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One point lesson (OPL) template

A one point lesson (OPL) is a one-page visual sheet that teaches a single point in a few minutes at the machine, with a picture of the wrong way and the right way. It comes from TPM, where operators learn the checks of autonomous maintenance one point at a time, and it is usually written by the operator or technician who knows the job best. This template has the one point in a sentence, wrong way and right way pictures, up to three key points that each hold a number or limit someone can check, why it matters, approval and review dates, and a training record where each person shows the point back before signing. Excel, Word and PDF, with a filled-in example in the Excel and PDF files.

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Page 1 of the one point lesson templateHeader fields for OPL number, area, writer, date, title and the standard it belongs to, tick boxes for basic knowledge, problem case or improvement, a box for the one point, wrong way and right way picture boxes, key points, why it matters and a training record table.
OPL number and typeStandard it belongs toThe one pointWrong way and right way picturesCheckable key pointsApproval and review dateTraining sign-off recordOPL registerWorked example
Filled-in One point lesson (OPL) template: a conveyor chain set too tight
The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 2 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to use a one point lesson

  • To share something learned on the floor, such as the fix for a recurring problem, with every shift before it is forgotten.
  • In autonomous maintenance, to teach operators one check: reading a sight glass, which lubricant goes on which point, a belt or chain setting.
  • After a defect, a near miss or a breakdown, to show the wrong way and the right way so it does not happen again.
  • For one detail of a longer procedure that people keep getting wrong: the OPL teaches that step without rewriting the SOP.
  • Not for a whole job. A task with many steps needs standard work or a work instruction.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Pick one point

    One piece of knowledge or one skill per sheet. If the title needs the word "and", write two lessons; the Excel flags it.
  2. 2

    Fill in the header and the standard

    OPL number, title, area or machine, who wrote it, the date and the type. Name the SOP or work instruction step the lesson belongs to, so the two never disagree.
  3. 3

    Write the point in one sentence

    What the reader must know or do, in plain words, with the number if there is one: "set the chain so the slack side moves 24 mm at its midpoint", not "set the chain correctly".
  4. 4

    Show the wrong way and the right way

    A close photo or a sketch in each box, with an arrow or a circle on what matters. The pictures should teach the lesson even without the text.
  5. 5

    Add key points someone can check, and why

    Up to three: a number, a limit or a mark. Safety is always a key point. Then one line on the defect, breakdown or injury it prevents.
  6. 6

    Test it and approve it

    Someone who does the job reads it at the machine first; if they have questions, change the sheet. Then the team leader or engineer approves it and sets a review date.
  7. 7

    Teach it, watch it done, record it

    Go through it with each person at the machine, ask them to do it while you watch, then they sign. Track who still needs it in the register.

What is inside the files

Every page of the PDF and every tab of the Excel file

The one point lesson template files are free after a short form. This is what you get: the blank pages, then the same pages filled in with a made-up example.

  1. Page 1 of 3 of the one point lesson template PDF: The lesson sheet and training record
    PDF page 1 of 3The lesson sheet and training record
  2. Page 2 of 3 of the one point lesson template PDF: Worked example: a conveyor chain set too tight
    PDF page 2 of 3Worked example: a conveyor chain set too tight
  3. Page 3 of 3 of the one point lesson template PDF: Three types, seven rules and the lesson register
    PDF page 3 of 3Three types, seven rules and the lesson register

The tabs of the Excel file

  • OPLOne point per sheet, mostly pictures: wrong way and right way boxes you drop a photo into, key points, why it matters and a training record.
  • OPL registerEvery lesson in the area: approved, linked to a standard, due for review, and whether everyone who needs it has been taught.
  • Example OPL and example registerA made-up conveyor chain lesson and a register whose review dates count from today.

The blank lesson is also included as an editable Word (.docx) file.

The three types

Basic knowledge, problem case, improvement

Most TPM programs sort lessons into these three types. Tick one on the sheet; the register counts them so you can see whether lessons come only after problems.

  • Basic knowledge

    What it teaches
    Something everyone on the job must know: how a part works, how to read a gauge, which lubricant goes where.
    Example
    Reading the gearbox oil sight glass: level between the two marks, machine stopped.
  • Problem case

    What it teaches
    How a problem happened and the check that stops it coming back, often after a defect, breakdown or near miss.
    Example
    Setting drive chain slack after a chain failed early (the example below).
  • Improvement

    What it teaches
    A better method someone found, so every shift and similar machines use it.
    Example
    Quick-release clamps on the filler change parts: no tools, no loose bolts.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example (illustrative): an OPL written by a maintenance technician after a conveyor drive chain failed early because it had been set too tight. PDF page 2 and the Excel Example OPL sheet hold the same lesson.

The two pictures the example OPL is built around

Wrong wayPulled tight: no movement
Right waySlack side moves 24 mm in total at its midpoint

Slack = 4% of the span

Tsubaki's figure for a normal horizontal drive; use your own chain maker's figure.

  1. Slack =4% × 600 mm= 24 mm

Wrong way: the conveyor drive chain pulled tight, with no movement. Right way: a ruler at the midpoint of the lower, slack span showing 24 mm of movement in total, 4 percent of the 600 mm span.

The pictures carry the lesson and the one sentence says it: set the slack side to move 24 mm in total at its midpoint, and no tighter.
  • Type: problem case. Title: setting drive chain slack on conveyor 2. Standard: the conveyor's PM work instruction, step 4.
  • The point: set the drive chain so the slack side moves 24 mm in total at its midpoint, and no tighter. That is 4% of the 600 mm span, the figure in Tsubaki's roller chain installation guide for a normal horizontal drive; use your own chain maker's figure.
  • Wrong way: a sketch of the chain pulled tight with no movement. Right way: a ruler at the midpoint of the lower span showing 24 mm of movement.
  • Key points: lock out the drive first; measure at the midpoint of the slack span; check again after the first week on a new chain, because it stretches a little at first.
  • Why it matters: an over-tight chain loads the bearings and wears the chain and sprockets early; too slack and it can jump the sprocket.

Eight people set this chain. Six were taught at the conveyor and showed it back within ten days (75%); the other two are next. The register lists six lessons for the area: one review overdue, one due within 30 days, one draft not yet linked to a standard, and 41 of 48 people trained on the approved lessons (85%).

Common mistakes

  • Teaching more than one point

    A sheet with five topics is a procedure. Keep to one point, and write another OPL for the next.

  • Key points nobody can check

    "Correct tension" means something different to everyone. "24 mm at the midpoint" does not.

  • Too many words

    If it needs paragraphs, nobody will read it at the machine. Let the pictures carry the lesson and keep the text to a few lines.

  • Pictures that do not show the difference

    A photo of the whole machine teaches nothing. Get close to the point and mark it, so the wrong way and the right way are clearly different.

  • An OPL that contradicts the SOP

    If the lesson changes how a step is done, change the SOP as well. Name the standard on the sheet so the link is visible.

  • Posting it without teaching it

    Nobody learns a method from a sheet on the wall. Go through it with each person and watch them do it.

  • Never reviewing it

    When the machine, the part or the method changes, update the OPL or take it down, or it will keep teaching the old way.

From this worksheet to a running system

Attach a before-and-after photo pair and LeanSuite's AI writes the one point lesson, with key points and acknowledgement questions.

  • Post a QR code at the line and operators scan it, log in and learn on the spot.
  • Assign it to the operators who need it. Each one reads, answers and acknowledges; overdue items show in red.
  • Push a lesson to every plant, line and shift in one click.
Illustration of a LeanSuite one point lesson: the wrong way and the right way photos side by side, with three key points written by Lean AI

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 you attach a before-and-after photo pair and the AI writes the one point lesson, with its title, key points and acknowledgement questions, ready to assign to the operators who need it, who can scan a QR code at the line to read and sign off.

See it in a 45-minute demo

FAQ

One point lesson (OPL) template: common questions

  1. A single-page visual training sheet that teaches one piece of knowledge or one skill, often with the wrong way beside the right way. Operators read it at the machine in a few minutes. OPLs come from TPM and autonomous maintenance.

  2. Three are commonly used: basic knowledge, which teaches something everyone on the job should know; a problem case, which shows how a problem happened and how to stop it coming back; and an improvement, which shares a better method. The template has a box to tick for each.

  3. A number, title, area, writer and date; the type; the standard it belongs to; the point in one sentence; wrong way and right way pictures; up to three key points with a number or limit; why it matters; approval and a review date; and a training record. This template has all of them.

  4. Yes. The Excel file is an editable lesson: type in the boxes, insert a photo and drag it into each picture box, and the sheet checks the word count, flags a title with two points and tracks who has been trained. The PDF is for writing by hand.

  5. An SOP or work instruction describes a whole task, step by step. An OPL teaches one point, often a detail of that task that people get wrong. Name the SOP step on the OPL, and if the lesson changes how the step is done, change the SOP too.

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