A Lean Principle that addresses efficiency by the process worker is called ____________________?

Standardizing, in the context of Lean, refers to Standardized Work. This is a fundamental principle that documents the most efficient, safest, and highest-quality sequence of actions for a process worker to perform a task. By establishing a clear, repeatable, and agreed-upon best practice, it eliminates variation and waste (Muda) from the worker's activities. This directly addresses and improves the efficiency of the process worker by providing a baseline for consistent performance and a foundation for continuous improvement (Kaizen).

A. Visual Factory: This principle uses visual controls to make the status of operations clear to everyone, which supports efficiency but does not define the worker's specific process.
B. Supervising: This is a general management activity. While supervisors support Lean implementation, "supervising" itself is not the Lean principle that defines the efficient work method.
C. Training: Training is the mechanism to teach the standardized work to the employee; it is a necessary supporting activity, not the principle of standardization itself.

1. Liker, J. K. (2004). The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest Manufacturer. McGraw-Hill. In Chapter 11, Principle 6, "Standardized tasks are the foundation for continuous improvement and employee empowerment," it is explained that standardization stabilizes the process and provides a baseline for measuring efficiency improvements (pp. 117-118).

2. Womack, J. P., & Jones, D. T. (2003). Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation. Free Press. The authors emphasize that without standardization, there can be no consistent process, and therefore, no sustainable improvement in efficiency (Chapter 4).

3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) OpenCourseWare. (2005). 16.852J / ESD.62J - Integrating the Lean Enterprise, Fall 2005. Lecture 10: Lean Production Systems. The lecture notes detail Standardized Work as a core element of the Toyota Production System, designed to reduce process variability and create a predictable, efficient workflow for the operator. (Available at: ocw.mit.edu).