Steps to make an assembly manual
Make the first prototype of your product
Whenever we want to make a product, it is essential to make the assembly process from scratch. All this with the objective of being able to observe the improvements to be made to facilitate the replicability of the product, as well as details to make the process more efficient; because, although they are a matter of seconds, these in a larger production become minutes or even hours which are proportional to an increase in the cost of the product.
List inputs and tools
The importance of this step lies in optimizing to the maximum the time invested in the production because as mentioned before, time is money and it is something that we cannot waste. So before starting production, the personnel who will be in charge of manufacturing must have at hand all the material to be used, as well as the equipment or tools necessary for a correct assembly and validation.
Indicate the process step by step
Once the prototype has been made and everything required for manufacturing has been identified, we must transfer all this information to our assembly manual draft in order to be very clear about each of the steps to be followed and not have any mistakes when repeating the process.
This step is also very useful to identify in how many stages the process will be sectioned. Ideally, the times of each of the stages should be very similar so that the linear production flows in the best way and the same number of personnel can be present at each stage. Another very important point is to consider the available times for manufacturing; so that the estimated times per stage do not exceed the available assembly times, so that at the end of the day there are no unfinished stages to mitigate the risk of failures.
Repeat the process and take pictures
Once the outline of the manual is complete, with the process sectioned into stages, it is time to make a product.
The purpose of this step is to facilitate the assembly process for all types of people, as some of us are more visual. So no matter if you prefer to read each step or just watch how it is done, our assembly manual will give you both options to do it in a satisfactory way.
Care must be taken to show in a visual way every detail of the steps to follow and that the images are of good quality so as not to have problems in not being able to perceive what is being done.
Give the manual to an external person
The last and most important step is to check that what we are doing is really clear and understandable for any person who wants to assemble the device.
On many occasions, we have everything in our head and we believe that many of the steps are intuitive, but it is not so.
If your manual passes this test, the success of your process is assured.