I have a question about WI too that maybe I could get an opinion on.
During the beginning stages of our ISO journey, the people who performed the work were asked to make WI to satisfy (what was thought to be) an ISO requirement. They were told to make them simple and not to refer to part #'s in the builds as these #'s change frequently and they don't refer to any drawings etc. All those references were basically taken away. (This means they have them hidden in draws and filing cabinets.) So what we have now is 100's of WI that are either not required. (The process is repetitive or simple) or inefficient work instructions that are of no help.
We have just been recommended for registration. The assessment really didn't get too much into the WI area but I believe future Audits will reveal problems, maybe not CARs, but might address the need for WI improvement. If it was up to me, I would write up that the WI's that we have are ineffective, but then again, I have hindsight. I see people working in an area when someone suddenly is away and they're trying to use these "work instruction" and they're failing miserable, production is stopping/slowing or who knows what is being shipped out. It really is a mess. Our assemblers are assembling some pretty complicated things, and variations etc. I really think some good detailed instructions would be a good way to capture the knowledge of these workers before they all start to retire, or worse, before they all win lottery pool!
I've talked to the people on the floor and the authors of the original WI agree that the WI would not be useful to someone who would need them in the future but how do I convince management that they need to be redone? The Lead Auditor, who is also the person responsible for updating revisions doesn't want me to pursue this because of the extra work in controlling document changes. I don't want to overstep anyone but I KNOW what is going wrong on the floor.
I need some possible scenarios that might occur before I talked to the coordinator. I don't want to center any of the workers out, and possibly make them feel they're in trouble or anything.
Can the external Auditors say these instructions are not effective?
What if an employee says they don't use their WI because it is not helpful?
That would mean they're not being reviewed for their effectiveness?
I am ready to role up my sleeves and get busy if that helps.