Work instructions in paper and pdf

To achieve its quality objectives, the industrial company must clarify its work instructions in order to provide its operators with all the necessary information at the right time. With the arrival of digital in the industry 4.0, questions are being raised about the effectiveness of paper or PDF operating modes. Let’s find out why they don’t work!

Paper work instructions: a waste of energy

The use of paper often complicates processes because of the problems that come with it. The very creation of this type of file is complex and involves many printing risks. A printed procedure can be complex and difficult to understand. In fact, to access the information, the operator must flip through the documents and search for what he needs. This complicates the task and wastes time and energy.

As objectives and work tools evolve, operating procedures must be updated to ensure the expected quality. The paper format does not facilitate this task, and each time it needs to be updated, the operating procedure must be printed again. In addition, paper versions of work instructions remain in the workshop and employees do not know whether they are working with an up-to-date or obsolete version.

The lack of interactivity

Operating instructions or work instructions in paper or PDF format do not encourage interactivity with the operator. The text, in general, is not an interactive medium. This is why, to simplify access to the right information at the right time, the work instruction must be easy to explore, with a dynamic structure and integrating various media (images, videos, shapes, 3D…)

The paper or PDF format does not allow traceability

Data collection and monitoring are extremely important in the industry of the future. Whether it is work instructions or checklists, their use must be tracked to feed into continuous improvement processes. Since it does not allow for analytics or traceability, the paper / PDF operating mode does not allow actions to be measured and therefore the necessary process improvements to be planned.

Industry 4.0: Focusing on paperless

The 4th Industrial Revolution aims to digitalize companies and factories in order to optimize their performance. Digitization affects the different links in the production chain and promotes the extraction and exploitation of data at all levels.
The paper/innovation duality makes no sense in the factory of the future. Eliminating paper in factories is an objective to be achieved by digitizing data entry forms, instruction sheets, instructions for use and monitoring sheets.

Focusing on the interaction between man and the connected machine, the factory of the future involves the use of interactive applications that facilitate the flow of information. In fact, digitized work instructions are easier to integrate, modify and exploit, all of these advantages result in more effective instructions for use. The supports used to display work instructions are no longer made of paper, but tablets, smartphones and even augmented reality glasses. Another point to remember is that the digitization of work instructions makes it possible to reduce the time required to operate them and to train newcomers.

Which software to digitize the work instructions?

Picomto is the solution for manufacturers who want to transform their operational documentation from a cost centre into a profit centre and data source for continuous improvement processes

Feel free to contact our experts for more information about our solution.