3D work instructions help to reduce errors

Everything looks better in 3D! Whether you’re at the movies or at work, there is no doubt that 3D images captivate the imagination and draw your interest.  After all, if an image is worth a thousand words; what’s an animation worth?  Potentially $8 million!

Honeywell engineers at the Kansas City National Security Campus brought the 3D animation experience to employees during a Usability Study for Model-Based Animations for Work Instructions.  The results were impressive!  The study between 3D Model-Based Work Instructions and traditional 2D work instructions demonstrated a 15 percent scrap reduction across the entire production build for one printed wiring assembly operation, yielding a potential $4.1 million savings.  An additional 15 percent cost avoidance was realized when the animation prevented additional issues that would lead to scrap.   

The Digital Product Realization Enterprise team focuses on research and development of model-based tools and processes that leverage data from computer-aided design models to support engineering activities. The study focus was to mature technical readiness for enhanced communication of work instructions.  

After designing the Model-Based Animations for Work Instructions, it was tested between two groups of operators. Half of the group used the traditional 2D work instructions that included text with 2D pictures. The second group used the animated work instructions. Both groups used the same parts and tools to work each assembly. Model-Based Animation outperformed the traditional work instructions.  A full-scale implementation expects to realize multiple millions in cost avoidance exceeding $8 million, by reducing errors, scraps, defects and its ability to further educate the operators.