When the organization is viewed as a machine, then standardized work is a tool that is intended to make it a better machine. Figure 5.6 presents a common graphic in lean training that shows standards as backstops. You figure out the best known way to do the job, write out the worksheet, teach it, and then shove the standardized work in place to prevent the process from slipping back. This ignores the fact that it is the person who can slip back, not the process. People have a way of doing the work that they are comfortable with, and developing any new habit takes repetition—practice.
