Aviation Steelworks - Learning & Development Project

Role

Instructional Designer

Business Goal

Cut rework and scrapped materials caused by improper machine prep by 15% within 3 months through consistent operator adherence to a posted checklist.

Performance Gap

Although machine operators are trained on safety and setup procedures, critical steps are often skipped or completed out of order due to time pressure or reliance on memory. This increased the risk of safety violations, equipment damage, and wasted materials.

Solution

I designed a concise, ready-to-run checklist to be posted directly on each CNC machine. The job aid is divided into four sections: Safety Check, Machine Prep, System Check, and Workpiece Prep. Each section has clear, action-oriented items. To reduce cognitive load, the language is simple and concise. Since safety needs to always remain a priority, even when trying to change unrelated outcomes, a prominent STOP call-out reminds the operator to complete the safety section. The format uses checkboxes and bold headings for quick scanning under pressure. Since it is a bit lengthy, it will also be laminated so the operator can physically check off each item with a dry erase marker as they complete it, helping ensure they don’t miss any steps.

Intended Outcome

Consistent use of the job aid is expected to reduce missed steps, leading to fewer setup errors leading to rework and scrapped materials.