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Skills matrix template

A skills matrix is a grid of people against tasks, with each cell showing how well that person can do that task. It shows who can cover what and where one absence would stop the work, so training goes where the gaps are. This template rates each person 0 to 4 (0 not trained, 4 can train others; levels 1 to 4 match the ILUO letters many lean plants use), counts only levels 3 and 4 as cover, and compares that with the cover you need for each task. The Excel version draws the levels as Harvey balls, works out coverage, trainers, the gap, a status and a training priority for every task, splits the cover by shift so a total cannot hide a shift with nobody, and has a training plan in the style of the TWI training timetable that checks whether each row closes a gap, is late, or has a trainer below level 4. The PDF has the blank matrix, the cover-by-shift and training plan sheet, and a filled-in example that matches the Excel.

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Page 1 of the skills matrix templateA grid of names and shifts against twelve numbered task columns with blank Harvey balls, rows for coverage, trainers, cover needed and gap, and a 0 to 4 level legend with the ILUO letters.
0-4 levels with ILUO and Harvey ballsCoverage and trainers per taskCover needed, gap and statusTraining priorityCover by shiftTraining plan with checksWorked example
Filled-in Skills matrix template: ten people, two shifts and eight tasks
The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 3 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to use a skills matrix

  • To plan cross-training so every critical task has enough qualified people on every shift.
  • When covering absences or building the shift plan: who can run this station today?
  • Before a quality audit or customer visit that asks for evidence of competence (ISO 9001 clause 7.2 asks you to keep it).
  • When a new product, line or machine arrives and you need to decide who to train first.
  • When the same one or two people are always called in, or one retirement worries you.
  • When you plan who could step into a supervisor or specialist role, to see which tasks each candidate still needs to learn.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    List the tasks across the top

    Stations, machines and procedures the area really needs, written so they can be observed and signed off: "torque check, station 4", not "quality". Put safety-critical and customer-critical tasks first.
  2. 2

    List the people and their shift

    Everyone who works in the area, temporary staff included. The shift column is what lets the Excel count cover per shift.
  3. 3

    Rate each person against the standard

    Use the written standard for the task (the job breakdown or SOP). The trainer or team leader confirms the level by watching the person do the job, not by self-rating alone. Write your own one-line definition for each level.
  4. 4

    Set the cover you need

    For each task, how many people should be able to do it alone, overall and per shift. One more qualified person than the task needs at one time is a common starting rule, so one absence does not stop it.
  5. 5

    Read coverage, gaps and status

    Coverage counts people at 3 or 4. A task with one person is a single point of failure even if the gap looks small. Then check the cover by shift sheet: three qualified people all on days still leaves nights with none.
  6. 6

    Write the training plan

    Who will reach which level on which task, by when, and who trains them (a level 4). Work the biggest gaps first, then versatility. The Excel tells you whether each row closes a gap on that person's shift.
  7. 7

    Keep it live

    Change a level only after sign-off, and the plan flags rows signed off but not yet updated on the matrix. Review it on a fixed cycle, monthly for example, and whenever someone joins or leaves.

The scale

What each level means

Levels 1 to 4 line up with the ILUO letters common in lean plants. That convention is common practice, not a standard, so write your own definition for each level and keep it with the matrix.

  • 0

    Means
    Not trained
    ILUO letter
    None
    Harvey ball
    Empty
    Counts as cover?
    No
  • 1

    Means
    In training: knows the steps, works only under supervision
    ILUO letter
    I
    Harvey ball
    A quarter
    Counts as cover?
    No
  • 2

    Means
    Can do the task with help or checks
    ILUO letter
    L
    Harvey ball
    Half
    Counts as cover?
    No
  • 3

    Means
    Can do the task alone, to standard
    ILUO letter
    U
    Harvey ball
    Three quarters
    Counts as cover?
    Yes
  • 4

    Means
    Can do it alone and train others
    ILUO letter
    O
    Harvey ball
    Full
    Counts as cover?
    Yes, and as a trainer

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example (illustrative): an assembly cell with ten people on two shifts, five on days and five on lates, and eight tasks. Cover needed is 4 people per task overall and 2 per shift, example values the site sets. The Excel Example sheets give the same numbers.

The example's cover by shift: where the gap really is

  • 0 Not trained
  • 1 In training, supervised
  • 2 Can do it with help
  • 3 Can do it alone, to standard
  • 4 Can train others

Now: people at level 3 or 4, per shift

  1. Torque check, days1 persongap of 1
  2. Torque check, lates1 persongap of 1
  3. Fixture changeover, days3 peoplecovered
  4. Fixture changeover, latesnobodygap of 2

After the plan's sign-offs

  1. Torque check, days3 peoplecovered
  2. Torque check, lates2 peoplecovered
  3. Fixture changeover, lates2 peoplecovered

The skill scale runs from 0, not trained, to 4, can train others, and only levels 3 and 4 count as cover. Cover needed is 2 per shift. Torque check has 1 person on days and 1 on lates; fixture changeover has 3 on days and none on lates, a gap of 4 by shift where the overall count showed 3. After the plan's sign-offs: torque check 3 on days and 2 on lates, fixture changeover 2 on lates, and no gap.

Count cover by shift: the overall gap row said 3, but the late shift had nobody qualified on fixture changeover. Ana, the only level 4 on both tasks, is the trainer on five of the seven plan rows.
  • Six tasks have 7 to 10 people at level 3 or 4. Torque check has 2 (Ana on days, Fay on lates) and fixture changeover has 3, so the gap row shows 2 and 1: a total gap of 3 sign-offs.
  • The cover by shift sheet shows a gap of 4, not 3. Each shift has exactly one person for the torque check, and all three people qualified on fixture changeover work days, so the late shift has none.
  • Ana is the only level 4 on both short tasks, so she is the trainer on five of the seven plan rows: Dev and Ben (days) and Gus (lates) to level 3 on the torque check, Fay and Hana (lates) to level 3 on fixture changeover.
  • Two more rows, Eli on final inspection and Ivan on leak test, build versatility but close no gap; Ivan's sign-off is 5 days past its target date and the plan flags it.

Five of the seven rows close a gap. Once they are signed off, torque check goes from 1 to 3 people on days and 1 to 2 on lates, fixture changeover from 0 to 2 on lates, and the gap left after the plan is 0 on every task and shift.

Common mistakes

  • Listing job titles or vague skills

    "Quality" cannot be observed or signed off. "First-piece inspection on press 2" can.

  • Self-rating with no standard

    Without a written definition per level and a sign-off by someone who watched, levels drift upwards and the matrix stops meaning anything.

  • Counting everyone as cover

    People at level 1 or 2 cannot run the task alone. Count only levels 3 and 4.

  • Looking only at the total

    Four qualified people sounds safe until you see they all work days. Count cover per shift.

  • Training whoever is free

    Plan training against the gaps first. Rows that close no gap can wait, however keen the person is.

  • One trainer for everything

    If one person is the only level 4 on the short tasks, the plan depends on them too. Get a second person to level 4 on those tasks.

  • Building it once for an audit

    An out-of-date matrix is worse than none, because people trust it when they plan cover.

From this worksheet to a running system

LeanSuite keeps this as a live skills matrix: people qualify through training and digital sign-offs.

  • Each job profile (team) lists its required skills, levels and qualifications, such as required hours.
  • Sign-offs and passed courses raise skill levels, and the Job Cover Matrix shows who is qualified where.
  • Gap planning shows who needs which skills across the facility. Assign training straight from the gap view.
LeanSuite Skill Matrix for a packaging line team: seven skills down the side, six people across the top, and each person's level on each skill shown as a filled circle

In LeanSuite

Use this as a Lean Studio board

The same method is one of the 30 ready-made board templates in Lean Studio, LeanSuite's whiteboard: Skills Matrix, visualize team skill coverage and training gaps across key operations using I/L/U/O levels.

  • Start from the Skills Matrix template: a Table widget with people down the side and operations across the top.
  • Enter each person's level per operation as I, L, U or O, and colour the cell by level.
  • Add a sticky per training gap with the plan and the date, and update the level when the person signs off.

Worked example · sample data

The sample matrix covers three people across five operations. A. Kaur can teach setup, works alone on weld and pack, is learning inspection and is in training on the forklift. J. Lind can teach weld and forklift, works alone on inspect and pack, and is learning setup. M. Osei can teach inspection, works alone on weld, is learning pack, is in training on setup and has no forklift level at all, shown in red. The qualified row counts U or O per column: one for setup, three for weld, two each for inspect and pack, one for forklift. Setup and forklift each rest on one person. The team leader booked J. Lind's setup sign-off with A. Kaur as trainer first, since a setter off sick stops the shift, and put M. Osei on the next forklift course.

Three people against five operations with I, L, U or O in the cells, one empty red cell where M. Osei has no forklift skill, and a qualified count per operation. Sample data.

Open this board in LeanSuite

Skills Matrix is one of the 30 ready-made boards in Lean Studio, LeanSuite's whiteboard. Try LeanSuite in your browser, or run it on your own lines for 90 days.

What Lean Studio is

How to run a Skills Matrix session

  1. 1List the operations for the area across the top and the people down the side. Agree in writing what each level means: I in training, L learning, U works alone, O can teach.
  2. 2Fill it in with the team leader and each person, not from records alone. A person often knows they are no longer current on an operation.
  3. 3Read the columns: any operation with fewer than two people at U or O is a single point of failure.
  4. 4Plan training against the gaps: who, on what, with which trainer, by when. Put it on a sticky beside the matrix.
  5. 5Update levels only when a trainer signs off, and review the matrix monthly at the tier 2 meeting and whenever someone joins or leaves.

Common mistakes

  • Levels from memory, or from a course certificate years old.
  • No written definition of the levels, so O means something different on each shift.
  • Reading only the rows. The columns show the risk.
  • A matrix nobody updates, so the cover plan on a bad Monday is wrong.
  • Training the willing instead of training the gaps.

Where it goes next in LeanSuite

  • Competency Management keeps the matrix live: job profiles set the required skills and levels, trainers sign off on a tablet, levels rise from courses and sign-offs, and the Job Cover Matrix shows single points of failure and who to cross-train first. Competency Management
  • The training that closes a gap is assigned from the gap view, and passing a course linked to a skill raises the level on the matrix automatically. Trainings (LMS)
  • The Kaizen team builder suggests people by skill and workload, and a shadow can be added to a project to build a skill. Kaizen & Projects

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

LeanSuite gives you a live skills matrix: proficiency levels update as employees complete tasks and training in LeanSuite, and you can bulk-assign training to close the gaps it shows.

See it in a 45-minute demo

FAQ

Skills matrix template: common questions

  1. The names are often used for the same grid. Where they differ, a training matrix records which courses each person has completed, while a skills matrix records how well each person can actually do each task. This template records ability, and its training plan links each gap to the training that closes it.

  2. 0 is not trained and each level adds a quarter of the circle: 1 in training under supervision, 2 can do it with help, 3 can do it alone to standard, 4 can also train others. Levels 1 to 4 match the ILUO letters many lean plants use. Only levels 3 and 4 count as cover.

  3. Enough that one absence, holiday or resignation does not stop the work on any shift. A common starting rule is one more qualified person than the task needs at one time, per shift. Set your own number for each task and let the gap rows show where you fall short.

  4. A skills matrix is organized around people and shows each person's level on each task. A job cover matrix is organized around jobs and shows how many people can cover each one. The Cover by shift sheet in this Excel is the job cover view of the same ratings.

  5. The competency assessment form is the one-person check behind a single rating. The cross-training plan schedules one person's rotation through tasks. The skills matrix is the team view that shows where those checks and rotations are needed most.

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