Here’s the deal. I am starting to implement Lean at scale in a construction company and in an actual shop, and I am realizing how fun it is and how deep things can get. One concept keeps coming up: make the standard work before you make standard work.
Short answer: Make the standard work before you make standard work. There are two modes: invention and optimization. First, make something exist with good drive, experiment with it, and make sure it really works. Then create the standard work that shows how to do it. Only then start to optimize. If you optimize an invention too early, you may never get there, and if you standardize it too early, you may lock it into its early phases.
Why I Became a Huge Believer in Standard Work
We recently got a building, because we are assembling and providing Lean simulation kits, 3D planning models, pull planning kits, superintendent kits, [ASK JASON: “forming kits”?], and supplies for project sites like huddle boards, bathrooms, signage, and cooling stations. It is so easy to implement Lean when you have your own project and your own building.
I have become a huge believer in standard work. At the Super PM Boot Camp, every single thing about setting up the camp has been standardized. We have a Paul Akers style visual, with a picture and text, picture and text, made in Canva, printed out, and laminated. Every time we set up the camp, we hand one of those standard work cards to a volunteer on the setup team, and everybody knows what to do without having to ask me all the time. That has opened up so much improvement.
We do the same thing in our construction company, and we do the same thing at the shop. At the shop, I have standard work for almost everything:
- How to make coffee.
- How to clean the walls.
- How to clean the kitchen and the bathroom.
- How to use the laminator.
- How to use the 3D printers.
What Is the Difference Between Invention Mode and Optimization Mode?
A couple of times, it has been interesting. We created the standard work before the standard actually worked. This is really important to understand, because there are two different modes: invention mode and optimization mode. Sometimes you just have to get something to exist.
| Invention mode | Optimization mode | |
|---|---|---|
| The goal | Make something exist and make sure it really works | Improve something that already works |
| What it looks like | Go build it, experiment, get it in place | Write the standard work, then improve it |
| The risk of skipping ahead | Optimizing something that does not exist yet means you may never get there | Standardizing too early can lock an invention into its early phases |
Brandon Montero is a genius at invention mode. At the shop, if we say we need a carpentry station over here to really get things going, he will go build it. If we say we need to organize the 3D printing area, he will go get it done. Brandon makes sure something really, really works, and then he creates the standard work.
Other folks have a harder time getting started, and I am not trying to make fun of anybody. They want to optimize something that does not actually exist yet, so they go slow and have a hard time getting something in place. On a jobsite, it is the same with a new huddle board or a new layout process: get it in place and working first, then write the standard.
What Did Taiichi Ohno Say About Getting Things Done?
Something that does not get mentioned a lot is Taiichi Ohno’s precepts. As I remember them, some of the things he said were:
- Say yes, then figure out how to do it.
- Stick with something until it is done.
- Make something exist before you optimize it.
Taiichi Ohno was very much a person of let’s go get stuff done. If he had his own construction company, it would be called Get Stuff Done Construction.
The Right Order for Standard Work
So here is the order I follow:
- Make it first, with good drive. Invent it.
- Experiment with it a little bit, and make sure the standard really works.
- Create the standard work on it, meaning this is how you do it.
- Then start to optimize.
Here is my point. If you start trying to optimize an invention, you might never get there. If you start to standardize an invention, you may lock it into its early phases. And if you do not invent, you will never get to the standard. So please be careful when you are looking at that.
So here is the challenge. Look at the next new process you want to standardize, on the jobsite or in the office. Ask whether it actually works yet. If it does not, go invent it and get it working first, then write the standard work, and only then start optimizing.
Bottom line: Make the standard work before you make standard work, and only then start to optimize.
If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.
On we go.
FAQ
What does “make the standard work before you make standard work” mean?
It means you first get a process to exist and actually work, and only then write the standard work for it. Standardizing something that does not work yet locks in a bad method.
What is the difference between invention mode and optimization mode?
Invention mode is getting something to exist and making sure it works. Optimization mode is improving something that already works, after the standard work is written.
What happens if you standardize or optimize too early?
If you optimize an invention too early, you might never get there. If you standardize it too early, you may lock it into its early phases.
How does Jason use standard work at the Super PM Boot Camp?
Every part of setting up the camp is on a laminated visual standard work card, with a picture and text. We hand a card to each setup volunteer, so everybody knows what to do without asking me.
People Also Read:
Lean Heaven feat. Paul Akers
What Is 5S and How It Applies to Construction
Out of Your Head, Off of Your Shoulders: The Afternoon Foreman Huddle
If you want to learn more we have:
-Takt Virtual Training: (Takt Virtual Training)
-Check out our YouTube channel for more info: (Elevate Construction on YouTube)
-Listen to the Elevate Construction podcast: (Elevate Construction Podcast)
-Check out our training programs and certifications: (Training Programs and Certifications)
-The Takt Book: (The Takt Book on Amazon)
Discover Jason’s Expertise:
Meet Jason Schroeder, the driving force behind Elevate Construction. As the company’s Founder and COO, he’s dedicated to taking construction to new heights. With a wealth of industry experience, he’s crafted the Field Engineer Boot Camp and Superintendent Boot Camp – intensive training programs engineered to cultivate top-tier leaders capable of steering their teams towards success. Jason’s vision? To expand his training initiatives across the nation, empowering construction firms to soar to unprecedented levels of excellence.