When people talk about reducing operator errors, the scope of what they’re talking or thinking about can run the gamut from training, to fool-proofing (a.k.a. poka-yoke) a set-up or changeover, to fully automating a process or an assembly line, or even building a new plant.

However, I find it shocking that companies would consider the most capital intensive solutions when they should be starting with the basics. I recently saw an example of this at a company where training was talked of in terms of taking months and only a couple of people were “qualified” in certain operations. It didn’t really seem like a very complicated process, though many steps were involved. When I asked to take a look at their written procedures, they said, “what procedures?” It turns out that they had no written documentation for a fairly lengthy process, in which several steps were critical to preventing waste and potentially ruining product.

In a process which involved 75-100 steps or more, there was no written documentation, and training consisted of memorizing the entire process, start to finish, and in exactly the right sequence to boot. No wonder training took months and so few operators were qualified!

What was needed in this case was starting with the basics. Let’s develop some basic procedures, writing down the process steps and making sure they’re in the right sequence. Once this was done, a training process which took months can now be done in a matter of days, and serves as a great tool for cross-training and ensuring that there’s consistency in the process.

Need help developing your own procedures or wondering where to start? Give us a call or send us an email to kick start development of your own process or quality documentation efforts today.