Personal Notes on Production Floor vs. Documented Work Instructions

[Fenway Frank]

Howdy folks. I've referenced The Cove many times, but this is a first-timer post.
I performed an internal audit of my production floor the other day. I found some personnel referencing personal notes to do some jobs (such as starting a machine, mixing marking ink, etc.). My company has documented work instructions for these tasks, and the instructions are readily available. Interestingly, the notes were right on track with the documented instructions. Is this a nonconformance?

Thanks, and I look forward to the responses and discussion.

[Wes Bucey]

My suspicion is the company work instructions are written in more stilted language than the notes written by operators. Comparing one against the other would give a possible opportunity for improvement comment by the auditor (i.e. change the company document to more "readable" language.)

In terms of nonconformance, I see no difference between referring to one's personal notes versus referring to one's personal memory on how to perform a task - neither being a nonconformance if it fits with the approved method.

[Big Jim]

I'm sure you will get a lot of response here. There are many that feel that such notes are inappropriate as they are in use and the users feel they are necessary. There are others that won't go that far. This thread is likely to become as controversial as the thread a while back on the need to calibrate tape measures.

I'm going to grab a bag of popcorn and sit back to see what people think.

[Neil V.]

In Reply to Parent Post by Wes Bucey

My suspicion is the company work instructions are written in more stilted language than the notes written by operators. Comparing one against the other would give a possible opportunity for improvement comment by the auditor (i.e. change the company document to more "readable" language.)

In terms of nonconformance, I see no difference between referring to one's personal notes versus referring to one's personal memory on how to perform a task - neither being a nonconformance if it fits with the approved method.

I'm consistently impressed with the clarity of thought displayed by many of the folks here.

[SteelMaiden]

I will join the camp asking why the operators feel the need to use personal notes instead of the work instructions. I (this is my own opinion, take it for what it is worth) always tell my guys when they ask if they need a work instruction: If you are working from handwritten notes to get the job done, you should probably just go ahead and turn those notes into a work instruction.

[BadgerMan]

In Reply to Parent Post by SteelMaiden

I will join the camp asking why the operators feel the need to use personal notes instead of the work instructions.

Agreed. It sounds like the work instructions could be lacking some detail.

[Sidney Vianna]

In Reply to Parent Post by SteelMaiden

I will join the camp asking why the operators feel the need to use personal notes instead of the work instructions.

A possible answer: efficiency and expediency. If an operator has to flip through several documents in a binder, until he finds the table or set up instruction he needs, that is unproductive time.

If we punish people for trying to be efficient and tell them they can have no memory aids, we are doing our organization a disservice.

The obvious concern, as already mentioned, is the risk of the notes not being updated when necessary. But that risk can be managed and mitigated. Disallowing aids is a counter productive measure, in my opinion.

[John Martinez]

In Reply to Parent Post by SteelMaiden

I will join the camp asking why the operators feel the need to use personal notes instead of the work instructions. I (this is my own opinion, take it for what it is worth) always tell my guys when they ask if they need a work instruction: If you are working from handwritten notes to get the job done, you should probably just go ahead and turn those notes into a work instruction.

I've never seen it to fail. Personal notes and "cheat sheets" crop up because either 1.) Takes more than three clicks on a computer or 2.) Work instruction more than two pages long (usually found as a result of "standard work" generated by lean events). It's called "human nature".

No one misquote me. I am in favor of Lean Manufacturing; however, these 10, 20, and I've even seen 30 page standard work generated that NO ONE WILL EVEN LOOK AT.