Lean and CI poster
Updated · Free to print and share
Standard work poster
Standard work is the current best way to do a job, written down and followed every cycle. It has three elements: takt time (the pace customer demand sets), the work sequence and standard work in process (the minimum parts needed in the process to keep work flowing). This poster shows the three elements and four rules that keep standards alive and improving.
Download the poster
The PNG is free to download now. The print-ready vector PDFs open after a short form, once.
Free to print and share with your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
The words on the poster
Standard work
The best way we know today, done the same way every time.
Three elements
- Takt time Available time divided by customer demand.
- Work sequence The steps, in the best order, every cycle.
- Standard WIP The fewest parts in process to keep flow.
Four rules
- Written with the people who do the job
- Posted at the station, with photos
- Followed every cycle, checked by leaders
- Changed when someone finds a better way
On the floor
How to use it
- 1
Put it next to the standard work sheets at the station or cell.
- 2
Use the rules in a standard work audit: is it posted, followed and current?
- 3
Remind the team that a better way is welcome: the standard is the base for kaizen.
- 4
Pair it with the free standard work sheet and standard work audit checklist.
Which size to print
- 24 x 36 in or A2: a main wall or team board, read from a few metres away.
- 18 x 24 in or A3: a station or notice board. The A3 file also fits 11 x 17 in paper.
- Letter or A4: a clipboard, binder or handout, on any office printer.
Every PDF is vector, so it stays sharp at full size. Nothing runs to the edge of the page, so no bleed is needed.
Templates, decks and guides to go with it
- Standard work sheet templateTakt time, each element's manual, machine and walk time on a time chart, key points and standard WIP.
- Standard work combination tableOne operator's manual, machine, walk and wait time on a time chart against takt, with machine cycles and a process capacity sheet.
- Standard work audit checklist24 checks of a job against its written standard, ten timed cycles, and each gap sorted by cause before anyone acts.
- Time study sheetTime each element over 10 cycles and work out the average, lowest repeatable and standard time. Excel does the sums.
- Topic: Standard work, SOPs and trainingEvery guide we have on the subject, sorted.
A poster reminds. A routine makes it stick.
See how plants run their audits, improvements and follow-ups in LeanSuite, on a call built around your own problem.
Schedule Demo