A work instruction shows how to do one step of a job, action by action, so that anyone trained on it does it the same way. Where an SOP says what's done, by whom and why, with the checks for the whole job, a work instruction zooms in on a single step: each action, the key point that makes it right, the reason it matters, a photo of what right looks like, and the check at the end. It belongs to an SOP step, carries its own version, and fits on a page, ideally posted where the step is done. In the example below, sealing a bag of taro chips, one step of a frying and packing SOP, becomes five actions, each with its key point, from waiting for the sealer's ready light to the squeeze test. Below is how a work instruction differs from an SOP, what goes in one, the example, how to write one, and a free template.
The short version
- One work instruction, one step: sealing a bag, calibrating a scale, cleaning a slicer.
- Break the step into actions, in order, each starting with a verb.
- For each action: the key point that makes it right, and why it matters.
- Add a photo or a sketch of what right looks like; it does more than a paragraph.
- End with the check, and say what happens if it fails.
- Link it to its SOP step, give it a version, and post it where the work happens.
- TaroStack's batch records carry the checks a work instruction ends in, with limits and sign-off. More below.
Work instruction or SOP?
| SOP | Work instruction | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | A whole job: frying and packing chips | One step of it: sealing a bag |
| Says | What's done, by whom, why, and the checks | How each action is done, and what right looks like |
| Detail | A line per step | A line per action, with key points |
| Pictures | Rarely | Often; a photo of a good seal |
| Who uses it | Whoever runs or audits the job | Whoever does that step, while doing it |
Small kitchens often keep both on one page for a simple job. When a step is where things go wrong, or where a new hire needs to see it done, it earns its own work instruction. The SOP itself is in SOP template for food manufacturing.
What goes in a work instruction
| Part | What it says |
|---|---|
| Title and number | WI-04-6: Sealing a 5 oz bag of chips |
| Part of | Which SOP and step it belongs to |
| Version, approved by | So nobody follows an old one |
| Equipment | What's needed at the station |
| Actions | Each one in order, starting with a verb |
| Key points | What makes each action right: a setting, a measurement, a position |
| Why | The reason, so people remember it |
| Photo | What right looks like |
| Check | What's measured at the end, and what happens if it fails |
A worked example
Windward Roots, the made-up taro business I use in these examples, wrote this work instruction for step 6 of its frying and packing SOP, after a run of bags failed the squeeze test:
| Step | Do this | Key point | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turn the sealer on and wait for the ready light | Heat setting 3; ready light green | A cold sealer makes a seal that opens |
| 2 | Weigh the filled bag | At least 142 g; top up if under | The label says 5 oz (142 g) |
| 3 | Shake the chips down and fold the top flat | 2 cm of clear film above the chips | Crumbs in the seal stop it closing |
| 4 | Feed the top through the sealer, label facing you | Keep it straight; let the belt pull it | A crooked seal leaks at one end |
| 5 | Squeeze test | Press gently; no air escapes | A leaking bag goes stale before its date |
The check at the end: weights written for 10 bags a run, and a bag that fails the squeeze test is resealed once; if it fails twice, it's set aside and recorded. What happens to product set aside is in nonconforming product form, and why scrapped bags are worth counting is in scrap rate formula.
How to write one that gets used
- Watch the best person do the step, and write down every action, including the ones they don't think about.
- Start each action with a verb: turn, weigh, fold, feed, press.
- Find the key point: the one detail that makes the action right. If there isn't one, merge the action with the next.
- Add the why. People skip steps they don't understand.
- Take the photo at the station, of the right result, not the equipment.
- Test it on someone new, and fix whatever they got wrong.
Train people on it, note the version they were trained on, and retrain when it changes; a training log for that is in employee training log template.
Get the template
Download the work instructions template. One sheet, filled in with the sealing example: the header says which SOP step it belongs to, its version and who approved it; each row is an action with its key point, reason, a box for a photo and the check. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
A work instruction says how; it can't show that it was followed. The weights for ten bags are written on a scrap of card, the squeeze test is done when someone remembers, and the version on the wall is newer than the one the night shift learned. When a store sends back a case of stale bags, there's nothing to show which run they came from or whether the check was done.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps the record a work instruction ends in, on the batch it belongs to.
The check, on the batch record. Batch record forms carry your own checklist fields, tick boxes, numbers, text, choices and initials, with limits, so bag weights and the squeeze test are entered as values and flagged when they're outside their limits. Batch-record forms can be printed for the line, with sign-off.
The recipe version, on every batch. Each product's recipe has versions, and every batch records the version it was made to, along with the ingredient lots used, recorded automatically.
And who did it. Every movement is a permanent record of who, when and why, a batch can sit on hold until it's checked and released, and bags set aside come off stock as an adjustment with their reason.
| The work instruction says | Card and wall | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| At least 142 g, 10 bags a run | Written on a card | A batch record field with a limit |
| Squeeze test | Done, maybe | A check, with initials |
| Set aside if it fails twice | In a box by the sealer | An adjustment with its reason |
| Which run was this? | Unknown | The batch, from its lot code |
Batch records with your own fields and limits, printable batch-record forms, recipes with versions and adjustments with reasons are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.