Free template
Manufacturing process instruction (MPI) template
A manufacturing process instruction (MPI) tells the operator how to do one operation at one station, step by step: what to do, the machine settings and their limits, the tools and fixtures, the quality checks and the safety points, with a photo or sketch of each step. It is written from the engineering definition of the process and kept to the current revision. The name varies by company: some call the same document a work instruction, an operation sheet or a process sheet, and no standard defines it. Where a company also uses an engineering process instruction (EPI), the EPI defines the process and its limits for engineers, and the MPI turns that into steps for the operator. Page 1 of this template covers the part, revision, station, materials, tools and PPE and the first five steps; page 2 has three more steps, the revision history and approval. The Excel version flags any parameter target outside its limits and shows the current revision from the revision history.
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
When to use it
When to use a manufacturing process instruction
- For every operation where the settings, the sequence or the checks matter to quality or safety.
- When a new part, machine or process goes into production.
- When different shifts do the same job in different ways and the results vary.
- To train new operators on a station, together with on-the-job training.
How to fill it in
- 1
Fill in the header
MPI number, part, revision, operation or station, machine, cycle time and effective date.
- 2
Watch the job and list the steps
Watch the best operator do it, and write each step in the order it is done, starting with a verb.
- 3
Add the parameters
For each step that has one: the setting, the target and the tolerance, taken from the engineering specification.
- 4
Add the checks and safety points
What is checked at each step, how and how often, and the safety point or PPE for that step.
- 5
Add a photo or sketch
A picture of each step shows what words cannot: the orientation, the grip, the position of the part.
- 6
Approve and control the revision
Have engineering, quality and production sign. On every change, update the revision, remove old copies and brief the operators.
A filled-in example
Illustrative, not a benchmarkAn example: three steps from an MPI for pressing a bearing into a housing (illustrative values).
- Step 2: place the housing in the fixture, bore facing up, against both locating pins. Check: the housing sits flat, no gap under it.
- Step 3: press the bearing. Parameter: press force target 12 kN, 11 to 13 kN. Tool: press tool PT-14. Safety: two-hand start, hands clear.
- Step 4: check the bearing depth with gauge DG-3: 2.0 mm, ±0.1 mm, every part. Out of limits: stop and tell the team leader.
- Revision B: press force limits changed from 10 to 14 kN to 11 to 13 kN after an engineering change, approved by engineering and quality.
Operators on all three shifts worked to revision B from the day it was approved, and the old copies were collected from the station.
Common mistakes
Written at a desk
An instruction written without watching the job misses the real sequence and the knacks. Write it at the station.
Too much text
Long paragraphs are not read. One action per step, a few words, and a picture.
Missing limits
"Set the pressure" is not enough. Give the target and the tolerance.
Old copies at the station
Two revisions at the line means someone is working to the wrong one. Remove old copies on every change.
Nobody briefed on the change
A new revision only works once the operators know what changed. Brief them before it is used.
Download the template
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
Run this template in LeanSuite
In LeanSuite the AI writes work instructions from a video of your best operator, with numbered steps, a picture for each and callouts for PPE, torque tools and inspection points; drafts go to engineering, EHS and quality for e-signature, and each instruction has an owner, a review date and a version history.
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FAQ
Manufacturing process instruction (MPI) template: common questions
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A shift handover sheet, a red tag log, a changeover checklist for one machine: if your team uses it on the floor, ask.