Some Assembly Required: Putting it Together the Right Way

Every Christmas, millions of people unwrap gifts and find themselves faced with assembling or constructing something via a set of instructions. The quality of these instructions can impact the flow and mood of the rest of the day and directly impacts our relationship with the brand or manufacturer.

“That was easy!”

“Look, it's finished!”

“It works!”

These are all things we want to be saying during the holidays as we assemble toys, spaceships, planes, and trains.

Yet often we cringe when we see “some assembly required” is printed on the side of the box.

Because often, instruction manuals are somewhat lacking in detail, clarity, and even accuracy.

The importance of good instructions

Some companies put more effort into their instructions and procedures than others.

A positive and profitable experience comes when a manufacturer invests in quality technical documentation and processes.

If the product or equipment manual has been supported by a skilled writer and illustrator in a company that cares about your experience, you are in luck. The build will go exactly to plan and be a resounding success.

Your experience can be further improved with illustrations that represent the designed and manufactured product along with instructions that reference those illustrations.

At the other end of the scale, all wisdom, good cheer, and patience go out the door when you get part way through the assembly and realize something critical was missed from the instructions.

Taking the next step - Augmented Reality

Paper-based instructions like these are a world staple for providing guidance on how to build furniture, construct toys, or use complex household appliances. With the use of these devices generally taking place at home, there is no need to change this established method.

However, in the Aerospace and Defense sector, manufacturers are developing the world’s most complex products. The engineers supporting these systems are performing highly skilled and often sporadic maintenance procedures.

Manufacturers of this type of equipment have started to look at making instructions even clearer by including Augmented Reality (AR) experiences.

Incorporating AR makes instructions easier to follow and also means that users can be trained as they service equipment in a 3-dimensional context using step-by-step guides.

The visual instructions give full confidence that you are performing the task as per the process set out by the manufacturer. And these visual-based guides remove the complication of understanding the instructions where English is not the first language.

The Big Impact

In the same way that the new toy at Christmas can be constructed quickly with accurate and visual instructions, AR experiences help users in the field identify parts that need to be replaced without needing specific in-depth knowledge of the product.

The results are improved first time fix rates, reduced repair time, and ultimately reduced total cost of servicing (and a smooth running Christmas!)

Happy building and a Merry Christmas from all of us at GPSL!

More Information

How re-using S1000D content supports Augmented Reality

Aerospace & Defense organizations are moving to Augmented Reality (AR) experiences to improve the service and maintenance of platforms. But how do you get from where you are today, to delivering interactive, reality-based information, and what are the real benefits? Read more about AR in Aerospace & Defense here

Connecting Technical Training Data to the Digital Thread

The Navy’s Acquisition Requirements for Training Transformation (ARTT) project is taking military training data management to the next level. GPSL is part of the expert team of vendors working on this exciting project. Find out more about ARTT here

The Authors

Scott Allshouse likes to study complex machines from toys to rockets. It has led him on a journey of technical information process improvement to ensure every technician (and parent) always has good instructions when some assembly is required.

Rob Woods specializes in creating high-quality illustrations for a range of clients across the globe. Working in automotive, defense, aerospace, marine, heavy engineering, and electronics markets for the last 30 years, he’s developed illustrations for all types of technical documentation and sales literature.


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