When you fall behind in your work, coworkers have no way to help you out

Most people understand that if there is no standard process, it is hard for other individuals to come in and help out when things go wrong. What is less commonly understood is that simply establishing consistent methods is not enough to support teamwork. The process must be configured in a manner that allows a person to receive help when they need it. Often, even with a standardized process in place, if a person gets in a bind, the helper can do little more than stand around and watch or hand the operator an occasional tool.

Problem

When you fall behind in your work, coworkers have no way to help you out.

How this affects you

Sometimes, Standard Work is set up in a way that makes it difficult for a coworker to step in and help out, even if he knows the process inside and out. This happens when the work is not organized in a way that two people can do it faster than one. Perhaps all the later steps build on earlier steps, limiting the work a helper can do. Maybe only one set of tools is available. Maybe space is limited at a workstation, which doesn’t allow enough room for a second worker. Or perhaps the product is too small for a second set of hands. Basically, you are on your own when you fall behind.

Action to Take

Build your Standard Work to support getting help when you need it:

• Know your checkpoints. Around the holidays it might take seven days for a present to arrive through the mail. If you haven’t finished your shopping a week ahead of time, you are behind schedule. Use the same concept in your Standard Work to identify problems as early as possible. On the shop floor, you might know that when you start Step 4, you still have four minutes and eight seconds of work left to do. If the countdown clock on the wall show less than 4:08 remaining before the assembly line advances, and you haven’t yet started Step 4, you are not going to make it. You should immediately use your andon. The earlier you call for help, the better the chance of avoiding a line stop. 
• Start with the hardest tasks first. The hardest tasks are probably the most likely ones to have a delay. If you start with them first, you have the earliest warning if a problem comes up.
•  Do independent tasks last. The sequence does not matter   for some steps. Contemplate how you get ready for work in the morning. Let’s say you wear contact lenses. You can’t ask your spouse to put them in for you, can you? You are able, however, to ask your spouse to make you a cup of coffee. So, what sequence should you put in place to make sure you finish everything? If you start out by making coffee, then realize you are running late, you still have to get your lenses in on your own—late for work! Instead, if you put your lenses in first, then realize you are running late, you can ask your spouse to get the coffee started for you.

At work, identify the tasks in your area that could be done at any time by anyone who knows the process. Sequence these last on the Standard Work Combination Sheet. When you start falling behind, you can call for help and have someone pick up those tasks while you finish the other work.

Every station in your area should have these kinds of safety   valves. If they don’t, ask your boss to swap some steps around   from other areas so workers at every station can receive assistance. Tasks such as installing trim work, marking serial numbers, applying decals, and attaching accessories tend to be easy processes that can be done in any sequence. Properly structured work lets a supervisor or floater come in any time and help.

Additional information is available only in the print copy of “Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean?”

Why this works

The Why this Works section is only available in print copies of Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean?