Work instruction

Explanation

A work instruction describes in a fixed order how to carry out one action or task: which steps, with which material and tools, what to watch out for and what to do if something deviates. It is meant for the person doing the work, at the moment they do it, as text, a diagram, photos or video. That way everyone works the same way and new employees can start faster and more safely.

The difference from a procedure and a process lies in the level of detail. A process is a series of related activities that turns something into a result, such as processing an order. A procedure records how an activity or process is carried out: who does what and when. A work instruction elaborates one action, for example how to set up a machine. Organisations do not use the names the same way everywhere. What matters is that the level is right.

ISO 9001 does not require you to write a work instruction for everything. The standard expects you to control the documented information you consider necessary to control your processes, and people to be competent. A work instruction makes sense if an error has serious consequences for safety or quality, if the work is complex, if new people join often or if a client asks for it. You check with your certification body which documents it expects.

A work instruction is only useful if it is up to date. Give it an owner, a version number and an approval, plan a periodic review and walk through it with the people who do the work. After an incident or non-conformity you check whether the instruction was correct. Safety measures from the RI&E (risk assessment) or a TRA (task risk analysis) appear in it explicitly.

Example from practice