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Standard work sheet template

A standard work sheet records the current best way to do one operator's job against takt time. This template combines two standard work forms. Page 1 is a standardized work combination table: each work element with its manual, machine (auto) and walking time, drawn on a time chart against the takt time line. Page 2 is the standard work sheet itself: a sketch of the station layout with the operator's path, quality checks, safety points and standard WIP. Together they hold the three elements of standard work: takt time, the work sequence and standard in-process stock.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Page 1 of the standard work sheet templateFields for part, station and operator, the takt time calculation, and a combination table of work elements with manual, auto and walk time columns next to a time chart grid.
Takt time calculationManual, machine and walk timeTime chart against taktLayout with operator pathKey points and symbolsStandard WIP

When to use it

When to use a standard work sheet

  • When you set up a new station or line and need to write down the method that meets takt.
  • When demand changes, to recalculate takt and see which operators are over or under it.
  • In a kaizen event, to record the current method before changing it and the new method after.
  • To train new operators on the sequence and the key points, alongside a job breakdown sheet.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Work out takt time

    Available working time per shift, in seconds, divided by customer demand per shift. For example, 27,000 seconds and 900 units give a takt time of 30 seconds.

  2. 2

    Split the job into work elements

    Watch the operator for several cycles and list each element in order as a short action, such as load part in press.

  3. 3

    Time each element

    Record the manual, machine (auto) and walking time of each element in seconds, from several observed cycles.

  4. 4

    Draw the time chart

    Start each element where the one before it ended: manual time as a solid line, machine time as a dashed line and walking as a wavy line. Draw takt as a red vertical line. The Excel version draws the chart for you.

  5. 5

    Compare cycle time with takt

    Operator cycle time is total manual plus walking time. Over takt means the work must be rebalanced or waste removed. Also check that each machine finishes before the operator comes back to it.

  6. 6

    Sketch the layout and key points

    On page 2, draw the station from above, number the elements where they happen, join them with the operator's path, and mark quality checks, safety points and each standard WIP piece.

  7. 7

    Approve it and post it

    Sign it off, display it at the station and update it whenever the method, the layout or takt changes.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

One operator running two machines and a gauge in a machining cell, with a takt time of 60 seconds.

The example's operator and machine times

  • Load and start machine 1: manual from 0 to 10 seconds, machine running from 10 to 50 seconds, walking from 10 to 13 seconds.
  • Unload, load and start machine 2: manual from 13 to 28 seconds, machine running from 28 to 73 seconds, walking from 28 to 31 seconds.
  • Gauge, put on the outgoing rack: manual from 31 to 43 seconds, walking from 43 to 47 seconds.
  • Operator cycle 47 seconds; takt 60 seconds.

Operator cycle 47 seconds of manual and walking time against a takt of 60. Machine 1 runs 40 seconds after a 10 second load; machine 2 runs 45 seconds after a 15 second load, so it needs 60 seconds from the start of loading and sets the pace.

The operator is back at machine 1 at 47 s, but machine 2, started at 13 s, runs until 73 s: it needs 15 + 45 = 60 s from the start of loading, so the cell runs at 60 s with no margin to takt.
  • Load and start machine 1: 10 s manual, 40 s machine time, 3 s walk to machine 2.
  • Unload, load and start machine 2: 15 s manual, 45 s machine time, 3 s walk to the gauge.
  • Gauge the part and put it on the outgoing rack: 12 s manual, 4 s walk back to machine 1.
  • Operator cycle time: 37 s manual + 10 s walking = 47 s, 13 s under takt.
  • Machine check: machine 1 needs 10 + 40 = 50 s and machine 2 needs 15 + 45 = 60 s from the start of loading, both longer than the 47 s cycle. The slower one sets the pace, so the operator waits about 13 s every cycle.
  • Standard WIP: one part in each machine and one at the gauge, three pieces.

On paper the cycle is 47 seconds, but the wait at machine 2 makes it 60, with no margin to takt. Shortening machine 2's loading or machine time comes before giving this operator more work.

Common mistakes

  • Writing the ideal, not what happens

    Time the real job at the station over several cycles. A standard nobody can meet is ignored.

  • Leaving out walking

    Walking is part of the cycle. Without it the job looks shorter than it is.

  • Confusing cycle time with takt time

    Takt is the pace demand sets; cycle time is how long the job takes. The sheet exists to compare the two.

  • Filling in only one of the forms

    The combination table shows timing and the layout shows where things happen. With only one, part of the standard is missing.

  • Posting it and never updating it

    When the method, the layout or demand changes, update the sheet, or it stops being the standard.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

LeanSuite's AI watches a video of your best operator and writes the work instruction, with numbered steps, photos, safety notes and torque values, and an engineer reviews the draft before it goes to the shop floor.

See it in a 45-minute demo

FAQ

Standard work sheet template: common questions

  1. The standardized work combination table shows timing: each work element's manual, machine and walking time drawn against takt. The standard work sheet, also called the standardized work chart, shows the layout: where the operator moves and where the quality checks, safety points and standard WIP are. This template has both, one per page.

  2. Takt time, the work sequence and standard in-process stock (standard WIP). This template records all three: takt at the top of page 1, the sequence in the element list and on the layout, and standard WIP in the summary and as symbols on the layout.

  3. Divide the available working time in a period by the customer demand for that period. For example, 27,000 seconds of available time and demand for 900 units give a takt time of 30 seconds per unit. The Excel version works it out from the minutes per shift and the demand you enter.

  4. No. Takt is the pace customer demand sets. Operator cycle time is how long one cycle of the job takes: here, total manual time plus walking time. If cycle time is over takt, the job cannot keep up, and the work must be rebalanced or waste removed.

  5. Standard work defines the method against takt, with the sequence, timing and standard WIP, and is mainly used to run and improve the process. A work instruction is the detailed, visual step-by-step reference an operator follows at the station. The two should always agree.

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