Feature deep-dive · Work Instructions

Visual work instructions, version-controlled.

Build the work instruction the way operators actually read it. A real photo with arrows, callouts, and short text exactly where they need to be. Every save bumps the version and stamps the editor. The kiosk always renders the latest published version, never an obsolete revision. That's the whole pitch.

The canvas editor

Drag-and-drop. Photos, arrows, text, callouts.

Open a fresh page, snap or upload a photo of the part. Say a brake caliper sub-assembly with the rotor and pads in place. And start dropping the callouts where the operator needs to look. Arrow pointing to the bleeder screw, numbered callout on each of the four mount bolts, text label "12 ft-lb torque" under the slider pin. Move, resize, rotate, change colour or line weight, bring forward or send to back. The same gestures you'd expect in a slide deck, only on a tablet, with shop-floor tools.

  • Drag-and-drop canvas. Photos, arrows, callouts, text, shapes
  • Properties drawer per element: colour, line weight, font size, opacity
  • Stacking controls (front / forward / back / bottom)
  • Pinch-zoom and pan with two fingers; undo / redo with Ctrl+Z
  • Multi-page documents. One page per build step, paged on the floor
  • Inline image editing on phone, tablet, or desktop. Same UI everywhere
WORK INSTRUCTION
WI-007
TITLE
Brake caliper sub-assembly · L/F
v4 · Published
12312 ft-lb torqueIGNITE LEAN
Page 1 of 2Saved by Eric F · 2026-05-17 · v4🔥 Acme Mfg
Built-in version control

Every save, every editor, every snapshot

There is no separate "publish" workflow. When you save, Ignite Lean bumps the WI to the next version (v3 → v4), stamps the editor (name, user id, timestamp), and stores two artefacts: the editable scene (so the next editor picks up where you left off) and a fully rasterized PNG snapshot (so the auditor sees the exact pixels that were on the floor that day). Old versions stay browseable forever. Click v2 in the history list and the modal shows v2's rendered pages. Nothing is ever lost.

  • Auto-incrementing version number per WI (no manual revision letters)
  • Editor stamped on every save (name + user id + timestamp)
  • Per-version snapshot: editable JSON + rendered PNG, stored side by side
  • Immutable history. Old versions cannot be edited, only viewed
  • Tap any past version in the history list to view it pixel-for-pixel
  • Restore-by-fork pattern: re-save an old version, it becomes the new latest
No obsolete revisions on the floor

The kiosk reads the latest. Always.

Engineering bumps v4 → v5 at 10:47 a.m. The 11:00 a.m. operator at the caliper sub-assembly station badges in, picks the next unit off the queue, and the kiosk renders v5. Automatically. There is no paper to swap, no binder to update, no toolbox-talk to remind the off-shift crew. The kiosk reads the row, the row points at v5, v5 renders. That single behaviour closes the most common ISO 9001 audit finding (obsolete documents in use) and the equivalent finding under AS9100, IATF 16949, and ISO 13485.

  • Kiosk always serves the work_instructions row's current canvas_doc
  • New publish → next operator at the station sees the new version on next build
  • No paper to swap; no binder to update; no "did everyone get the new revision?"
  • Closes ISO 9001 clause 7.5.3.2 a) "current revision in use" findings
  • Same behaviour for AS9100 clause 7.5.3, IATF 16949 7.5.3.2, ISO 13485 4.2.4
Paper-frame design

Looks like a print-out. Reads like one too.

The canvas page is framed exactly like a printed work-instruction document: header with the WI number and title across the top, footer with page N of M and the org's name, a subtle diagonal "draft" watermark for unpublished revisions, and a printable margin so the operator who actually does want a printed backup can hit Save-as-PDF from the browser and get something the auditor recognises. Engineering authoring stays familiar; the floor still sees the modern interactive version.

  • Engineering-style header with WI number + title, footer with page indicator
  • Org name + flame watermark in the footer for brand recognition
  • Multi-page documents with per-page captions
  • Save-as-PDF from any browser for the "we still want a paper backup" case
  • Mock paper margin so layouts work both on tablet and on print
Mobile-first authoring

Author from the floor, from the engineering desk, or from your phone

Engineering doesn't always sit at a 27-inch monitor. The same WI editor runs on your phone. Pinch-zoom the photo, drop callouts with your thumb, tap a text box to edit the label. Walked down to the line and spotted a torque value that needs to change? Pull up the WI on your phone, edit, save, done. Version bumped, floor on the latest within seconds of the next badge-in. No round-trip to a CAD station.

  • Same editor renders on phone, tablet, and desktop
  • Tablet- and phone-optimised drawer layout. Tools collapse out of the way
  • Pinch-zoom + pan with two fingers; one-finger drag pans empty area
  • Multi-touch friendly tap targets (gloves work on capacitive screens)
  • Edit, save, see on the floor in seconds. No engineering bottleneck
WI-007Caliper sub-asm · L/Fv4
12
WI-007v4
12
12
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