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One point lesson (OPL): the three types, the format and a worked example

Short answer

A one point lesson (OPL) is a one-page teaching sheet, mostly pictures, that covers a single point about a machine, a task or a problem and can be taught at the workstation in about ten minutes. It comes from Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), where small teams use it to pass on what they learn about their equipment.

An OPL has one title, one point, a picture of the wrong way next to the right way, two or three key points and a list of who has been taught. TPM literature names three types: basic knowledge, trouble (a problem that happened) and improvement (a change that worked). It is also called a single point lesson. It does not replace an SOP. It makes one point from the SOP hard to miss.

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What is meant by a one point lesson?

A one point lesson is a short lesson on a single point, on one sheet of paper, taught in about ten minutes at the machine. TPM for Every Operator, the handbook edited by the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM), describes it that way. The team leader or an operator explains the point, lets people try it, and everyone signs.

The same book lists one point lessons next to activity boards and meetings as the tools small teams use in TPM. That is where most plants meet them first: during autonomous maintenance, when operators start cleaning, inspecting and lubricating their own equipment and need to learn dozens of small facts about it. The idea travels well outside maintenance. Quality, safety and changeover points all fit on one page.

You will see the names OPL, one point lesson and single point lesson (SPL) used for the same sheet. LeanSpeak, the Productivity Press dictionary, files single-point lesson as another name for one-point lesson.

What is an OPL in manufacturing, and in TPM?

OPL is the usual short form. In manufacturing it is the one-page sheet taught at the workstation. In Total Productive Maintenance it is one of the tools small teams use, next to activity boards and meetings, to pass equipment knowledge between operators. The handbook's point is that one fact learned by one person is worth little until the whole crew has it.

The three types of one point lesson

The JIPM handbook sorts one point lessons into three types by purpose: basic lessons, problem case studies and improvement case studies. On the floor they are usually called basic knowledge, trouble and improvement, and most forms have a tick box for each.

The three types of one point lesson

  • Basic knowledge

    What it is for
    Fills a gap in what every operator on the equipment should know or be able to do.
    When to write one
    A new machine, a new starter, or a new step of autonomous maintenance.
    Example title
    How to read the oil level on the lubricator

  • Trouble

    What it is for
    Uses a real breakdown, defect or near miss to teach what to check so it does not happen again.
    When to write one
    Within a day or two of the problem, while people still remember it.
    Example title
    Why the label sensor missed cartons and what to wipe each shift

  • Improvement

    What it is for
    Shows a change the team made and what it achieved, so other teams can copy it.
    When to write one
    After a kaizen has been tested and is holding.
    Example title
    Shadow board at the filler: where each changeover tool now lives
The type is decided by why the lesson was written: a gap in knowledge, a problem that happened, or an improvement worth copying. Sources: Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (ed.), TPM for Every Operator, Productivity Press, 1996, chapter 5. LeanSpeak, Productivity Press, 2002.

Many plants add safety as a fourth heading, and the one point lesson examples on this site are grouped that way. Safety is a subject, not a fourth type in the JIPM list: a safety lesson is still basic knowledge, trouble or improvement. Sort them however helps people find them.

Which type of one point lesson is this?

Which type of one point lesson

  • Why you are writing it

    Every operator on the machine should know this and some do not

    Type

    Basic knowledge

    Photograph the right way at the machine

  • Why you are writing it

    Something broke, was scrapped or nearly hurt someone

    Type

    Trouble

    Write it within a day or two, while people remember

  • Why you are writing it

    The team changed something and it is holding

    Type

    Improvement

    Show before and after side by side

  • Why you are writing it

    It needs the word and to explain

    Type

    Two lessons

    Split it, one point on each sheet

Start from why you are writing it. If the answer needs the word and, it is two lessons.

One point lesson format: what goes on the sheet

There is no official form. The sources agree on the limits (one topic, one sheet, mostly visual), and the layout below is the one most plants settle on. If a lesson needs a second page, it holds two points and should be two lessons.

  • Title that states the point, not the subject. Keep the oil between the two marks, not Lubricator.
  • Lesson number, area or machine, date and who wrote it.
  • Type: basic knowledge, trouble or improvement.
  • The picture. A photo or sketch of the wrong condition beside the right one, with the difference circled or marked.
  • Two or three key points in short sentences, including the reason.
  • Sign-off record: who taught it, who was taught, and the date for each person.

Start from the free one point lesson template, which has these fields laid out for printing.

Worked example: a lubricator oil level lesson

Illustrative example. A packing line has a pneumatic lubricator that feeds oil into the air supply for its cylinders. Twice in a month a cylinder has stuck because the bowl ran dry. The check is already in the cleaning and inspection standard, but as one line among forty. The team leader writes a basic knowledge lesson that shows only this point, then teaches it at the start of each shift.

A filled-in one point lesson

Example numbers

One point lesson

No. OPL-014

Keep the lubricator oil between the two marks

Area and machine
Packing line 2, air service unit
Written by
Team leader, shift A
Checked by
Maintenance supervisor
  • Basic knowledge (ticked)
  • Trouble
  • Improvement

Wrong

Oil below the MIN mark. The cylinders are running without oil.

Right

Oil between MIN and MAX. Nothing to do.

Key points

  1. Look at the bowl at eye level at the start of every shift.
  2. Below MIN: raise a Tag and top up as the lubrication standard says.
  3. Why: without oil the cylinder seals wear and the cylinder sticks.

Taught and signed

  • Shift A4 of 4
  • Shift B3 of 4
  • Shift C2 of 4

A one point lesson sheet. Title: keep the lubricator oil between the two marks. Type: basic knowledge. A wrong picture with the oil below the MIN mark sits beside a right picture with the oil between MIN and MAX. Three key points follow, then a sign-off record with 9 of 12 operators signed.

One title, one point, wrong beside right, three key points and a record. 9 of 12 boxes are ticked, so the lesson is not finished yet.

The line has 12 operators, 4 on each of 3 shifts. Each session takes about 10 minutes at the machine, so teaching everyone costs 12 x 10 = 120 operator minutes, which is 2 hours in total. After the first week the sign-off record looks like this.

Sign-off record after one week (illustrative)
ShiftOperatorsTaught and signedStill to teach
A440
B431
C422
Total1293

Coverage is 9 / 12 = 75 percent. Check it the other way: 3 of 12 still to teach is 25 percent, and 75 + 25 = 100.

The record is half the value of the lesson. A sheet on a wall has taught nobody. Three people on this line have not been shown the point, and two of them are on the same shift, which is where the next dry bowl is most likely. The lesson is finished when the record shows 12 of 12.

Seven moments to write a one point lesson

  • After a breakdown, so the check that would have caught it is taught while it is fresh.
  • When a new machine arrives and nobody knows its daily checks.
  • When a new starter joins a line.
  • After a quality escape traced to a missed step.
  • After a near miss, with the safe way next to the unsafe one.
  • When a kaizen has held for a few weeks and another team could copy it.
  • When an audit finds the same step missed twice.

Each of these gives you one point, one picture and a reason people will care. These are our suggestions from how plants use the sheet, not a list from the JIPM handbook.

How to write a one point lesson in six steps

Writing and teaching a one point lesson in six steps

  1. 1

    Pick one point

  2. 2

    Go and take the picture

  3. 3

    Write the title and key points

  4. 4

    Test it on one person

  5. 5

    Teach it at the machine

  6. 6

    Post it and follow up

Steps 4 to 6 are the half most plants skip: teach it, record it, then check it is being done.
  1. 1

    Pick one point

    Choose a single thing people get wrong or do not know. If you need the word and to describe it, split it into two lessons.

  2. 2

    Go and take the picture

    Photograph or sketch the wrong condition and the right one at the machine, from where the operator stands.

  3. 3

    Write the title and key points

    State the point in the title. Add two or three short key points and say why each matters.

  4. 4

    Test it on one person

    Hand the sheet to someone who does not know the point. If they cannot explain it back in a minute, simplify it.

  5. 5

    Teach it at the machine

    Take about ten minutes per group. Show the real thing, let each person do the check, then collect signatures.

  6. 6

    Post it and follow up

    Put the sheet where the point applies, chase the missing signatures, and add the point to the standard if it is not there.

The person who knows the point best should write it, and that is often an operator. A lesson written by the person who found the problem is believed more readily than one sent down from an office. A supervisor or engineer should still check the content before it is taught, above all for safety points.

OPL, work instruction and SOP: which one to write

One point lesson, work instruction and SOP compared

  • One point lesson

    Covers
    One point about a task, a machine or a problem.
    Length
    One page, mostly pictures.
    Taught
    In about ten minutes at the workstation.
    Record
    Signatures on the sheet or a sign-off list.

  • Work instruction

    Covers
    One whole task, step by step.
    Length
    A few pages or screens with photos.
    Taught
    During job training, then kept at the station.
    Record
    Training matrix.

  • SOP

    Covers
    A whole procedure: purpose, scope, responsibilities and steps.
    Length
    Several pages.
    Taught
    During induction and when it changes.
    Record
    Document control and training matrix.
A one point lesson covers one point and is taught in minutes. It adds to the work instruction and the SOP. It does not replace either.

A one point lesson supports the other two. If people keep missing step 14 of a work instruction, an OPL on step 14 is faster than retraining the whole task. If the point changes how the job is done, update the work instruction or SOP as well, or the two documents will disagree. For the longer formats see what SOP means and how to write one and standard work.

Common mistakes

  • Two or three points on one sheet. People remember the first and forget the rest.
  • All text. If the lesson has no picture, it is a memo.
  • Posting without teaching. The ten minutes at the machine is the lesson. The paper is the reminder.
  • No sign-off record, so nobody knows which shift missed it.
  • A trouble lesson written weeks late, after the details have been forgotten.
  • Walls of old lessons. Take a sheet down once the point is in the standard and everyone has signed.

Where software helps

Paper works for a team of twelve. Across several lines and shifts the hard part is the record: who has seen which lesson. In LeanSuite, AI builds one point lessons from before-and-after photos, with key points and acknowledgement questions, and you assign them and track who signed. See AI OPL, or the comparison of one point lesson software.

AI OPL

Build and assign one point lessons in LeanSuite

AI builds one point lessons from before-and-after photos, with key points and acknowledgement questions. Assign them and track who signed.

See AI OPLBest one point lesson software

Go deeper

This page is the short version. These guides cover each part in full.

All our articles on this subject are in the standard work, sops and training topic.

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FAQ

Questions about one point lesson

  1. A one point lesson, or OPL, is a one-page teaching sheet that covers a single point about a machine, a task or a problem. It is mostly pictures, it is taught at the workstation in about ten minutes, and the people taught sign it. It comes from Total Productive Maintenance.

  2. OPL stands for one point lesson. In a plant it is the one-page sheet that teaches one point at the workstation, such as how to read a lubricator or what to wipe on a sensor each shift. It is also called a single point lesson.

  3. In Total Productive Maintenance it is a tool small teams use, next to activity boards and meetings, to pass on what they learn about their equipment. It is common in autonomous maintenance, where operators clean, inspect and lubricate their own machines and need many small facts.

  4. Basic knowledge, trouble and improvement. The handbook TPM for Every Operator, edited by the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance, calls them basic lessons, problem case studies and improvement case studies. Many plants add safety as a fourth heading.

  5. One page with a title that states the point, a lesson number, the area or machine, the type, a picture of the wrong condition next to the right one, two or three key points with the reason, and a sign-off record of who was taught and when.

  6. An SOP is the full approved procedure for an activity, with purpose, scope, responsibilities and every step. An OPL teaches one point on one page. It supports the SOP by making a single step or check hard to miss, and it does not replace it.

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