Tips for Creating One Point Lesson Videos… Fast

The concept of one point lessons has been familiar to lean manufacturing practitioners for some time and recognized as an effective training tool. A tool that unfortunately has yet to really fully embraced according to the findings of a recent Industry Week survey of 426 manufacturing professionals that asked about their company’s current approach to training. Heavy reliance on shadowing as the standard method of training revealed continued concerns and challenges related to effectiveness and efficiency.

Modern e-learning platforms like Poka can help by supporting the use of video-based micro-learning, and leveraging frontline workers to create content. This is better than relying on training staff to write lengthy instructions that are not only long to read and difficult to understand and retain, but also painful to maintain.

While the benefits of this approach are obvious to most, the biggest challenge for many is creating a critical mass of training and digital work instruction content. That’s why we’re sharing tips from one Poka client that successfully engaged its workforce and OEM partner to participate in training content creation. The result was 100 one-point lesson videos produced in just a couple days.

Finding the resources to dedicate to content creation is difficult on any busy factory floor. That’s why it’s essential to establish efficient processes to maximize output and be ready to leverage digital training content creation opportunities when they arise.

During a training session delivered by an OEM technician installing a new piece of equipment, this Poka client followed this production plan:

1. They contacted their Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) in advance of the training, letting them know their intent to record the session.
2. They created a 5-person team consisting of the OEM trainer and 4 mechanics.
3. They started filming! Here’s how it worked:

• The trainer demonstrated each maintenance task as one mechanic took photos/video and notes.
• Upon completion of a task, the trainer moved immediately to the next task joined by a second mechanic.
• The first mechanic left to edit his training guide. A production supervisor was available to review and approve the guide.
• The process continued as the mechanics rotated with the trainer.
• Rotating the mechanics allowed every minute of the trainer’s time to be efficiently used. It also ensured that each maintenance task was completed and recorded in Poka immediately.

Taking advantage of the on-site OEM training meant less disruption to production resources and ensured that standardized preventative and corrective maintenance was in place from the start on the new piece of equipment.

If you think you’re up for the challenge of digitizing your factory floor, here are a few best practices to keep in mind:

1. Although video is the best format for comprehension and retention, the top priority for many manufacturers is to make existing standardized procedures more accessible to the workers who need them. Start by loading up your existing PDFs to Poka and giving workers the ability to access instructions by scanning a QR code on their equipment.
2. Photos with a step by step written instruction on a single topic in Poka are another alternative to lengthy standard operating procedures saved in a QMS or ECM.
3. Don’t lose time trying to make an Oscar-worthy film. If the video is technically correct, and the voice and image are clear, it’s best to move on to the next one.

Keeping these tips in mind, you too will start to see more opportunities to capture video instructions and before you know it, you will have hundreds of one-point lessons.