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On-the-job training (OJT) checklist

An on-the-job training (OJT) checklist is the record of one person being taught one job at the workstation, from the first session to the day they are qualified and the checks after it. It follows the job breakdown: write the important steps, key points and reasons once per job on the TWI job breakdown sheet, then use this checklist for each trainee. It is built on TWI Job Instruction, the method developed by the Training Within Industry service in the United States in the 1940s: get ready, then prepare the person, present the operation, try out performance and follow up. The checklist records the get-ready checks, the date and both sets of initials for each step, and every try: with help or alone, safe, quality, time, and whether the person could explain the key points and reasons. You set the rule before you start, how many tries in a row alone to standard qualify, and the Excel version tells you the date the tries met it, flags a sign-off that comes before the evidence, and plans follow-up checks that start close together and taper off.

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Page 1 of the OJT checklistHeader fields, get-ready tick boxes, the four Job Instruction steps with dates and initials, a table of eight tries with help or alone, safe, quality, time and explained, a qualification box and five follow-up checks.
TWI get-ready checksThe four steps, signedEvery try recordedYour qualifying ruleQualified date and skills matrix levelTapering follow-up checksWhich training template

When to use it

When to use an OJT checklist

  • When a new operator learns a job, or an experienced one learns a new job, and you need a record of how and when they qualified.
  • When different trainers sign people off on different evidence, and you want one rule for everyone.
  • When a job breakdown or work instruction changes and people are retrained on the new method.
  • Not for writing the job breakdown itself (use the TWI job breakdown sheet) and not for group sessions (use the training sign-off sheet).

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Get ready

    Set the qualify-by date (the TWI time table), name the job breakdown and its revision, have the equipment, materials and supplies ready and arrange the workplace the way the worker will keep it.

  2. 2

    Set the qualifying rule

    Before training starts, write the target time for a try and how many tries in a row alone, safe, to quality, in time and explained will qualify. The example uses 2 for a short machine-loading job.

  3. 3

    Prepare and present

    Put the person at ease, find out what they already know, then tell, show and illustrate one important step at a time, stressing each key point and its reason. Date and initial each step.

  4. 4

    Record every try

    Write each try down, with help or alone, and what you corrected. Tries with help teach; they do not count. The Excel marks each try to standard and keeps the run in a row.

  5. 5

    Qualify on the evidence

    Sign off when the run reaches your rule, record the date and set the skills matrix level to 3. The Excel flags a sign-off before the tries meet the rule.

  6. 6

    Follow up and taper off

    Name who the person goes to for help, then check on a schedule from the qualified date, close together at first. A coached check is normal; a failed one sends them back to step 3.

Which template?

Job breakdown, OJT checklist or sign-off sheet?

Four templates cover training a job. They follow each other rather than overlap.

  • TWI job breakdown sheet

    What it records
    The important steps, key points and reasons for one job, and the training timetable
    How many you fill in
    One per job
  • OJT checklist (this one)

    What it records
    How one person was taught from that breakdown: the four steps, every try, the qualified date, the follow-up
    How many you fill in
    One per trainee per job
  • Training sign-off sheet

    What it records
    Who attended a group session and passed a competence check
    How many you fill in
    One per session
  • Competency assessment

    What it records
    A later check of every task in a person's role, rated 0 to 4 from evidence
    How many you fill in
    One per person per review

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example (illustrative): Sam, a new operator, learns to load, run and unload a CNC lathe from a written job breakdown, with Ravi, the cell lead, as trainer. The rule is 2 tries in a row alone to standard, with a 45-second target. The PDF page 2 and the Excel Example sheet hold the same record.

The example breakdown, and the tries that qualified Sam

  1. 1Key point

    Seat the part against the jaw stop

    Reason: a gap changes the length and scraps the part.
  2. 2Key point

    Chuck pressure gauge in the green

    Reason: low pressure lets the part move under cut.
  3. 3Key point

    Close the door until it clicks

    Reason: the interlock will not allow the cycle otherwise.

Tries alone, against the 45-second target

  1. Try 3, alone52 sover target
  2. Try 4, alone44 sto standard, run of 1
  3. Try 5, alone43 srun of 2: qualified

Three key points, each with its reason: seat the part against the jaw stop, chuck pressure gauge in the green, close the door until it clicks. Tries 1 and 2 were with help and corrected. Alone: try 3 took 52 seconds against the 45-second target; tries 4 and 5 took 44 and 43 seconds, safe and to quality, so the rule of 2 in a row to standard was met on day 5.

Tries with help never count. Try 3 was right but slow, so the run of 2 started at try 4: qualified at level 3 on day 5, 3 days before the qualify-by date.
  • Key points from the breakdown: seat the part against the jaw stop (a gap changes the length and scraps the part), chuck pressure gauge in the green (low pressure lets the part move under cut), close the door until it clicks (the interlock will not allow the cycle otherwise).
  • Try 1, with help: part not seated against the jaw stop, length out. Try 2, with help: door not closed to the click. Both corrected; neither counts.
  • Try 3, alone: right and every key point explained, but 52 seconds against the 45-second target, so not to standard.
  • Tries 4 and 5, alone: 44 and 43 seconds, safe, to quality and explained. The run reaches 2 on try 5, day 5.
  • Follow-up checks at 1, 2, 5, 10 and 14 days after qualifying: the day 5 check found the gauge check skipped once at shift start, so Ravi went through that key point and its reason again.

Qualified on day 5 at level 3 on the skills matrix, 3 days before the qualify-by date: 5 tries, 2 with help, 3 alone, 2 to standard. Four of the five follow-up checks are done, one of them coached, none late, and the last is due in 4 days.

Common mistakes

  • Training without a breakdown

    Without the key points written down, each trainer teaches something different. Write the breakdown on the TWI job breakdown sheet first and name its revision here.

  • Counting tries with help

    A try where you guided or corrected teaches the job; it does not show the person can do it. Only tries alone count toward the rule.

  • Qualifying on a feeling

    Set the rule before training starts and sign off when the tries meet it. TWI's test is to continue until you know they know; the run of tries is how you know.

  • Leaving them alone after sign-off

    Follow-up is the fourth step, not an extra. Name who they go to for help, check often at first and taper off.

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 a designated trainer, coordinator or supervisor checks the new hire against a standard OJT checklist on a tablet; every sign-off is time-stamped, and the person's level updates on the Skill Matrix.

See it in a 45-minute demo

FAQ

On-the-job training (OJT) checklist: common questions

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