Film the job, let the AI draft the SOP, approve it, link it to the skill and see in the matrix who is signed off to do it.
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Film the job once, let the AI draft the SOP from the video, edit and approve it, link it to a skill, and the training matrix shows who has read it, who has been signed off and who still needs training.
This page walks through that path on one sample job. If you only need one part of it, the AI SOP creation page covers the SOP, competency management covers the matrix, and the LMS for manufacturing covers courses.
Updated 14 October 2026
The gap
Most plants have both. They are written by different people, kept in different places and updated at different times.
The SOP is typed after the fact
Someone writes the steps from memory, and the document is out of date the first time the job changes.
The matrix is a spreadsheet
Levels are typed in by hand, so nobody can tell what evidence is behind a cell.
Nobody can say who read the current version
Signatures sit on paper, and the matrix does not know which procedure a skill depends on.
The SOP is drafted from the video
One recording of the real job gives you a draft with a picture for each step.
The skill points at the SOP
The skill holds the SOP, the course and the sign-off in one place.
The matrix follows the sign-offs
Who has signed, and who has been signed off on the job, shows next to each person's level.
How it works
Each step is one thing to do, and each one is shown below with the same sample job.
Steps 1 and 2
1. Film the job. Record the task start to finish on a phone, in one take. Narrating while you film helps, and the help guide gives 10 to 15 minutes as the best length.
2. Let the AI draft the SOP. In Lean Creator, open Create with AI, choose Video SOP and upload the video. The draft has purpose, scope, PPE, tools, numbered steps with a frame from the video for each, and safety warnings. See AI SOP creation for the detail, or digital work instructions for station-level instructions.
Step 3
3. Edit and approve. Fix any step with the pencil, or ask the AI to reword a step or add a warning. Choose a better frame from the video for any picture. The SOP stays a private draft until you save and publish it, with revision control and e-signatures.
Each step gets a QR code. Scan it in the LeanSuite app and the clip for that step plays, so a new operator can see the move, not only read it. The viewer has to be signed in.
Step 4
4. Link it. A skill is what the job needs, such as forklift operation. On the skill you attach the approved SOP, the course that teaches it from the LMS and the on-the-job checklist a trainer signs on a tablet.
Passing a linked course, or a trainer's sign-off, can raise a person's level on the skill. You choose what counts for each level, as set out in competency management.
Step 5
5. Assign it. Send the SOP to people, to a role or to an asset. Each person finds it on their dashboard, opens it and signs. Overdue sign-offs show in red, so the list of who is behind is the screen you already have open.
On-the-job practice is covered in on-the-job training, and the sign-off sheet is free as a training sign-off sheet.
Step 6
6. Read the matrix. The Skill Matrix shows each person against each skill at levels 1 to 5, with a count of how many are at the level the job needs. A skill with one qualified person stands out, which is the point of a job cover matrix and of cross-training.
You can also open the matrix as it stood on a past date, which is what an auditor asks for when they want to know who was qualified on a given day.
Who it is for
Turn the procedure and the people who need it into one list, and see who is behind without chasing sheets.
Film the job once instead of writing it up, then sign people off at the machine on a tablet.
Check who is qualified for a job before the shift starts, with the SOP one scan away.
Show which version of the SOP each person signed and who confirmed they could do the work.
What you get
The AI writes purpose, scope, PPE, tools, steps and warnings from the video, and you edit it.
Scan a step on the printed SOP and its clip plays in the LeanSuite app, for anyone who is signed in.
Revision control and e-signatures, so the version people sign is the version in use.
Levels move when a course is passed or a sign-off is made, not when someone remembers to edit a cell.
Worked example, sample data
Sample data throughout. A warehouse has five forklift operators, and the job is putting a pallet into racking. The plant wants every operator at level 3 on forklift operation, where 3 means works alone to standard. That is this example's choice: you write what each level means for your plant.
| Step | What happens | What the matrix shows |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Film | A trainer films one put-away from the pre-use check to parking the truck, narrating as they go. The video is 48 seconds. | Nothing yet. Forklift operation has no linked SOP. |
| 2. Draft | Lean AI finds six steps and drafts SOP-0231 with purpose, scope, PPE, a frame for each step and a safety warning. | No change. |
| 3. Approve | The trainer rewords step 5 and the warning, then the SOP is approved as Rev 1 and published. | No change. |
| 4. Link | SOP-0231 is linked to the Forklift operation skill, which needs level 3. | The skill now holds the SOP, a course and a trainer sign-off. |
| 5. Assign | The SOP goes to all five operators, and the trainer evaluates each one on a tablet. | Four have signed. One is overdue and shows in red. |
| 6. Read the matrix | Four operators are signed off at level 3 or more. The fifth is at level 2 with training assigned. | Forklift operation: 4 of 5 at level 3 or more. |
Sample data: the job, the SOP number, the initials and the counts are made up for this page. They are not a customer's results.
In the United States, OSHA's powered industrial truck standard (29 CFR 1910.178) says trainees may operate a truck only under the direct supervision of someone qualified to train and evaluate them, wants each operator's performance evaluated at least once every three years, and wants the employer to certify the training with the operator's name, the training date, the evaluation date and who did the training or evaluation. So the question a supervisor asks is not who read the SOP but who has been evaluated, by whom and when.
A LeanSuite sign-off is stored with the person who made it and the time, and the matrix shows the result next to the SOP it relates to. Whether that record satisfies your own compliance duties is for you to check against the standard that applies to your plant. For the method behind the levels, see the free training matrix template and the competency management guide.
Honest limits
Know these before you start, so the first job goes well.
Every SOP opens as a draft. Someone who knows the job checks each step, the warnings and the part, tool and chemical names against the real process before it is approved.
A step that is hidden from the camera, or never said aloud, can be missing or vague in the draft. Film from where the work can be seen and fix gaps in the editor.
A signature shows someone opened and acknowledged the SOP. For levels that mean works alone, set a trainer's on-the-job sign-off as the evidence.
The matrix shows levels 1 to 5. What each level means, and what moves someone up, is set by you for each skill.
If you assign an SOP to a role, it is complete when any one member signs. Assign people individually when everyone has to sign.
FAQs
Yes. You upload the video in Lean Creator under Create with AI and choose Video SOP. The AI drafts the SOP with purpose, scope, PPE, tools, numbered steps with a picture each, and safety warnings. The draft stays private until you edit it, approve it and publish it.
Record the task from start to finish in one take. LeanSuite's help guide says 10 to 15 minutes gives the best result. Narrating while you film improves accuracy, and a silent video still works because the AI follows the operator's hand movements. Large files are compressed automatically.
You link the approved SOP to a skill. People then read and sign it, take any course linked to the skill, and a trainer signs them off on the job. Each of those can raise a person's level, and the Skill Matrix shows the level for every person and skill, from 1 to 5.
Only if you decide it should. You set what raises each level. Most plants want an on-the-job sign-off by a trainer for any level that means works alone, because reading a procedure does not prove someone can do the job. A signed SOP is evidence of reading, and the sign-off is evidence of doing.
You assign the SOP to people, to a role or to an asset. Each person must open the document before signing. A role assignment counts as done when any one member signs, so assign people individually when everyone must sign. Sign-offs show up in the Skill Matrix, and overdue ones are shown in red.
Yes, and it is the best way to start. Pick one job in one area, film it and take it through the steps above. The 90-day pilot is $3,000 per facility, set up by our team, with the first module live in under a week. At day 90 you decide with your own results.
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Bring one process video and we will show it becoming an SOP, a linked skill and a row in the matrix.
