Toolkit 3.6 Standard Work - Operational Guidance and Execution

Sep 12, 2026

Toolkit 3.6 Standard Work provides operational guidance for managers, supervisors, and team leaders to implement standard work that enables consistent, repeatable execution of critical tasks. It explains why variability increases mistakes and presents standard work through Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Visual Work Instructions (WINs), including how checklists can reduce errors. Success factors cover agreeing on SOP structure, engaging experienced staff broadly, and establishing review and update cycles aligned with management of change and compliance needs.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time2 min

AccessFree to download

What it is

Why it is important

Success factors

Agree on a standard format

Engage a wide audience

Develop an SOP review and update process

Workflow: Operational Guidance and Execution Toolkit 3.6 Standard Work target audience Managers, supervisors, and team leaders. what it is “Practice does not make perfect. Practice of perfection makes perfect.” It is clear to everybody just how well something is done when a master does it. The task, activity, or action is performed in the best possible way and produces a consistently good result. This holds true whether it is a musician, an athlete, a bricklayer, or a fruit picker. In all cases, it means knowing the best method or technique and then practicing it until it can be efficiently and consistently performed. Similarly, standard work exists in operations to align all employees on the best way to perform atask, or set of tasks, that are important to the operation. There are two primary tools used to drive standard work: 􀂾 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)– These are typically detailed, text-based, stepby-step instructions created to cover virtually all job tasks in the operation. SOPs are used heavily during new employee training and employee recertification and may be serve as a reference for particularly complicated or high-compliance job tasks. 􀂾 Visual Work Instructions (WINs)– These are typically simple, visual (i.e., pictures or drawings) instructions that are located near point of use. Unlike SOPs, which should be broadly applied, WINs are typically used to meet a specific need, such as troubleshooting a recurring operational problem or reminding operators how to safely perform a job task that occurs infrequently or irregularly. why it is important In operations where the objective is to generate consistent, repeatable results, variability is the enemy of good process. When employees within and across shifts perform the same tasks indifferent ways, whether in a different order or following a different set of steps entirely, the greater the likelihood of mistakes. In his book The Checklist Manifesto, Atul Gawande documents his effort to reduce patient care error rates in hospitals. He introduced simple checklists for surgical teams to use when operating on, or otherwise caring for, their patients. The purpose of these checklists was to make sure that the surgical team remembered to execute all of their standard procedures. Here are some of the results: 􀂾 When introductory steps were followed within the surgical team before the surgery as required by the checklist, complications and deaths dropped by 35% 􀂾 Line infection rates in one hospital dropped from 11% to 0% 􀂾 Line infection rates in another hospital dropped by 66% In a packhouse context, when implemented correctly, standard work should improve the stability of the operation and reduce errors or negligence in key tasks that may not have immediate consequences but ultimately determine fruit quality, e.g., receiving procedures, pre-sorting, packing and wrapping, palletising etc. In particular, standard work, whether through SOPs or Visual Work Instructions and checklists, is fundamentally important to a “new” team. There may be teams that have embedded best practice to such an extent that they do it automatically, but even there it is almost certain that poor practice (short cuts, poor compliance, areas of neglect etc.) will creep in. Best practice determines performance (result)– standard work defines and focuses on best practice. success factors 􀂾 Agree on a standard format – There are a variety of software tools to assist in developing SOPs, from free templates offered in Microsoft Word to more advanced software tools that companies contract to use. Regardless of the solutions, it is important to agree on what needs to be in the SOP and establish a standard format. A typical SOP will have the following categories of information (Refer to the SOP Template.): • SOP Number. • Version Number. • Effective Date. • Objective (of the procedure) . • Scope (of the procedure) . • Responsibilities (for executing the p

FAQs

What are the two primary tools used to drive standard work?

Standard work is driven using Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Visual Work Instructions (WINs). SOPs are detailed step-by-step text instructions, while WINs are simple visual instructions placed near the point of use.

Why is standard work important in operations?

Standard work reduces variability, which the document identifies as the enemy of good process. When employees perform tasks in different orders or with different steps, the likelihood of mistakes increases, so standardization helps lower errors.

What success factors are recommended for developing SOPs and WINs?

The document recommends agreeing on a standard SOP format, engaging a wide audience (including experienced employees and relevant equipment knowledge), and creating an SOP review and update process integrated with management of change and compliance updates.

Sep 12, 2026

Upload by Caleb Sterling