Impact Washington offering digital job books support for manufacturers

Impact Washington, an EDASC partner, continues finding innovative solutions to support manufacturers.

Along with its usual offerings of consulting and training, the nonprofit is poised in 2022 to launch a new Digitized Workforce Training program that helps manufacturers create digital job training manuals. This type of consistent and repeatable training program improves process stability, ensuring all employees are trained to perform tasks in the “one best way,” said Impact Washington Account Executive Sarah Stuart.

“We hear employees are coming and going like it is a revolving door,” Stuart said. “If companies are going to survive, they are going to have to figure out how to be the fastest and best trainers ever. These digital job book apps will actually schedule, track, and provide training in a very standard way.”

Once a manufacturer has made the decision to adopt a digital job book app, Impact Washington’s new Digitized Workforce Training program will help the business break down job tasks, film the work so it makes sense, then add the content to the app so the company can continue on its own.

Digital job books have many applications including:

• General Onboarding: Help employees understand the company’s core values and goals
• Operating: Employees can be trained on using a machine during normal and exceptional production conditions
• Manual and Assembly Work: Workers can be shown how to fabricate and join parts to construct the final product
• Maintenance: Employees can learn the required actions to repair and conserve a machine operation under near-normal conditions

Training new employees is something most businesses take as a given process. You can’t expect someone to step into a new role and understand all your expectations. They need to know the company’s policies, procedures, and structures. Yet, training employees can also be a very costly experience for many businesses. For instance, if an employee isn’t adequately trained the first time around, companies need to spend additional money training that worker properly a second time.

Impact Washington has found the adaptation of digital job books to be relatively low in cost and offer a high return on investment. For instance, digital job books increase a manufacturer’s quality assurance, provides training stability, and reduces the time demand on organizational trainers.

Digital job books can be accessed via employee-owned mobile devices, too, further reducing costs. This type of digital training also aligns with modern practices, as millennials and Gen Z employees are comfortable with technology and online training.

Additional benefits of digital job books include:

• Digital record-keeping and administration
• Measurable results and reporting
• Convenient and flexible access to training information
• Provides around-the-clock access to training resources

If your manufacturing business is interested in creating a digital job book, contact Impact Washington at info@impactwashington.org.