Foundation 1 of 20 · Standardize
What Is Standard Work? How to Standardize Custom Jobs
Every Job Feels Different. Most of It Is the Same.
"Every job is different. How can I have a system for that?" If every job starts from scratch and waits for you, your best person is spending the day on your easiest work. Here is what standard work is, and how to find the part of every job someone else can do.
Last Updated: 10/25/2026 · Written by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
The Short Answer
What Is Standard Work?
Textbook Definition
Standard work is the documented, agreed-upon best method for performing a repeated task, specifying the sequence of steps, timing, and tools, so it can be performed consistently by anyone trained on it.
In Plain English
Standard work is the part of a job that gets done the same way every time, written down once, so anyone trained can do it. Most "custom" jobs are mostly standard, with a small custom piece in the middle that needs the expert.
Why It Matters
Why Does Treating Every Job as Custom Slow You Down?
The better you are at your craft, the more every job looks like its own problem. You notice the one thing that is different. You stop seeing the thirty things that are the same, because the same things are easy. So you do all of it yourself, from scratch, every time.
That makes you the shelf. Every job waits for the one person who knows how. Standardization is the habit of finding the shared part of every job and locking it in, so the expert spends time only on the part that truly needs an expert.
Signs you have this problem:
- Your work queue is always about two weeks long, no matter how hard you work.
- You say "every job is different" when someone offers to help.
- Your helper does only the simplest tasks while you do everything else.
- Jobs wait because you got interested in a harder one.
- You do the same opening steps on almost every job without thinking.
- You check every piece of your team's work, forever.
What It Looks Like
What It Looks Like When Forty Jobs Wait for One Expert
From the Fabled Forest · Chapter 1
Alton the Ant runs the best repair shop in the forest. His WAITING shelf held forty-one jobs: clocks, lamps, cash drawers, a music box, a very small boat. He finished about three a day, two if one was interesting. His apprentice, Pippa, handled cash drawers and invoices. Alton said every clock was different.
Doctor Owl laid out Alton's last ten tickets and wrote down the steps for each. On eight of the ten, the first five steps were identical: open it, look, clean, check the fit, mark what is worn. So were the last steps. Only one or two steps in the middle needed Alton.
They split the work. Pippa does the five opening steps, passes the job to Alton for his one or two, then finishes it. Within a week the shop did seven jobs a day, and the shelf was on its way to empty for the first time.
Alton's story is Chapter 1 of Operations for Small Businesses, Book 3 of Dr. Paul's Fabled Forest Business School Series.
The Fix
How to Find and Write Standard Work in 5 Steps
You do not need a manual. You need your last ten jobs and an honest look at them.
Pull your last ten finished jobs.
Write the steps for each one, in order, the way it really happened. Do not write the ideal version.
Circle the steps that repeat.
Look for the steps that show up on most of the ten, in the same order. In many trades, the first and last few steps are nearly identical across jobs.
Mark where the custom part starts and stops.
That middle section is the custom part. It stays with the expert. Everything before and after it can be taught.
Write the standard steps on one card.
Short, numbered, and posted where the work happens. Add the name of who does them.
Hand it off, and check the first few closely.
Let someone else do the standard steps without asking you. Check their first few jobs carefully, then spot-check. If you check every one forever, the work still waits for you.
Dr. Paul's Insight
The hardest part is not writing the card. It is watching someone else do the steps you have done for twenty years, and saying nothing. Expect to feel a little replaced. You are not. You are being freed for the part only you can do. Standard work is also the building block of written procedures. Once it holds, turn the card into a full standard operating procedure for training new hires.
Sample: A Standard Work Card
Three sections. The middle one stays with the expert.
| Standard opening (apprentice) | 1. Open it. 2. Look and note the problem. 3. Clean seat, gears, or contacts. 4. Check the fit. 5. Mark what is worn. |
| Custom middle (owner) | Repair or replace the worn part. One or two steps. Write them on the ticket. |
| Standard closing (apprentice, then owner) | Reassemble. Test. Owner checks again. |
| When a job does not fit | Write a new card for that kind of job. |
| Checking | Owner checks the first 4 jobs fully, then spot-checks. |
Sample for illustration. Build yours from your own last ten jobs.
Watch
Video: How to Standardize Custom Work
What Is Standard Work? How to Standardize Custom Jobs
Dr. Paul sorts ten real jobs into standard and custom steps on screen.
From the Book
The First Five Things
Chapter 1 · Standard Work
Every Job Is Special: An Ant's Forty Snowflakes
"And you?"
"I do the cash drawers. And the invoices." She touched the pencil behind her antenna. "I'd do the clocks. He says every clock is different."
"Is it?"
Pippa thought about that, with the pencil still.
"The inside is," she said. "The first five things you do to it aren't."
What did Doctor Owl find when he laid Alton's last ten jobs side by side? Find out in Chapter 1. Book 3 of Dr. Paul's Fabled Forest Business School Series.
Get the Book on Amazon →FAQ
Standard Work Questions
What is an example of standard work?
What is the difference between standard work and an SOP?
Can custom jobs be standardized?
Who should write standard work?
Keep Going
Related Foundations
Standard work connects four foundations. It is where most operations improvements start. New to a term on this page? Every one is in the operations glossary.
Foundation 2 · Product Consistency
Once the steps are standard, make the result consistent too.
Foundation 4 · Service Standards
Turn "how we do it" into "what every customer gets."
Foundation 6 · Process Discipline
Hold the standard still before you try to improve it.
Foundation 15 · Hand-Offs and Order Tracking
Clean hand-offs are what make split work possible.
Written by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA, business consultant and author who helps owners build businesses that run on systems. Want help pulling your business out of your head and onto cards? See fractional COO services.
This page is for general educational purposes only. It is not legal, safety, employment, financial, or tax advice. Safety and employment rules differ by place and industry. Dollar figures are illustrations. The Fabled Forest and its characters are fictional. For decisions about your own business, consult a qualified professional.