As a LSS practitioner, it is important to understand the concept of Process Standardization (the what and the how). What is process standardization? Not only does the LSS practitioner need to understand what is process standardization in the affirmative, we also need to understand what process standardization is not? In this blog post, I will address the latter topic first. In future blogs, I will move on to describe process standardization in the affirmative.
My observation is, the concept of process standardization is really not clear in many organizations (even organizations that have been on a quality journey for quite some time). While the jargon is there, clarity on what that means on a practical and tactical level is missing. Further, the concept of “process standardization” means different things to different people. In industry, I have seen the following be used to answer the question “what is process standardization?”:
- Use of the same workflow tool(s)
- The same workflow through the organization for each transaction
- Verifying resources performing a task are doing that task exactly the same way
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
- Leadership Standard Work procedure
- Standard behaviors
In organizations where the above is what is meant by “process standardization”, when interacting with employees inquiring about the process, I get a description of the phases of the process that are defined by the workflow tool. The people describe phases and stages and status (such as “On Hold” or “Inactive”) but they do not describe the actual activities or work that needs to be done in that phase or at that step. They do not describe inputs needed to do the work nor do they describe the output that results from having done the work. The description of the work itself is missing from the lexicon.
In the name of process standardization, I have seen people debate who is doing the work “right” and who is doing the work “wrong” at a given step. The intent of this type of dialogue is not the training and practical application needed to develop competency in a given skill to be applied at a step in the process. The intent is usually to claim fame as the best way to do something and everyone else is wrong. Again, I have seen organizations attempt to shift from standardizing tools to standardizing behaviors. Unintentionally, sometimes behavior standardization seeks to eliminate any individuality among employees because the focus is on personality traits instead of the actions needed and the competency to do the work.
Another failed approach to standardizing process that I have seen is to remove creativity and thought in the actual doing of the work. The thought here is that every person doing the job needs to do it exactly the same way. We actually teach measurement system analysis tools in LSS training to be able to discern if the variation in measurement is due to the part or to the measurement system (which includes the man). While these tools have a purpose, process standardization is not that purpose. Further, trying to standardize how individuals do a particular activity or task leaves little room for experimenting and actually developing best practice. It fosters rigidity and compliance as opposed to agility, innovation, and continuous improvement.
If we take a moment to reflect on these examples, we discern that while being done in the name of process standardization, these attempts are more about the people doing the work than about the process itself. Further, none of these examples is about understanding the work content nor building competency in the execution of that work content. I submit to you that some of the examples listed above are examples of what process standardization is not.
To be sure, organizations that try to standardize in the manners listed above are not doomed. I believe it is a natural evolution in the maturity of the organization as it pertains to the process lifecycle and applied LEAN for operations. If you see this where you work, do not despair. The organization might need to go through these learning pains as it evolves in maturity. As the LSS practitioner, however, your understanding of what might need to be discussed needs to be clear so that you can enable the organization when it is ready for the work involved in truly standardizing the process.
Stay tuned for my next blog on: The Anatomy of Process Standardization
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