On-the-Job Training: Closing the Loop on Audits and Corrective Actions

When you look at findings from plant floor audits, inspections and corrective actions, what is the most commonly identified root cause of nonconformances? 

If you’re like many manufacturers, operator behavior is often at or near the top of the list.  

To close the loop on these problems, companies need a way to connect frontline workers to the information they need to execute the process correctly. What’s more, they need a way to do it that minimizes disruption to the worker’s day and provides the information where it’s most useful: on the plant floor.

Below, we examine gaps in traditional training processes and tools, and why on-the-job training tools are crucial to getting real results from plant floor audits and inspections.

Download your free Root Cause Analysis 101 Guidebook for tips on using the most common root cause analysis tools.

Where Traditional Training Approaches Fall Short

When corrective action for a plant floor finding involves employee training, companies typically take one of three routes to deliver it, each with its own drawbacks. 

In-Person Review

Most commonly, following up on an audit finding related to operator behavior involves a supervisor verbally reviewing the procedure with the employee.

Sometimes this process includes a formal signoff after the discussion, but in many cases it isn’t formally documented. This means companies have no way of tracking whether the training took place and the root cause of the issue was addressed. 

Assigning Training via LMS

Of those companies that use a learning management system (LMS) to track and deliver training, few use this software to follow up on audit findings.

One reason may be that it requires opening a separate application to assign the training, rather than being able to do so directly from the corrective action.

Even where this method is used, training typically happens in the classroom or on a computer. This creates a gap between the training itself and where employees need to use the information, which can impact retention. 

Frontline Training Applications

Numerous solutions exist to deliver frontline training on the plant floor. The point where some manufacturers struggle is digitizing their training content into the specific format required by the application.

The problem here is that this creates added work for teams that already have this information ready to go in documents such as SharePoint files.  

Instead of trying to reconfigure existing processes and workflows to fit a new technology, the focus should be on leveraging technology to fit the processes and best practices that currently exist. 

Connecting the Dots on the Plant Floor

Human error is responsible for a large proportion of process nonconformances that drive up defects and cost of quality. What manufacturers need is a closed-loop approach to assessing conformance to standards and delivering targeted training when and where it’s needed.

Digital plant floor audits that link findings to corrective actions and on-the-job training provide this type of closed-loop workflow. 

Documenting the Process

By assigning on-the-job training within a plant floor audit solution, companies create a clear paper trail documenting: 

• What the issue was and who was involved 
• The root cause of the nonconformance 
• How you addressed the issue 
• Verification that the operator received the training and understood it

More than just documentation, this information provides hard data for assessing trends over time. For example, maybe you’re seeing issues with a particular operator, or a systemic gap in knowledge, which are two different issues requiring different responses. 

Codifying Tribal Knowledge

Also called institutional knowledge, tribal knowledge refers to all of the information and best practices that exist in the minds of your workforce as a whole. The challenge for manufacturers today is that, with an aging workforce and increasing retirement numbers, this knowledge is at risk of being lost.

On-the-job training tools allow you to capture this information and codify it as part of your standards, whether in process documents or even short videos. This way, you can be confident that you’ll always have the correct information, no matter who comes and goes. The key is using a platform that makes it simple to upload the information you already have, rather than requiring you to reformat and digitize those standards. 

Upskilling Your Workforce

Given the manufacturing skills shortage, on-the-job training tools are becoming essential to filling the gap left by retiring employees and being able to distribute workers where needed. 

For example, if you train an operator from process A on Lockout/Tagout (LOTO), that person may then be able to work on process B when production needs increase there.

When there are knowledge or skills gaps, often it’s not an issue of whether the training content exists. It’s more a question of whether that content is accessible when and where workers need it. With the right training tools, manufacturers can bridge this digital divide to close the loop on problems, codify institutional knowledge, and build a stronger workforce for the future.