within Industry looks at the training of group leaders and team leaders as a 5 part job with 5 distinct needs;

  1. Knowledge of the work
  2. Knowledge of responsibilities
  3. Skill in improving methods
  4. Skill in instructing
  5. Skill in leading

Integrating the Coaching Kata with Job Relations

While deploying an effective job relations model, it’s important to integrate the art of the Coaching Kata by asking:

  1. What is the target condition?
  2. What is the actual condition now?
  3. What obstacles are now preventing you from reaching the target condition and which one are you addressing now?
  4. What is your next step (PDCA experiment)?
  5. When can we go and see what we have learned from taking that step?

Program Development

The Incito Consulting Group TWI method of program development has been developed to provide our clients–leaders–with the tools and methodologies to build an effective TWI Deployment Model. We show you how to create:

  • Engagement Guidelines
  • People and Resource guidelines
  • Launch Planning guidelines
  • Financial guidelines
  • Program Success Criteria guidelines
  • Governance and Communication guidelines

TWI/Standardized Work Knowledge and Deliverables

The Core Requirements of TWI as it relates to Standardized Work are:

  • Job Instruction (the 4-Step Method)
  • Job Methods
  • Job Relations
  • Program Development
  • Definition of Standardized Work
  • Reasons and benefits for implementing Standardized Work
  • Comparing and contrasting current work performance to Standardized Work performance
  • Identifying barriers to implementing Standardized Work and developing ways to remove them

Our model also teaches the utilization of Standardized Work tools such as:

  • Standardized Worksheet
  • Job Analysis Data Sheet
  • Takt Time Calculation
  • Standardized Work Chart
  • Standardized Work Combination Table
  • Work Balance Chart (Yamazumi)
  • Ergonomic Evaluation

Is TWI/Standardized Work the Right Solution for You?

 

  1. Do you have a clear training and development plan to deploy standards across your organization?
  2. Has a clear message been communicated on the importance of Standardized Work?
  3. Do you have a concise methodology to train, develop, and deploy Standardized Work?
  4. Do your leaders understand how to continuously coach and improve Standardized Work?
  5. Have you aligned Standardized Work to your overall company objectives, performance, and vision?

 

If the answer to any of these questions is “No,” consider enlisting the help of an experienced Toyota TWI/ Standardized Work consultant like Incito. We work with you to transform every aspect of your business, and to ensure the effective alignment of your Lean Enterprise Journey with your Standardized Work processes.

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