The three types
- Basic knowledge: one fact or skill operators need, such as how to read a pressure gauge or what a correctly tensioned belt looks like.
- Problem case: what went wrong, why, and what to do instead, written after a breakdown, defect or near miss.
- Improvement case: what was changed, why, and how it works now, written after a kaizen.
The format
A one-point lesson fits on one page and follows a fixed layout:
- Title and the single point it teaches.
- A photo or sketch of the correct condition, often beside the incorrect one with a cross through it.
- Three to five short lines of text.
- Who wrote it, when, and who has been taught it.
The visual does the work; if the text runs to paragraphs, it is two lessons.
How OPLs are used
An OPL is taught by someone who knows the point, usually a team leader, to one or a few people at the equipment or workstation. The training is recorded against the person in the skills matrix. OPLs are kept at the point of use and reviewed in the daily meeting when a problem shows one is missing or wrong.
OPLs and daily management
Problems raised at the tier meeting are the best source of OPLs: the countermeasure to a repeat defect often includes teaching every shift one point. Writing the OPL, teaching it and recording who has been taught are actions on the board with owners, which is what turns a lesson learned into a lesson taught.