Train the Station

Weeks 5 and 6. The control plan only works if the operator at the station can follow it. Station 30 is trim and inspect, run on three shifts by six operators. The plan's checks all land on that station, so the work instruction is written for it first.

Write it for the person doing the job

One page, steps in order, one key point each, a picture of the boundary sample, and the reaction written where the operator needs it. The station's six steps:

1. Load the part in the trim fixture.
2. Trim the gate in one cut.
3. Compare the snap hook to the boundary sample.
4. Every 30 minutes, measure five consecutive pieces for hook height on the fixture and record them.
5. Place good parts in the divider tote, one per pocket.
6. If any check fails, stop and follow the reaction on the sheet.

Release it at a revision letter, here Rev A. Every training record names the revision it was trained to. A record that does not name one proves nothing when the instruction changes.

Train, then prove they can do it

A signature on a sheet shows someone sat through a briefing. It does not show they can do the job. Each of the six operators ran the station on five pieces, and one of the five was a planted short shot.

Five of the six operators found the planted piece and recorded it correctly. One passed it. That operator was retrained on the boundary sample and tested again, and found it. Six of six were then signed off on the skills matrix, with the date and Rev A.

Read more: how to write a work instruction.

The mistake to avoid

Training by handing out the instruction and collecting signatures. If nobody watched the operator find a bad part, nobody knows the control plan works.

Open the printable Monday Board

The part, the tool, the program and every number in this book (latch cover LC-5927) are a made-up example. The tool sidebars show ShopFloorOps tools, which I make and sell. Every chapter teaches the step itself, so you can use your own forms. New to a term? See the quality glossary.