Manufacturing Employee Training Checklist

Walk the new hire through the written job description, work center assignment, shift schedule, attendance policy, and break/clock-in procedure. Confirm the labor-tracking system (Kronos, UKG, ADP, Paycom) is set up with their badge before they hit the floor.

Issue safety glasses (Z87.1), hearing protection if the work center is in a 90+ dBA zone per the hearing conservation program, steel-toe footwear, gloves appropriate to the task, and any task-specific PPE (face shield, FR clothing, cut-resistant sleeves). Document fit-test results for respirators per 1910.134.

Walk evacuation routes, muster points, eyewash stations, fire extinguishers, AED locations, spill kits, and the SDS binder. Review the Emergency Action Plan and severe-weather shelter location.

Select the role that drives the rest of this training plan. Machine operator and forklift driver paths trigger additional equipment-specific qualification steps later in the workflow.

Cover the HazCom 2012 / GHS pictograms, label elements, and how to pull an SDS for any chemical the employee may encounter. Walk to the SDS station and have the trainee locate the SDS for two chemicals used at their work center.

29 CFR 1910.147 — distinguish authorized vs. affected employee. Review the energy-control procedure for the trainee's work center, demonstrate lock and tag application, and cover the rule that only the person who applied the lock removes it.

1910.212 — guards must be in place before machine operation. Show e-stop locations, light curtains, two-hand controls, and the policy that bypassed or removed guards trigger an immediate andon and supervisor review.

Trainee signs the safety training acknowledgment. File in the personnel training record — OSHA inspectors ask for these records first during a 1910 audit.

Trainer demonstrates setup per the setup sheet — tooling load, offsets, program call-up. Trainee then runs setup with trainer observing. First piece goes to FAI before any production parts are run.

Pull the current-rev work instruction from the document control system (SolidWorks PDM, Arena, Windchill). Verify the trainee can locate the rev on the document and confirm it matches what's posted at the work center — superseded revs are a common defect source.

Forklift training is equipment-type-specific. A counterbalance certification does not authorize a reach truck or order picker. Deliver formal instruction, hands-on evaluation, and document the operator's name, date, evaluator, and equipment type.

Supervisor verifies the trainee can run the machine independently — setup, run, in-process check, shutdown. Sign-off goes into the skills matrix so the planner knows who can be scheduled on which work center.

Quality engineer covers the control plan, sampling plan per ANSI Z1.4, and how to read the inspection sheet. Trainee performs an in-process check on a live job with the QE observing.

Show how to record heat number, lot, and operator ID on the traveler or in the MES (Plex, Tulip, Epicor). Missing lot capture is the most common reason a recall investigation goes sideways.

When an out-of-spec part is found: stop the line, segregate to the red-tag area, andon the supervisor, and a non-conformance report (NCR) gets written. Reinforce that hiding scrap in the bin is a terminable offense — the cost is downstream rework and customer escapes.

Trainee demonstrates correct use of calipers, micrometers, and pin gauges to a known standard. Confirm they check the calibration sticker before each use — past-due gauges go to the red-tag bin, not back in the drawer.

Review the skills matrix, scrap rate, and any quality alerts attributed to the trainee's work center. Identify any gaps that need targeted retraining before the trainee is removed from the buddy system.

Schedule a week of supervised work on an adjacent operation in the cell. Cross-training improves cell flexibility and reduces single-points-of-failure when someone is out.

1910.147 requires periodic inspection of energy-control procedures at least annually, and HazCom retraining whenever a new hazard is introduced. Document attendance and update the training matrix.

Whenever an engineering change notice (ECN) affects a work instruction the trainee runs, log the retraining acknowledgment. Auditors trace ECN release dates against operator training acknowledgments during ISO 9001 / IATF 16949 surveillance.