Job Breakdown Sheet vs. Work Instruction

Some 14 year old punk slashed a lot of tires in our neighborhood last weekend. My loss is your gain: I wrote a breakdown sheet: how to change a car tire.

This made me think about a comment that "darrint" made on a recent post, We Already Have A Training Program?: "You make an interesting ping about badly done docs describing job functions. Can you show a before and after sample to illustrate?"

First, let's look at a typical work instruction (text only, insert your own pictures):

The purpose of this document is to provide the trainee with necessary information to be able to safely and successfully change a tire. The company procedure requires that the trainee read this document first. Once that task is complete, please sign your training curriculum that attests that you have read and fully understand this document. Also, please review the document with your trainer and ask any questions about the task. Please sign off on the training curriculum that you have reviewed this document with the trainer. Also ask the trainer to sign off that he/she reviewed this document with you. Also please be sure that your direct supervisor signs off on the training curriculum attesting that you have read the document, reviewed the document with your trainer and reviewed your review with the supervisor.

Work environment: When changing a tire, the trainee should understand her environment and ensure that it is safe and set up for work. Pull your car as far as possible off the road so that you are safe from passing traffic. Also ensure that your jack points are on a flat, level and hard surface. This won’t always be the case, as you may breakdown on a dirt road where flat surfaces may be available, but hard surfaces can be tough to find depending on the season. In this scenario, you will need to search in the fore or aft position of the vehicle for a large stone and roll the vehicle to the stone so the jack point is over the stone. Another possibility is to keep a short 2x4 section of wood lumber in your car if you travel back roads often. Also, shut the vehicle off.
Tools required: You will need a spare tire properly inflated to manufacturer’s specifications. Please see document #12345 for details. A car jack is required as well along with a proper extension depending on the jack type. Most vehicles have a scissor style jack which requires a pipe extension that is used to turn the scissor jack. A tire iron with the proper lug nut size is required as well. It is also a good idea to have a road flare or fluorescent safety triangle in your road safety kit.

Instructions:
Preparation – Pull the vehicle to the side of the road, as far as safely possible. Position the vehicle over a hard, level and flat surface. Turn off the car and remove the keys from the ignition. Open the driver’s side door and exit the vehicle. Go to the back of the vehicle and open the trunk. Empty the trunk contents and lift up the trunk carpet to determine if the tire is in the trunk well or not. Remove the wing nut over the center of the spare tire and remove the jack, tire iron and spare tire. If the spare tire and tools are not in the trunk well, replace the carpet and trunk contents, close the trunk lid and check under the vehicle for the spare tire and tool kit. Refer to the removal procedure above. Note: some vehicles have the spare tire under the vehicle and the tool kit is in a side panel of the trunk. An example of this is in a minivan. Once the tire and tools are removed, place the items next to the flat tire.

Procedure - Loosen the lug nuts on the flat tire, but do not remove them. Warning: it is very important that you only “break” the threads on the lug nuts, which means that you only get them to be out of their “torqued” position. Place the jack under the marked jack point according to the owner’s manual. Attach the extension bar to the jack and lift the vehicle until the tire comes off the ground. Now, using the tire iron, remove all lug nuts. Place the lug nuts off to the side. Be sure that you don’t get the threads full of debris, such as dirt. Remove the flat tire and place on the ground. Pick up the spare tire and place on the hub with the convex side of the wheel facing you. Place the lug nuts on the threads. While using the tire iron, tighten the lug nuts using a star pattern. Tighten them as tight as you can without allowing the tire to turn, always following the star pattern. Lower the vehicle by reversing the pattern used to raise the jack. Once the tire is supporting the weight of the vehicle, give the lug nuts one final torque. Place the tools and flat tire into your vehicle. Walk to the driver’s side of the vehicle and enter. Start the vehicle and drive to the nearest service station. While driving, listen for abnormal vibration coming from the spare tire. Do not exceed the rated speed limit molded into the sidewall of the spare tire. Once you have arrived at the service station, have the attendant replace the flat tire or, if replacement is not an option, have the attendant double check the torque on the lug nuts. This will ensure safe travel for the rest of your journey.

I attest that I have read and fully understand the contents of this document _____________________
I have reviewed this document with my trainer ____________________
I have reviewed this document with the trainee ____________________
I attest that the trainee has read and understands this document, and has completed the review of said document with his/her trainer. ________________________Whew! If you made it this far, congratulations. Let's look at a Job Breakdown Sheet:

All breakdown sheets have some brief header information:

Task: Changing a tire

Tools Req’d: Tire iron, spare tire, car jack, 1 foot section of 2 x 4 wood lumber, owners manual

Common Key Points: Pull car over as far off road as possible for safety; pull over onto flat, level and hard surface; Engage EMERGENCY brake; use lumber as wood base on dirt roads.

Now, we get to the instruction:







At first glance, the differences are obvious: detail and length. The detail is interesting to note here. In the Work Instruction, we read everything there is to know about changing tires, even going so far as to assume the job won't be done correctly, so we dream up a "what-if" scenario where we must go to the garage everytime to double check our work: information that has nothing to do with changing a tire. This is one reason why work instructions are much more detailed and tend to be longer than necessary: we want to tell people everything we know about the job. However, the important differences are what you don't see.
#1- Purpose - My experience is that Work Instructions are used so a number of objectives may be achieved. A) Training time is reduced by eliminating the need for intensive training time. B) trainees are able to be more directly involved with training by reading and referencing the WI. C) Understanding, compliance and accountability are built into the training by requiring a chain of approvals.
The problems with WI do not lie with the objectives themselves - these are fine on the surface. It is how we achieve these objectives - with current state of WI training - that is the real problem. First, the purpose of reducing training time can be achieved with work instructions. People are brought in on time, they read the document, trainer's review, supervisors approve and the cycle is closed. This efficiency begs a follow-up question: how effective was the training using the WI? Is there a better way?
Another problem is the reading and referencing of WI. Reading WI are often completed, but how many people will understand and retain what they are reading? Do we really expect them to remember all of the information that is contained in the ream of paperwork we throw at them? When we think of this in our own workplace, can we say that current training programs treat people in a respectful way?
What is the purpose of having a chain of approvals using the WI training program described above? Often, signatures justify the use of a stick during disciplinary matters.
Purpose of a Job Breakdown Sheet is distinctly different and clear. The primary purpose of a JBS is to serve as a trainer's aid. It is not meant to be read by the trainee. It can be, but that isn't the primary purpose. This turns our current training program on its head, doesn't it? This is why Job Instruction is NOT a training or standard work documentation program. The four step instruction method MUST go hand-in-hand with the Job Breakdown Sheet in order to be effective. Now accountability is shifted to the trainer, where it should be. "If the person hasn't learned, the instructor hasn't taught." Now, the training time is similar, but often shorter than our old systems. And most importantly, the effectiveness is often 100%. How can I make this claim? Because, if the trainer adheres to the four step method, he can't leave the trainee until "he knows that the trainee knows" the job as well as the trainer.
Finally, there is a psychological element between the two documents. How many of you actually read the entire work instruction? If you did, congratulations, you have an eye for detail. If not, why should we expect trainers and trainees alike to use the documents?
Especially in the light of a four step instruction method, WI are rendered useless. Two things happen when the four step method is combined with long, multi page WI. First, the trainer abandons the WI and "wings it". Even though she may be using the four step method, she is lacking the information that she may forget, the QCDS information that ties individual tasks to business objectives. The opposite could happen as well. The trainer may be obligated to use the WI. Will she use the four step method? It is unlikely, as following a WI in an orderly format is near impossible.
The Job Breakdown Sheet helps a trainer clearly organize the job in her mind and facilitates a structured 4 step method for an efficient and effective training experience.

See Part 2 of Job Breakdown Sheets vs. Work Instructions - HERE...