Writing a work instruction: structure, writing rules and a worked example

What is a work instruction, and how does it differ from a procedure and a process?

A work instruction describes how to carry out a task, step by step and at the level of the person doing the work. Think of setting up a machine, releasing a confined space, weighing and packing a product or commissioning an installation. It is the most detailed document in your management system.

A process describes what happens from start to finish and who is involved. A procedure records how an activity is organised: who does what, when and in which order, often across departments. The work instruction zooms in on the action itself. As a rule of thumb, the process gives the what, the procedure the who and when, and the work instruction the how.

When do you need a work instruction?

The standards do not prescribe that you have a work instruction for every task. You decide where a written instruction is needed, as long as the work demonstrably runs under control and your employees are competent for their task. An instruction makes sense when one of these situations applies:

Do not write an instruction for every action. Instructions nobody needs dilute the instructions that do matter. The Dutch Working Conditions Act also obliges the employer to provide information and instruction about the risks of the work. A work instruction helps to record that, alongside training on the job.

• The risk is high, for example when working at height, with hazardous substances, in confined spaces or with lifting equipment
• A mistake has major consequences for quality, the customer, the environment or food safety
• A task is rarely performed, so nobody knows it by heart
• New employees, temporary workers or subcontractors have to be able to work independently quickly
• The client, a law or a certification scheme asks for a documented way of working
• Deviations or incidents arise because people carry out the same task in different ways

The structure of a work instruction

Use the same layout for all work instructions, so employees know where to find things, even when they have to get through it quickly. Keep an instruction to one or two pages and put the most important information at the top. These are the elements of a work instruction:

If an instruction runs longer than two pages, split the task into two instructions. A task with many check points, such as a daily check of a machine, often works better as a checklist than as running text, because the employee ticks off every point.

• Title, document code, version and date
• Purpose and scope: which task, when and where you use the instruction
• Who it is for: the job and the required competence or certificate
• What you need: material, tools, aids and the required PPE
• Safety: hazards, controls and forbidden actions, before the steps
• Steps in sequence, each with one action
• Quality criteria: how you see that the step or the result is correct
• What to do in case of deviations: when to stop, whom to call and what to report
• Owner, approver and date of the next review
• References to related documents, such as the task risk analysis (TRA), the procedure or the form

Writing a work instruction: rules for a readable instruction

A work instruction is read at the place of work, often with gloves on and under time pressure. So write for that reader, not for the auditor, and test the text on a colleague who does not know the task. These writing rules make the difference:

If you work with employees who read little Dutch, images and pictograms help most. Have the text translated by someone who knows both the task and the language, and have a colleague from the target group check that the instruction is understood. A translated instruction gets the same version and owner as the original.

• Start every step with a verb in the imperative: 'Close the main valve'
• Write one action per step and avoid 'and then' within a step
• Use short sentences and the words used on the shop floor, and explain abbreviations
• Make numbers concrete: 'tighten to 25 Nm' instead of 'tighten firmly'
• Put warnings before the step they apply to, not after it
• Add a photo or pictogram that shows the action, with an arrow or marking on what matters
• Use the same pictograms throughout and explain them in a legend
• Use the same wording for the same action in all instructions

Work instruction example: fitting a disc on an angle grinder (illustrative)

The example below shows the structure in list form, for a task that occurs in many workshops. It is illustrative: codes, names and deadlines are made up. For a real instruction, always follow the manual of the manufacturer of your machine and the risk analysis of your workplace.

In the real instruction, every step comes with a photo with an arrow on the relevant part. The safety rule comes before the steps and the rule for deviations after them, so the employee knows when to stop and whom to inform.

• Title: Changing a grinding disc on an angle grinder. Code WI-ALG-012, version 1.0, date 9 October 2026
• Purpose and who it is for: change a grinding disc safely and correctly, for employees who have been instructed in the use of the angle grinder
• Equipment and PPE: angle grinder, new disc and the matching pin spanner. Safety glasses or face shield, hearing protection and work gloves
• Safety: only change the disc when the machine is off and unplugged. Never use a disc with cracks or chipped edges
• Step 1: switch off the machine and unplug it
• Step 2: wait until the disc has come to a complete stop
• Step 3: press the spindle lock and loosen the clamping nut with the pin spanner
• Step 4: remove the old disc and check the flanges for dirt and damage
• Step 5: check the new disc: no cracks, the right diameter and a permitted speed at least equal to the speed of the machine
• Step 6: fit the disc and tighten the clamping nut with the pin spanner. Do not use a hammer or pliers
• Step 7: check that the guard is firmly in place and the closed side faces you
• Step 8: plug in the machine and let it run unloaded for half a minute, with the disc pointing away from yourself and others and yourself beside the plane of rotation
• Quality criterion: the disc runs true, without vibration or unusual noise, and the guard is secure
• In case of deviations: if the disc vibrates, makes an unusual noise or something is not right, switch off at once, unplug, do not use the machine and report it to your supervisor
• Owner: workshop foreman. Approved by: operations manager. Next review: in twelve months

Making and drawing up a work instruction: the approach in five steps

You draw up a work instruction together with the people who do the work. An instruction written behind a desk misses the details that make the work safe or difficult. Combine the instruction with the task risk analysis: if the instruction differs from the measures in the TRA or the RI&E, one of the two is wrong.

• Choose the task and determine why an instruction is needed, based on risk, errors or requirements
• Observe the task with an experienced employee and take photos of each step
• Write the steps, add safety and quality criteria and have a second experienced colleague read along
• Have someone who does not know the task carry out the instruction and adjust it where they get stuck
• Have the owner approve it, publish the instruction at the place of use and inform the users

Instruction and evidence that employees know the work instruction

A work instruction in a folder protects nobody. ISO 9001 and ISO 45001 ask that employees are competent for their work and aware of what they have to do (clauses 7.2 and 7.3). So give instruction and record that you have done so. Evidence can take these forms:

Check understanding and not just attendance. Ask the employee to talk through or demonstrate the steps. With new or foreign-language employees you walk along the first few times, until you are sure the instruction has been understood.

• Instruction session: a toolbox talk, workplace instruction or training with an attendance list or digital signature
• Test: short questions or a practical assessment by a supervisor or experienced colleague
• Read confirmation: the employee confirms having read and understood the current version
• Competence: recorded in the training register or the competence matrix, with a validity period

Version control and read confirmation for work instructions

Every work instruction has an owner, version, date and approver, and only the current version is at the workplace. Paper copies at the workplace are a risk, because they become outdated unnoticed. Preferably work from a digital source, for example with a QR code on the machine, and record when paper is allowed.

When you change an instruction, note briefly what has changed and why, have the change approved and ask for read confirmation again from the roles involved. Set a review date and review more often for high-risk tasks. Also review after an incident, a deviation, a new machine or a change in the law. Archive old versions, so you can show which instruction applied on a given date.

Common mistakes with work instructions

A work instruction fails when it does not match reality or is not read. In both cases nobody uses it, and you have a document that exists only in the folder. Watch out for these mistakes and run through them for every new or revised instruction:

• Writing the instruction from behind a desk, without seeing the task being carried out
• Too much text, so nobody reads it on site
• Several actions in one step, or vague words such as 'sufficient' and 'regularly'
• Warnings at the end or in a separate document instead of before the step they apply to
• The rule for deviations is missing, so the employee does not know what to do when something goes differently from what is described
• Old versions at the workplace, or instructions without an owner and review date
• Handed out but not instructed: there is no evidence that employees know the instruction
• An instruction that differs from what happens in practice, so employees ignore it

How BrydgeOne supports this

In Document management you manage work instructions in a library with folders, an approval route per document and a full version history, where only the published version is called Current. You ask for read confirmation from everyone, a role or a department, with a deadline, and see per person who has confirmed. You schedule reviews periodically and publishing is also possible in the employee app.

In Training you record who has been trained for what, with e-learnings that contain knowledge questions with a pass mark, and after a set period you assess whether the training was effective. In Processes you attach work instructions to the process step they belong to, so that in an audit you show per step which instruction applies. BrydgeOne helps to collect evidence; what the instruction says remains your responsibility.