A standard work combination table is the Toyota Production System document that plots each operator step against time, distinguishing manual work, automatic (machine) time, and walking, so you can see whether a single worker's cycle fits inside takt.
It is one of the three core standardized work forms, sitting alongside the process capacity sheet and the standardized work chart. Where a simple time study lists tasks, the combination table layers three different kinds of time onto one timeline and lines them up against the takt bar.
That visual overlap is what exposes waiting, overburden, and dangerous overlaps between a person and a running machine.
The purpose of the combination table is to answer one question: can one operator complete a full cycle, on foot, across the assigned machines, within the takt time? To do that it separates three time categories that most stopwatch studies blur together.
Manual and walk time are drawn as solid or continuous lines; machine auto time is drawn as a dashed line running in parallel, because the operator has already moved on. The moment the two lines separate is where the operator gets free hands, and that is where the next task should begin.
A standard layout carries one row per work element and a set of fixed columns. Fill them in this order:
The takt line is the whole point of the graph. Takt equals available production time divided by customer demand. If your cumulative operator line crosses the takt line, the cell cannot keep up and the sequence must change. Standardized work like this is a prerequisite for stable overall equipment effectiveness, because you cannot improve a cycle you have not first made repeatable.
Assume available time of 27,000 seconds per shift (7.5 hours after breaks) and demand of 450 units. Takt time is 27,000 divided by 450, which equals 60 seconds per unit. One operator tends two machines, M1 and M2.
Operator hands-on plus walking equals 8 + 3 + 6 + 9 + 4 + 7, which is 37 seconds . That comfortably fits inside the 60-second takt, so one operator can run both machines with 23 seconds of margin per cycle.
The dashed auto lines confirm neither machine finishes late: M1's 40s starts after element 1 and ends before element 6, and M2's 35s starts after element 4 with room to spare.
If demand rose and takt fell to 35 seconds, the 37-second operator cycle would break the takt line, and you would rebalance, shorten walk paths, or add a second operator.
Once plotted, the table makes three failure modes obvious. First, operator overburden : the solid line crosses takt, meaning the person physically cannot finish in time. Second, operator waiting : a long dashed auto line with no manual work stacked against it means the operator stands idle watching a machine.
Third, a person-and-machine collision , where the manual line overlaps an auto line on the same machine, a safety red flag that the operator is reaching into a running cycle.
Rebalancing usually means resequencing elements so the operator does useful work during someone else's auto time, trimming walk distance, or shifting an element to an adjacent operator. This is disciplined kaizen, and it pairs naturally with a broader value stream mapping effort and the improvement rhythm of the PDCA cycle .
When you standardize the winning sequence, you also feed the theory of constraints conversation by revealing which station is truly pacing the line.
A combination table is only as honest as the time data behind it. Fabrico is the real-time data foundation that keeps those numbers current instead of frozen in a stopwatch study from last quarter.
Its real-time OEE and production monitoring captures actual machine cycle and run times on the floor, and its computer vision can read machines with no PLC, so even older equipment reports its real auto time.
When you rebalance a cell, Fabrico shows whether the new sequence actually holds up against live output rather than a whiteboard assumption.
On the maintenance side, machine auto times only stay stable if the equipment does. Fabrico's field-ready CMMS handles work orders, assets, preventive scheduling, and spare parts, so a drifting cycle time can be traced to a maintenance cause and fixed at the root.
For the underlying concepts, our guides on what a CMMS is and autonomous maintenance give operators the context to keep standardized work standing. Fabrico is EU-built with EU data residency.
The combination table is a time-based graph: it plots manual, auto, and walk time against takt to prove a cycle fits. The standardized work chart is a layout-based diagram, drawn on the cell floor plan, showing the operator's walk path, standard work-in-process, and safety or quality checkpoints. You typically build the combination table first to confirm timing, then draw the chart to document the physical movement.
No. If no machine runs on its own during the cycle, the auto column stays empty and the table simply sequences manual and walk time against takt. The auto line matters when an operator tends machines that run unattended, because that free window is exactly what lets one person cover several stations.
Revisit it whenever takt changes (demand shifts or available time changes), whenever the cell layout or tooling changes, and whenever a kaizen alters the sequence. Treat it as a baseline that improvement moves forward, not a document you complete once. Live monitoring makes these triggers visible rather than something you discover weeks later.
Ready to build combination tables on real machine times instead of stale stopwatch data? Book a Fabrico demo and see how live OEE and CMMS data keep your standardized work honest.
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