Digitizing your work instructions is key to developing a smart factory. With the ability to standardize processes and collect vital data, digital work instructions provide the tools necessary to achieve your smart manufacturing goals.

Manufacturing companies face many challenges today. The industry is both fast-paced and competitive. If manufacturers fail to embrace modern technology and practices, they are likely to witness high turnover costs, expensive quality control, and a reduction in productivity.

By digitizing your work instructions, your company can take a big step forward into Industry 4.0. Work instructions software offers a wide range of ever-growing benefits. 

Let’s explore 8 such reasons:

1. Streamline Manufacturing Performance

Digital work instructions are a tried-and-tested productivity builder. With a user-friendly interface, employees quickly understand and complete their tasks.

Interactive work instructions are authored by your most experienced workers. This enables your employees to access years of experience with the click of a button.

It literally offers you the possibility of distributing the knowledge of your best workers among the entire workforce, and turning all your employees into high performers.

2. Enhance Efficiency

While using instructions that are complex or dense, operators need time to comprehend the processes. This slows down production and causes errors. Misinterpretations can negatively affect your product quality and lead to potential re-work.

Implementing comprehensive process instructions can effectively remedy this problem and transform your production speed. By using visual work instructions, operators can now focus on their work and less on interpreting their instructions.

Not only do digital work instructions step up production efficiency, but they also save time for the people who write them. This time can then be retargeted towards critical business projects and drive more revenue to your business.

3. Improve Accessibility and Control

Digital work instructions provide access via any mobile device, tablet, or computer. Their paper-based counterparts are stored in large binders, often stacked in the back corner of the factory floor. If operators need access to a document, they have to pause their work, spending valuable time to find and transport the information.

Digital documentation tools are easily searchable and can leverage QR codes to instantly access relevant documents while on the shop floor. This effectively ensures that workers have access to accurate information anywhere.

4. Capture Tribal Knowledge

Manufacturing companies need to adapt to new workforce challenges. As baby boomers retire from manufacturing jobs, the industry is finding itself in a growing manufacturing skills gap.

Due to qualified worker scarcity, manufacturers are having to rely on summer students, interns, and inexperienced employees. It’s more important than ever to document and distribute the right process knowledge to the entire team.

With digital work instructions, key information is distributed among all qualified personnel. When your most experienced operator retires or goes on vacation, you don’t have to worry if the job will be done properly. Their knowledge is stored and standardized within your digital work instructions.

Digitizing your manufacturing instructions also makes sharing and updating your best practices easy. Mass-updating your processes and procedures is accomplished with the click of a button. This way, your employees always have the right knowledge at the right time.

5. Eliminate Defects with Added Quality Control

By using digital work instructions, your employees have quick access to your current best procedures. This goes a long way in eliminating defects and increasing product quality.

Digital work instructions provide companies with real-time performance data. The software collects quality data with each step in your given process. If the step is not accomplished within the parameters, then the software informs the operator and prevents them from moving to the next step.

Real-time quality monitoring leaves very little room for errors or defects in your production line. This ultimately builds your customers’ confidence in your product.

        To read more: Leverage Computer Vision for Quality Control

6. Optimize operational costs

American companies are spending more than $120 billion every year on printing forms, most of which get outdated within three months. Paper is error-prone and can be mishandled, resulting in poor data quality and security. 

Digital work instructions help companies eliminate paper and associated costs, including printing, distribution, and storage. The data is uploaded into SAP systems in real time, leaving no room for mismanagement and inaccuracies. This eliminates reworks and alleviates the burden on back-office staff with paper-based processes.

7. Ensure Regulatory Compliance

Regulations in asset-intensive industries often change in line with industry trends and environmental factors. Conventional, manual practices in frontline operations in companies create a mayhem during a regulatory transition. Companies require agile practices to quickly adapt changes in their standard operating procedures (SOP). 

Digital work instructions enable compliance teams in asset-intensive companies to swiftly update their SOPs. Integrating with SAP systems helps companies keep their teams informed about the changes and stay compliant.

8. Attract Top Talent

The Great Crew Change brings more millennials and Gen Z into the front-line workforce in asset-intensive industries. These younger workers are digital natives who expect their employers to make robust use of technology as a means to save time and effort.

They value innovation, engagement and collaboration, and detest the information silos so often found in paper-based processes. To attract and retain these workers, many employment experts recommend companies demonstrate their commitment to technology.

Making digital work instructions an integral part of your Connected Worker strategies is an excellent way to demonstrate this commitment and attract the best talent. 

Conclusion

Digital work instructions represent just one method to revolutionize your production. Hakuna Matata solutions offers a host of exciting solutions that can reinvent your shop floor and drive growth.

Talk to our experts today and find out how we can automate your shop floor operations.