showing is the new describing

by Desiree Schnoor

The father of quality engineering speaks to the absolute cruciality of process, not only as a foundation but as a function of all work. He reminds us of the simple, yet profound truth that if what you are doing can’t be described as a process, then you aren’t really doing anything. But can we do better than “describing”? We are all familiar with the saying, “show, don’t tell”, so I wonder if Mr. Deming would agree that “showing” is better than “describing”? Enter Video Work Instructions. Now, you can forget about flipping through cumbersome, outdated, confusing paper manuals, that even when read diligently, have serious limitations. The long, subjective nature of text means confusion, inconsistency, deviation, errors and frustration.  All these ultimately increase production time and errors. Text means employees work slower, harder, more expensively and less safely.

Video Work Instructions are a powerful substitute- in fact, 1 minute of video equals 1.8 million words. Video Instructions are easier to understand, they are quickly visualized, and the entire process, from start to finish is realized in minutes, not tens or hundreds of pages. The ease of video means better understanding, replicability, consistency, less errors and greater confidence, now your technicians work faster, easier, cheaper and safer. 

With Video Work Instructions, the process being seen, not read, is only a part of its capability. The positive outcomes of using video instructions reach as far as increasing labor availability and reducing turnover.

​You be the judge, but something tells me Deming would approve.