# Write work instructions (/docs/product-development/work-instructions)

A work instruction (WI) is the set of steps a technician follows at a machine. The engineer (Daniel Tan)
writes it in the work instruction studio. The machine tablet shows it when the technician scans the
machine to start setup, and the steps must be confirmed in order before the run can start.

```mermaid
%% title: Write a work instruction
flowchart TD
  A["Create the work instruction (Draft)"] --> B["Link it to an operation"]
  B --> C["Open the studio"]
  C --> D["Generate steps, or add them one by one"]
  D --> E["Add photos, cautions and readings"]
  E --> F["Submit for review"]
  F -->|"No steps"| X["Refused: add at least one step"]
```

## Create the work instruction [#create-the-work-instruction]

1. Open **Engineering** and choose **Work instructions** (`/engineering/steps`). Choose **Add**.
2. Enter the **Title**, an optional **Internal reference**, **Category**, **Equipment / area**, **Language** (**BM**, **EN** or
   **BM + EN**) and **Rev**. Save. The **Doc no.** is assigned on save, for example `WI-032`, and the instruction starts
   as a **Draft**.
3. Link it to an operation: on the production method, choose the operation and set its **Work
   instruction**, or set it on a machine option. See
   [Define the production method](/docs/product-development/methods-and-routings).

You can also create one from the form where you need it: choose **+** beside the **Work
instruction** picker of a machine option or an operation, fill in the header and save. The step
editor opens for the new work instruction straight away. When you close it you are back on the form
you came from, with the new work instruction selected.

## Open the studio [#open-the-studio]

Open the work instruction (for example `/r/WI-001`). On the steps tab, **Steps & images**, choose
**Open step editor**. The studio opens as `WI-001 · work instruction studio`.

<GuideStep
  title="Work instructions"
  description="The list of work instructions with their revision and status."
  src="/guide/work-instructions/1.png"
  alt="Work instructions list with document number, title, category, revision and status columns"
  width={1440}
  height={1000}
  callouts={[
    { x: 15, y: 30, caption: "The document number. Open one to see its steps." },
    { x: 55, y: 30, caption: "Title and category." },
    { x: 88, y: 30, caption: "Revision and status. Only a Draft can be edited." },
  ]}
/>

## Generate the steps from the operation [#generate-the-steps-from-the-operation]

On the left the studio shows **Generate from** and the operation, for example `OP 10 · Compression
moulding`. It drafts steps from the operation's station, components, machine options, parameters and
first-off checks.

1. Switch on what to include: **Materials**, **Machine & tool**, **Safety**, **Parameters**,
   **First-off checks**.
2. Choose **Generate steps**. If there are already steps, choose **Regenerate** to replace them or
   **Append** to add to them.
3. Review every step before release. The draft is a start, not a finished instruction.

## Write and edit steps [#write-and-edit-steps]

<Steps>
<Step>

Choose **+ Add step**. Write the **Instruction** and start with a verb, for example `Load mould MD-217`.
Add **Detail** if the operator needs more.

</Step>
<Step>

Under **Technician confirms by** choose how the step is confirmed: **Tick to confirm**, **Scan** or
**Enter value**. For **Enter value** set the **Target**, **Min**, **Max** and **Unit**. The technician
cannot move on if the reading is outside the validated range.

</Step>
<Step>

Add a **Caution (optional)**, for example `Hot surfaces`. It shows in amber above the step.

</Step>
<Step>

Add a **Photo or illustration**: drop a photo, or choose **browse**. JPG or PNG; large photos are resized
to 1,400 px. You can also use a page from the uploaded document. **Replace image** and **Remove** change
it.

</Step>
<Step>

Use **Move step up** and **Move step down** to reorder, and **Delete step** to remove one. A work
instruction always keeps at least one step.

</Step>
</Steps>

Each change is written to the document's history. A step's photo moves with its text.

<GuideStep
  title="The work instruction studio"
  description="Steps on the right, generation on the left."
  src="/guide/work-instructions/2.png"
  alt="Work instruction studio for WI-001 with the generate panel and a list of steps with photos"
  width={1440}
  height={1000}
  callouts={[
    { x: 15, y: 25, caption: "Generate from the operation. Switch on what to include." },
    { x: 55, y: 25, caption: "The steps. Each shows its instruction, confirmation and photo." },
    { x: 90, y: 12, caption: "Edit and Preview switch the view; Technician view opens the tablet preview." },
  ]}
/>

## Show machine settings and checks at a step [#show-machine-settings-and-checks-at-a-step]

A work instruction belongs to one operation. In the studio, under each step, **Machine settings** lists
the process parameters of that operation and **Checks** lists its inspection plan lines. Each row shows
its value, for example `Barrel temperature · 230 °C (220–240)`, and its status.

1. Select a step.
2. Tick the settings and checks that this step shows the operator. Clear a tick to remove a row from
   the step.
3. To add a row, choose **Add setting** or **Add check**. The form opens with the product, production
   method and operation filled in. A row that you add from a step is ticked for that step.
4. To change a row, choose its edit button. The row keeps its own rules and approvals: the studio
   never approves a setting or a check.

A row that no step shows says **Not shown on any step**, so that you do not forget it. The ticks can
change only while the work instruction is a **Draft**. If the work instruction is not linked to an
operation yet, link it first: the settings and checks then show.

On the tablet, the technician sees the ticked settings and checks under the step during setup, with
the values from their own records. The traveller shows the same rows on the card of each operation, so the
screen and the paper copy match.

## Print the instruction [#print-the-instruction]

On the **Steps & images** tab choose **Print illustrated WI**. If nothing opens, allow pop-ups for the
site. The printout says `Controlled copy only when printed from Factory OS with the current revision`.

Only a released revision prints. While the instruction is a Draft, or while a new revision is being
drafted, the print sheet is switched off and says why. Releasing a new revision supersedes the copies
printed at the old one, and making the instruction obsolete revokes them. See
[Release the product documents](/docs/product-development/document-release#controlled-copies-follow-the-release).

## See what the technician sees [#see-what-the-technician-sees]

Choose **Technician view** in the studio. The preview shows the steps as they appear on the tablet at
the station, as `Setup mode preview`, one step at a time with **Confirm & next**, **Back** and **Finish**.
Readings typed here are not recorded. At the real machine, a reading outside the validated range shows
`Outside {lo}–{hi} {unit}. Adjust and re-enter, or stop and call the setter.`

<GuideStep
  title="The tablet preview"
  description="The same steps as the technician sees them at setup."
  src="/guide/work-instructions/3.png"
  alt="Setup mode preview of a work instruction at tablet size with a step, a photo and the Confirm and next button"
  width={1024}
  height={768}
  callouts={[
    { x: 50, y: 10, caption: "The document, revision and the progress, for example 2 of 8 confirmed." },
    { x: 50, y: 45, caption: "The step, its photo and the validated range." },
    { x: 85, y: 90, caption: "Confirm & next moves on once the step is confirmed." },
  ]}
/>

## When the steps are locked [#when-the-steps-are-locked]

Only a **Draft** can be edited.

- **In review**: the steps are read-only. Return it to draft to edit.
- **Released**: locked. Start a new revision under an approved change note. The current revision stays
  in use until the new one is released: while the new revision is a Draft or in review, the tablet and
  the phone show the steps of the released revision, and the new steps appear when it is released.
- **Obsolete**: kept for history only.

Submit the work instruction on its record page with **Submit for review**, see
[Release the product documents](/docs/product-development/document-release).

If the system refuses a step here, see [Product development: why the app refuses](/docs/product-development/refusals#write-work-instructions).

<NextSteps>

<NextStep href="/docs/product-development/inspection-plan" title="Set the inspection plan" description="Set what QC measures at first piece and in process." />

<NextStep href="/docs/product-development/document-release" title="Release the product documents" description="Take the work instruction through review and e-signed approval." />

<NextStep href="/docs/product-development/refusals" title="Product development: why the app refuses" description="Every message on these pages and what to do." />

</NextSteps>