One procedure, many variants
Instead of a separate document for every variant, a procedure holds the steps every unit needs and optional blocks for the differences, such as an extra inspection or a wall-mounting step. Each block is written and approved once.
Conditions that choose the steps
A condition says when a block applies. ‘Include this block when there are four or more panels’ adds it to a four-panel unit and leaves it out of a three-panel one. Required steps, such as identifying the unit, are always included, and blocks that cannot be combined are refused rather than guessed.
Settings from approved tables
Parameters such as a torque value or a cure time come from approved tables keyed on the unit’s details, so the instruction shows the exact value for that unit.
Prove the procedure before release
Examples cover each optional block both when it is selected and when it is left out. Proof must pass before the revision can be published, and self-approval needs a recorded reason where your site allows it.
Version-pinned travellers
Each unit keeps the procedure release it was issued with. A later change applies to new units, and the unit record shows exactly which steps, values and evidence were required.
Write, test and approve these rules in SmartFACT Automation
Step conditions and parameter bindings can be described in plain English in SmartFACT Automation, where AI proposes the rule and a plain restatement, or built directly in the structured editor. Either way the rule is checked against examples your team agreed in advance and approved by a reviewer before WorkSteps applies it. WorkSteps then runs the approved rule itself, with no AI call when the decision is made. Automation is included with WorkSteps’s paid plan.
What WorkSteps does not do
- Write the instructions. Your experts write and approve the method; rules only choose which approved blocks apply.
- Branch live during the work or control machines.
- Treat an included inspection step as a completed inspection.
Common questions
Does AI write the work instructions?
No. Your experts write the steps. AI can propose when an approved block applies, and that proposal is checked and approved like any other rule.
How do I manage instructions for many product variants?
Keep one procedure with optional blocks and let conditions choose them for each unit, rather than maintaining a document per variant.
What happens to units already in progress when a procedure changes?
They keep the release they were issued with. The change applies to new units.
Related pages
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