Lean manufacturing is a philosophy, system, and way of production. There is a collection of concepts that are often called the "lean tools" or "lean principles". All of these tools are taught in many lean manufacturing training courses.

One of the tools is called Standardized Operations. It is often compared to an SOP, and many people that don’t understand lean manufacturing believe they are the same. However, there are many differences.

Standardized Operations is the process of finding the best known method of doing a job and ensuring that it is performed the same way each time. The process of seeking the best way to perform the job never ends.

Standardized operations includes standardizing the information flow, layout and number of workers, and process to complete the job.

Many of the other lean tools may be used in developing a standardized operation. For example, reducing changeover or setup time seeks the quickest way to accomplish the setup. Tool such as 5S (sort, shine, set in order, standardize, sustain) are utilized for removing clutter and locating items closest to the point of use. Finding the best method often involves a kaizen event, which is a dedicated team of people focusing on a quick improvement. SMED (single minute exchange of die) is often used to lower setup and changeover times. TPM (total productive maintenance) may be used to standardize the run process to eliminate down time and minor stops.

Once the applicable tools are used and the best known method is found, the layout, information flow, and process is documented. Each step is listed on the document. It is critical to list the actual steps of the new method, which detailed instructions if necessary.

Once the document is created, it is verified by watching each person perform the task. This single step is one of the most overlooked parts of standardizing an operation. This is a huge mistake because most people have a difficult time changing their pattern of work, especially if they have been doing it for years.

It is also important to watch various shift workers doing the task, both in developing the standard operation and improving it. Prior to developing the best method, simply watching all three shifts will show the best current process already in use, which is low hanging fruit.

When several shifts perform the same work, it is often possible to combine the best parts of all three crews.

There is often resistance to changing the way people work. It is necessary and prudent to have the people that do the work participate in the development of standardized operations. There are many benefits, including improved morale and a better result from utilizing the knowledge of the "real" experts, which is the person doing the job.

Once the operation is standardized, it should be audited periodically to be certain the new tasks become habit.

When a crew or team member or anyone else finds a better way of performing the task, the process of standardizing it across all shifts starts all over.

Standardizing operations is one of the most valuable tools in the lean manufacturing toolkit. When implemented properly after lean manufacturing training, it will help drive the facility toward a state of "lean".