A systems study on standardised work: a Toyota perspective

In this research paper, the topic of standardised work has been studied. Standardised work is being applied by many companies over the years, while trying to follow Toyota's lead in the progress with lean manufacturing. Standardised work, however, has been around for a very long time, starting with its relations with industrial engineering. It is an important topic, as it is often considered the first step to being lean. Toyota uses standardised work as an analysis tool, and in order to do this, it requires a support structure that is not fully understood. The systems approach to study this topic is used in this paper, it will use boundary analysis to help display and explain standardised work. The results are a much more integrated and interdependent view on standardised work. It will show the support structure used, and how standardised work is not only just a documentation tool, but also used for analysis in order to obtain its full benefits. The traditional views of standardised work will also be looked into, in comparison to Toyota.