When “Every Job Is Different” Holds You Back
If you work in a small manufacturing company, chances are you’ve heard (or said) something like this:
“We don’t need standard procedures — every order is custom.”
That mindset is common. Understandable, even. When your team is building specialized products, changing designs week to week, and adapting on the fly, it feels like there’s no room for structure.
But here’s the reality: most “custom” operations still follow repeatable patterns. And ignoring those patterns makes your shop harder to run, not easier.
We’ve worked in small manufacturing environments for years. Shops with 5 to 100 people. Welding, machining, laser cutting, bending, painting, assembling — the works. From those experiences, one thing has become clear: even high-mix, low-volume operations benefit enormously from standard work.
The Real Cost of Skipping Standards
When there’s no standard way of doing things, even simple tasks become harder:
- A new hire takes weeks (or months) to get up to speed.
- Welders each build the same part differently, with variable results.
- Work orders get interpreted differently by different teams.
- Quality suffers because no one’s sure what “right” looks like.
- The same questions get asked — over and over again.
And worst of all? Managers and supervisors spend their days putting out fires instead of improving operations.
These problems might seem small in isolation, but together, they create friction that slows the whole company down. Training gets harder. Mistakes become routine. Growth feels impossible.
What Standard Work Actually Looks Like
Let’s be clear — standard work doesn’t mean rigid, bureaucratic procedures that kill flexibility.
It means recognizing and documenting the repeatable parts of your process. Even in custom shops, you’ll find patterns if you zoom out just a little:
- Process sequences: Cut → Bend → Weld → Paint → Assemble is a common flow.
- Engineering outputs: Drawings can follow a naming convention or folder structure.
- Material descriptions: Consistent part naming avoids confusion down the line.
Creating standard procedures around these patterns makes operations smoother without killing your team’s creativity or adaptability.
Start Small: Build Habits, Not Bureaucracy
If the word “standard” still feels overwhelming, here’s the good news: you don’t need a 200-page manual to get started. You just need to build momentum. Here’s how:
1. Spot Inconsistencies
Pick one process — welding, cutting, or assembly — and observe how different team members handle it. If three people all do it differently, it’s time to align.
2. Find Common Ground
Talk to the team. Identify what’s already working well and where confusion creeps in. Get agreement on the best shared approach.
3. Test and Adjust
Put the new process into practice. Watch how it goes for a few weeks. Adjust as needed. Don’t aim for perfect — aim for repeatable.
4. Write It Down
Once the process feels right, document the key steps. Keep it simple — a one-page checklist or visual guide is often enough.
5. Keep It Alive
Treat standards as living documents. If your team finds a better way to do something next month, update the document. That’s how real improvement happens.
How an ERP System Can Help
Standardizing your work doesn’t stop on the shop floor. The same thinking applies to how your team handles:
- Work orders
- Job routing
- Purchase approvals
- Inventory management
- Documentation and revisions
Using an ERP system helps embed those processes into the daily workflow. Instead of creating more paperwork, it helps enforce consistency automatically.
Whether it’s setting naming conventions for parts, tracking production steps, or keeping job instructions clear and accessible — a good ERP system makes it easier to apply standard work without slowing things down.
Let Standard Work Fuel Your Growth
Small manufacturers often hold themselves back by thinking they’re “too custom” for standardization. But the truth is, finding and documenting repeatable processes is what allows companies to grow.
Standard work:
- Makes training faster
- Reduces costly mistakes
- Frees up time for improvement
- Builds consistency across your team
- Helps leaders step away from daily firefighting
It’s not about rules for the sake of rules. It’s about giving your team a strong foundation to build on.
If you’re trying to grow, improve quality, or just make things less chaotic, don’t overlook this simple but powerful tool. Start with one process. Document it. Improve it. Build from there.
You’ll be surprised how far a little standardization can take you.