Standard Work in KPI Fire

Sustain Operational Discipline Without Chasing People

Most organizations don’t struggle with improvement ideas.
They struggle with consistency.

Daily audits get skipped. Leadership routines fade. Follow-up activities fall through the cracks. Over time, the systems meant to sustain improvement become dependent on memory, spreadsheets, or manual follow-up.

That’s where Standard Work in KPI Fire helps.

Standard Work gives your organization a simple way to manage recurring operational routines with:

  • Clear ownership
  • Scheduled accountability
  • Team visibility
  • Completion tracking

Instead of wondering whether critical routines happened, teams can see the status in real time and focus on execution.

What Is Standard Work?

Standard Work is a KPI Fire module designed to help teams manage recurring operational activities across departments and leadership teams.

It helps organizations:

  • Standardize recurring routines
  • Assign accountability
  • Track completion
  • Sustain operational discipline
  • Improve visibility into team capacity

The module includes two connected experiences:

Standard Work

  • Manage recurring team-based operational routines
  • Best for teams & department level management

User Standard Work

  • View an individual user’s assigned recurring responsibilities
  • Best for individuals

This gives leaders visibility into both:

  • Team execution
  • Individual accountability

Standard Work vs. Projects

A simple way to think about it:

Example:

Standard Work Project
Daily Gemba Walks Launching a Lean Initative
Weekly safety audits Installing new equipment
Monthly KPI reviews ERP implementation
Quarterly sustainment checks Kaizen event execution

Projects help drive change.
Standard Work helps sustain it.

By making recurring responsibilities visible, assigned, and easy to review, Standard Work helps leaders stay connected to execution while giving teams the structure they need to sustain progress every day.

How to Use Standard Work Plans

1. Create a plan

standard work

2. Add a team

standard work in KPI Fire

3. Add tasks

a) Assign an owner

b) Add clear instructions

c) Set the reoccurrence pattern

d) Estimate the task duration

standard work

4. Conduct weekly audits
a) Use audit timer to track time savings benefit (you will quickly observe how much less time it takes to review a plan with your team rather than requesting updates directing from each individual in various platforms and mediums).

standard work

5. Review workload balance for individual team members

6. Work from user standard work for daily task management

standard work

Plan Examples/Templates

Standard Work Plan: Daily Gemba Walks

Purpose

Improve leadership visibility, reinforce accountability, and identify operational issues before they escalate.

Estimated Total Weekly Plan Time: 7 hrs 5 min

  • Production Floor Gemba Walk
    • Assigned Owner: Plant Manager
    • Recurrence: Daily at 8:00 AM
    • Estimated Duration: 45 min
    • Instructions: Walk primary production areas and review safety, quality, delivery, staffing, and morale concerns with frontline teams. Document escalations and follow-up actions.
  • Safety Observation Review
    • Assigned Owner: Safety Coordinator
    • Recurrence: Daily at 9:30 AM
    • Estimated Duration: 20 min
    • Instructions: Review open safety concerns identified during Gemba walks and assign ownership for corrective actions.
  • Escalation Follow-Up
    • Assigned Owner: Production Supervisor
    • Recurrence: Daily at 1:00 PM
    • Estimated Duration: 30 min
    • Instructions: Review unresolved operational escalations from previous shifts and update status.
  • Leader Standard Work Review
    • Assigned Owner: CI Program Manager
    • Recurrence: Weekly on Fridays
    • Estimated Duration: 10 min
    • Instructions: Verify leadership Gemba routines are consistently completed and identify participation gaps.

Standard Work Plan: Weekly Safety Audits

Purpose

Create consistent safety accountability and proactively identify workplace risks.

Estimated Total Monthly Plan Time: 8 hrs 20 min

Area Safety Audit

  • Assigned Owner: Safety Manager
  • Recurrence: Every Monday
  • Estimated Duration: 60 min
  • Instructions: Complete safety audit checklist for assigned operational areas and document findings.

PPE Compliance Review

  • Assigned Owner: Department Supervisor
  • Recurrence: Every Tuesday
  • Estimated Duration: 20 min
  • Instructions: Verify PPE compliance across work areas and address nonconformance issues.

Corrective Action Review

  • Assigned Owner: Safety Coordinator
  • Recurrence: Every Wednesday
  • Estimated Duration: 30 min
  • Instructions: Review open corrective actions from previous audits and update status.

Safety Escalation Meeting

  • Assigned Owner: Plant Manager
  • Recurrence: Every Thursday
  • Estimated Duration: 45 min
  • Instructions: Review high-risk findings, unresolved issues, and overdue corrective actions.

Safety Trend Review

  • Assigned Owner: EHS Manager
  • Recurrence: Monthly on first Friday
  • Estimated Duration: 60 min
  • Instructions: Review recurring audit findings and identify systemic improvement opportunities.

Standard Work Plan: Monthly KPI Reviews

Purpose

Maintain visibility into operational performance and reinforce ownership accountability for key metrics.

Estimated Total Monthly Plan Time: 5 hrs 45 min

  • KPI Data Validation
    • Assigned Owner: CI Specialist
    • Recurrence: First business day of month
    • Estimated Duration: 45 min
    • Instructions: Verify KPI data accuracy and confirm all dashboards are updated before review meetings.
  • Department KPI Review
    • Assigned Owner: Department Leader
    • Recurrence: First Monday of month
    • Estimated Duration: 60 min
    • Instructions: Review KPI performance, missed targets, and corrective actions with department teams.
  • Executive KPI Summary Review
    • Assigned Owner: CI Program Manager
    • Recurrence: First Tuesday of month
    • Estimated Duration: 45 min
    • Instructions: Consolidate KPI trends and identify enterprise-level risks or recurring issues.
  • Leadership KPI Accountability Meeting
    • Assigned Owner: Executive Sponsor
    • Recurrence: First Wednesday of month
    • Estimated Duration: 90 min
    • Instructions: Review strategic KPIs, overdue actions, and operational performance gaps.
  • KPI Action Item Follow-Up
    • Assigned Owner: Department Leader
    • Recurrence: Weekly after review
    • Estimated Duration: 30 min
    • Instructions: Review progress on KPI-related corrective actions and update ownership status.

Standard Work Plan: Quarterly Sustainment Checks

Purpose

Ensure completed improvements remain effective and operational gains are sustained over time.

Estimated Total Quarterly Plan Time: 6 hrs

  • Improvement Sustainment Audit
    • Assigned Owner: CI Program Manager
    • Recurrence: Quarterly
    • Estimated Duration: 90 min
    • Instructions: Verify completed improvements remain active, standardized, and consistently followed.
  • Countermeasure Effectiveness Review
    • Assigned Owner: CI Specialist
    • Recurrence: Quarterly
    • Estimated Duration: 60 min
    • Instructions: Review implemented countermeasures and validate ongoing effectiveness.
  • Process Confirmation Review
    • Assigned Owner: Department Leader
    • Recurrence: Quarterly
    • Estimated Duration: 45 min
    • Instructions: Verify operational teams are following updated processes and standards.
  • Benefit Realization Validation
    • Assigned Owner: Finance Partner
    • Recurrence: Quarterly
    • Estimated Duration: 60 min
    • Instructions: Confirm financial and operational benefits achieved from completed projects.
  • Leadership Sustainment Review
    • Assigned Owner: Executive Sponsor
    • Recurrence: Quarterly
    • Estimated Duration: 60 min
    • Instructions: Review sustainment health across the CI portfolio and identify at-risk improvements.
  • Workload & Capacity Review
    • Assigned Owner: CI Program Manager
    • Recurrence: Quarterly
    • Estimated Duration: 45 min
    • Instructions: Review recurring workload allocation across teams and identify opportunities to remove or improve low-value activities.