A work instruction (also referred to as work guide, job aid, or standard operating procedure in manufacturing) is documentation that describes to shop floor personnel how a product or assembly should be built, often using text-based instructions, data, and visual aids such as diagrams, videos, and photos. FactoryLogix allows process engineers to create activity-based work instructions (steps and activities) that drive data collection on the factory floor.

• A process flow details the operations necessary for the build.
• Each operation in a process flow can contain one or more steps.
• Each step can contain one or more activities.

Activities can be as simple as text instructions for an operator on the shop floor or more complex data collection tasks with several levels of completion, acknowledgement, or supervisory approval in support of CFR Part 11 Compliance and sign off requirements. You can associate any type of document to each step or activity to help guide production personnel in the manufacturing process.

As you create work instructions for an operation, you can also define activity sequencing so that each activity must be competed in order or configured to allow operators to complete them in any order.

Activity tracking allows historical recall of the operator responsible for performing each activity. With this degree of power and flexibility, FactoryLogix can control and track any type of manufacturing process.

General procedure

Follow these general steps to create work instructions/steps for an operation in the NPI client application. (For detailed instructions, see Create steps for an operation.)

1. Log into the NPI client application.
2. Select Process Engineering  > Define Processes, then double-click a product or assembly that contains one or more operations.
3. In the Process Definition window, double-click the process flow in the tree to check it out for editing. (Notice the padlock icon next to the process flow name that indicates it is checked out for editing.)
   
   
   
   

4. In the Process tree, select an operation that is not yet set up, then select the Edit  button at the top of the window.
   
   You will see the message "This operation is not set up. What do you want to do?"

   
   
   
   

5. Select a step type: color-coded work instruction, guided inspection work instruction, apply a template to the operation, or create a mechanical/box build work instruction. (See the following table for details about each step type you can add to an operation.)

6. Use the wizard-based guidance to set up steps and activities for the operation. See Create steps for an operation and Add an activity to a step for more information.
   
   

   Note:

   If you prefer, you can go back later and set up steps and activities by selecting an operation in the Process tree, then selecting the Edit button.

7. After you define the work instructions (steps and activities) for the operation, select OK.