Target Condition: Challenge (Part 9)

Target Condition = Challenge

The principle behind the Target Condition is to have a goal that helps the team push its limits a little further. In other words, as Toshio Horikiri states, it is between easy (the point we already know how to achieve) and impossible targets.

Moreover, it is normal to have uncertainty about the Target Condition. Of course, there are constraints for any decision or a project, but that does not mean that we must use ROI analysis in opting for a Target Condition. Preferably, that ROI should be used to consider the cost and benefit, not for choosing.

Standardized Work vs. Standard

Target Condition provides us with standardized work, but are standard and standardized work the same? No, not the same. Standard is the description of how the work should be performed, while the standardized work is a standard in action.

We don’t need standards for the sake of standards, but to establish a standardized work.

In other words, most organizations mainly focus on documenting the standards, and when you ask them whether they have standards, they will provide you with that very documentation. But, the existence of the document does not guarantee that the work is being done according to them; yeah, that’s obvious. Hence, the question should not be: “Have we posted work standards?” but rather “How do we achieve standardized work?”

In detail, Toyota, for instance, does not use the book of standards to establish discipline but to have a reference point where they can make a plan-versus-fact analysis. That enables the team leaders to identify the gaps and obstacles between what is and what should be. Then, they can act accordingly and work through problems.

Quality excellence comes not from doing the process the same way all the time but from striving to do the stated target condition processes the same way each time.

Now, imagine what if all the workers in an organization have developed the Target Condition Thinking!