Digital work instruction software: the complete buyer's guide

6 criteria to keep in mind when comparing digital work instruction software

Choosing the right vendor for work instruction software is no easy matter. Commercial websites boast about features you’ve never heard of or thought about (or worse: barely understand). How do you know which visual work instruction software makes the most sense for you? How do you know if the software is supporting your specific manufacturing process ?

To help you make a choice, we will outline 6 criteria you should use to rank your software vendors.                         

1. Ease of use

Work instruction software shouldn’t be hard to use. Both creators and executors need to be able to work with the software with a minimum of training, regardless of education level. Complex, poorly designed interfaces are definitely a thing from the past.

Usability should be your number one priority. There are two reasons why this is so important for work instruction software: (1) The software will be used while your operators and technicians are actually doing something else (assembling, inspecting, installing …). This is unique compared to most other software; (2) Operators and technicians have less experience with software than your desk workers. Visual noise and hard-to-understand menus will be a huge turn-off and a major obstacle in a full factory roll-out. Work instruction software should help, not frustrate your connected workers.

Ask yourself the following questions when evaluating this criterium:

On the creation side:

• How hard is it to create a digital work instruction or digital inspection? Or to translate a paper-based checklist or procedure into a digital version? 
• Does the software rely on drag & drop functionality to create work instructions?
• Can the user easily copy and paste content?

On the execution side: 

• How easy is it to find and open a work instruction or an assembly instruction?
• How easy is it to proceed through the work instruction, follow the step by step guidance and finish it?
• How easy is it to make mistakes when executing complex tasks?

2. Available features

Features should never be underestimated. Your highly usable platform will not go very far without meaningful features. Electronic work instruction software tend to cater to specific industries or use cases and your desired features depend on them as well. Yet, some functionalities are appreciated regardless of industry or use case. These include, but are certainly not limited to:

Version management: Can we make changes to an existing process, without losing historical versions? Can we go back to historical versions of a process?

Execution permissions: Can we give a specific user or operator the permission to execute a specific instruction? Can we create groups of operators and give them permissions to execute a procedure?

Conditional branching: Can an operator be routed to different tasks based on the operator’s input?

Support of multimedia: Can we embed images, videos, PDFs and third-party URLs?

Ability to add extra information on the spot: Can the user add pictures or give remarks during the execution?

Data collection: Which data does the software capture automatically (location, task time …) and which data can it potentially capture?

Escalation management: What can the user do when he encounters an issue? Can one of his colleagues be notified to solve the problem?

3. Supported devices

Within a manufacturing company there are many departments that will benefit from electronic work instructions and paperless manufacturing: manufacturing operation, assembly, quality control, process control, (preventative) maintenance … The way they execute work instructions is vastly different. Your quality department might prefer ruggedized tablets or phones, while assembly needs to work hands-free on smart glasses or touchscreens. When you’re assessing software, keep in mind that different use cases require different devices. If you’re looking for a tool to implement across the whole plant, it’s best to purchase device-agnostic software.

4. Integration with third-party software

Software platforms are no longer isolated islands. You expect software to communicate with other software systems. When a work instruction is completed, you’ll probably need to report it in your ERP, Manufacturing Execution System (MES) or maintenance system. Manually typing over digital data would be a waste of time and a source of error. With an integration you can automatically send data back and forth between two systems. Your work instruction software will only hit full speed and realize its full potential when it can integrate with other packages.

Questions to ask yourself:

• Does the software have an integration API?
• Which endpoints can be called? Can you create planned items through the API? Can you send entire work instructions directly to the API?
• Can data be automatically pushed to your other software systems? Or will you have to make calls?

5. Scalability

When deploying work instruction software, you’ll probably start small or with a Proof of Concept. You’ll select one line or one work station to test the software and slowly roll out to other production lines, work stations and eventually other manufacturing departments in the following months and years. When you’re evaluating the software, you shouldn’t be thinking about how you’ll work with it tomorrow, but how you’ll use it in a year. Scalability relates both to software architecture and company characteristics.

Software architecture:

• Will you be able to keep an overview when you’re running hundreds of assembly instructions or quality inspections per day?
• Can you create multiple departments for your operators?
• How easy is it to extract the data and create meaningful reports?

Software vendor characteristics: 

• Does the software company have the experience and bandwidth to support you in a full roll-out?
• Which customers work with the software today? How intensively do they use the software? For which use cases? 
• Has the company been backed financially?

6. Customer support 

It may sound obvious, but customer support can be a crucial element in the success of a digital work instruction implementation project. No matter how intuitive a software platform and the connected app may look like, translating existing (often paper-based) procedures or quality checks to a digital work instruction platform is a systematic and deliberate process. It requires deep understanding of a company's business processes and the way they are executed on the shop floor or in the field. Ask your vendor how they support their customers : 

• Is there a dedicated product consultant assigned to guide you through the setup phase? 
• Is there a help desk system available? How accessible and reactive is the help desk? 
• Does the vendor provide extra services such as on-site visit and training, brainstorm sessions to discuss use cases, customizations, etc.? 
• How often does the vendor perform follow-up calls after the initial setup phase?

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