Situation
Managers of the manufacturing processes my team was tasked with documenting and building training for wanted a way to show new hires what a process looked like before they actually had to perform it with an on-the-job expert. These experts were stretched thin in a challenging manufacturing schedule, so anything we could do to onboard new hires faster into learning their job roles could potentially save the facility a lot of money.
One big challenge was that the expert workforce had refused to be filmed in their jobs for over a decade, due to a long standing disagreement over previous videos.
Task
My first task was to get leaders in the expert community on board to be filmed. I held several roundtables with SMEs and managers to discuss their concerns about training and filming their jobs. Through discussion and outlining my plans, I was able to get several key experts to agree to explore what I had in mind.
Next, I designed a framework and template storyboard for a new format of video-based training on a manufacturing process. I worked with SMEs on the floor to iron out how these storyboards and subsequent filming could be done efficiently.
I then piloted the project on a manufacturing role. I job shadowed an expert and documented the machine and steps he used in his work, and created a script with his help. Through several weeks of filming in the early morning, I captured his work processes on film, and edited them into a video product.
Result
For the first time in a decade, I was successful in convincing the most senior SME on the floor to be filmed for my training. The resulting onboarding for new hires in that process resulted in an estimated reduction in training of 3 months and $7200 per employee.