Work Sequence

The work sequence is, not surprisingly, the order in which tasks are completed. Work sequence is also commonly referred to as the sequence of operations.

Many tasks follow a logical order. Consider the assembly of a go kart. It makes sense that the tires are installed onto the wheels before the wheels are mounted to the chassis. What is often overlooked, though, is that the order in which the wheels are installed is also important.

A well-designed process will have parts and tools situated at the point of use. It will also create an efficient flow of work. This might mean that other tasks are completed between the installation of each wheel. The wheels might not even all be installed at the same station.

Note that there is often push back when the work sequence is mandated on tasks that don’t have an obvious advantage to being done in a particular order. There are two reasons to hold your ground on a defined sequence of operations.

1. It creates good industrial discipline. If there is no apparent benefit to doing task “A” before “B”, that it also follows that doing task “B” first also has no benefit. All things being equal, it is a good practice to have everybody do work the same way every time.
2. It provides a basis for improvement. By definition, in a continuous improvement culture, there is constant change. A seemingly irrelevant work sequence may suddenly become important when a process changes. Getting a change to stick is more difficult if people are not doing a process consistently.

Standard Work

It is worth noting that the work sequence is one of the components of Standard Work. Standard work…

1. Is balanced to the takt time.
2. Has designated standard work-in-process.
3. Has a defined sequence of operations for each operator.