For years, paper work instructions have been a standard part of manufacturing. They were easy to distribute, simple to update, and familiar to operators.
But manufacturing has changed.
Products are becoming more complex. Customer expectations continue to rise. Experienced employees are retiring, while new employees often need to become productive more quickly than ever before. As a result, many manufacturers are rethinking how information is delivered on the shop floor.
The Challenge with Paper
Paper work instructions create several common challenges:
- Multiple versions of the same document
- Outdated instructions remaining at workstations
- Time spent searching for the correct information
- Longer training periods for new employees
- Inconsistent processes between operators
None of these issues may seem significant on their own, but together they can impact quality, productivity, and employee confidence.
A Shift Toward Digital Work Instructions
One trend we're seeing across the manufacturers we work with is a move toward digital work instructions. Rather than relying on printed documents, operators receive the latest approved instructions directly at their workstation, along with supporting images, videos, and other visual aids...
In a recent study on employee training and trends in manufacturing, the following results were obtained:
- Improved Learning Retention: People retain about 80% of what they see and do, compared to only 20% of what they read. This makes VWIs, which combine visuals and hands-on action, significantly more effective for training.
- Reduced Errors: VWIs help minimize mistakes by providing clear, step-by-step guidance. Companies that have switched from traditional text-heavy instructions to visual formats report a notable decrease in errors, leading to better quality assurance.
- Faster Onboarding: New employees can reach full productivity much quicker with VWIs. Some organizations have cut training time by nearly 50%, allowing workers to learn at their own pace with minimal supervision.
Every manufacturer relies on a few core metrics to manage operations: efficiency, productivity, capacity, and labor and equipment utilization. These benchmarks are used worldwide to assess performance and process effectiveness.
What if you could...
You would be hard-pressed to completely miss the stories in the news recently about quality issues in manufacturing. The crux of the issue has been a complete focus on production and a lack of focus on quality. Yes, it is a wonderful thing to get the goods out the door, but when you’re sacrificing quality, what good is it really?
There are specifications for production for a reason. Engineering exists for a reason. If products are not built according to exact design specifications, scrap is likely to go up, rework goes up, customer returns and/or service requests go up, and customer satisfaction and overall customer confidence in your product plummets.
Is all of that worth it to get the good out the door in the shortest amount of time possible?
Every manufacturer relies on a few core measurements to manage their operations. Measurements like efficiency, productivity, capacity, labor and equipment utilization are used by manufacturers across the globe to benchmark performance and assess the effectiveness of processes.
Quality needs to be part of that mix. Because measurements like efficiency and productivity don’t necessarily mean high quality, incorporating ways to ensure quality from the start can help to eliminate waste and rework.
Manufacturing quality is achieved through quality control using documented, repeatable, and measurable processes.
What if you could incorporate quality control in every operation, at every work center to not only ensure high-quality finished goods but also simultaneously train high-quality operators?
Introducing Crossroads’ ERP independent solution, VJES (Visual Job Execution Software)...