Those of us in the lean manufacturing world know it’s a fast-paced one where being efficient reigns. Every step made, every action taken must be optimized to eliminate waste and maximize value. Like an email or a text message, traditional text-heavy work instructions can be clunky and lead to misinterpretation. This is where visual work instructions (VWIs) step in, transforming the way teams operate on the shop floor. Plus, when the software is really good, it can also revolutionize the way work instructions are authored but more to come there.
Tangible Results with a Visual Appeal
More than just pictures and/or diagrams, visual work instructions are a powerful tool that speaks a universal language. When you replace dense text with clear visuals, complex processes simplify and become more accessible to all skill levels. This translates to:
- Quicker onboarding: New employees can grasp tasks more quickly, reducing training time and dependence on senior staff.
- Reduced errors: Use of visuals minimizes misinterpretations, leading to higher first-pass quality, improved yields, and less rework and waste.
- Enhanced consistency: VWIs standardize how to perform tasks, ensuring everyone is on the same page.
Taking It a Step Further by Going Digital
Visual work instructions offer a significant bound forward from their traditional counterparts, but digital work instructions (DWIs) take it a step further. DWIs offer manufacturers dynamic work instructions that:
- Promotes accessibility: DWIs eliminate the need for physical copies of instructions and are deployed on tablets or workstations.
- Enables real-time updates: Most current versions of instructions are always available in the system, ensuring that everyone has the most up-to-date information.
- Enhances engagement: Interactive features such as videos, approval markers, and further clarify complex actions.
When Visual and Digital Combine
The collaboration of visual work instructions and digital work instructions is truly magical. A visual work instruction authoring system allows you to create DWIs that seamlessly integrate photos, videos, text, approval threads, and more. The benefits include:
- Reduced waste: VWIs help reduce time spent authoring and reduce further waste resulting from errors and rework. Digital deployment of your VWIs has the added level of sustainability when moving to a paperless environment.
- Improved collaboration: DWIs allow for real-time feedback from the shop floor to the engineering room and vice versa, encouraging teams to work toether on process optimization.
- Better scalability: As your processes evolve, so can your DWIs.
Visualize It: A Better Visual Work Instructions Solution
At Sequence Software, we know manufacturing. We’re a team of engineers who truly understand the frustrations and complexities of process and procedure and the importance of quality work instructions. Our visual work instruction software lets you:
- Stop reformatting every page in a spreadsheet or text document by streamlining the authoring process.
- Retain past versions of your work instructions for ease of revisiting and compliance purposes.
- Ensure the most up-to-date version of work instructions is available on the shop floor through digital real-time deployment.
- Collaborate between the engineers and the shop floor.
- And more!
Let us be your partner in creating a leaner, more efficient manufacturing environment. Contact Sequence Software today to request a demo of our visual work instruction software.
