ABSTRACT
Lean Performance teams are the gathering point for the process owner and customer process standards definition activity. The two types of standards to complete are (1) process workflow standards, which are classic input-task-output flowcharts, historically derived from Taylor and the School of Scientific Management, and (2) process work instruction standards, which are derived from the initiators of lean production in regard to their visual management attributes but which are also very connected to the information technology system innovation school, in that many implementation consultancies use them or something like them to document procedures during implementation. Several of the better enterprise resource planning (ERP) software vendors supply a set of system screen work instructions along with their training modules. Often, these work instructions are user maintainable. Sites that have a software enabler with this attribute should use it but should be cautious about using the prepackaged “processes” that are also supplied by some vendors. While these programs are a noble attempt (and frequently handy if they can be maintained by the user), they are no substitute for conducting a businessspecific, value-added process analysis to prepare for implementation.
