Traditional methods of updating and distributing process documentation can be incredibly time consuming.
For one Fortune 100 heavy machinery manufacturer, the manual process of updating work instructions and managing document revisions was causing significant bottlenecks.
Here’s how Dozuki helped them save labor costs at their first facility, but more importantly, laid a foundation for impact far beyond cost-cutting. You’ll learn how your company can usher in a new era of operational efficiency on a global scale.
The Challenge: Document Revisions, Approvals, and Communications Bottlenecked
For the Document Control Specialist, making changes to work instructions and part revision documentation was a daily task. Each time a customer requested a change or a revision number needed updating, the process was manual and labor-intensive.
The Old Way:
Before implementing Dozuki, this manufacturer relied on a time consuming, manual process to manage document updates and training revisions:
- Manual Updates: Document Control Specialists received revision requests via email, often triggered by customer updates or part changes. The revisions were made in documents stored on a legacy file server.
- Signoff and Compliance: Gathering approvals was a slow, manual process. Supervisors and quality managers reviewed emailed summaries of changes, then responded with their approval via email—adding delays to ensure compliance with company standards.
- Printing and Distribution: Once approved, the updated documents had to be printed and distributed across multiple production lines. These printed versions were placed in training manuals, often stored far from the work area, causing inefficiencies.
- Training: After distribution, Team Leads manually updated spreadsheets to track which Operators needed re-training on the new revisions. This entire process of updating, signing off, printing, distributing, and training took 2-3 days and occurred daily due to frequent revisions, creating a significant operational bottleneck.
For a company focused on efficiency, this slow process created a bottleneck in operations.
The Solution: Instant Updates with Dozuki
By adopting Dozuki, the manufacturer is on pace to save roughly ~$2.6M annually through their document control and training updates:
- Single-Source Editing: The client transformed their document management by implementing Single-Source Editing. Changes were made directly within the system and instantly accessible to Supervisors for approval and Operators on the floor. They no longer needed to rely on printed copies or manual distribution. Instead, all instructions were digital and accessible from tablets and mobile devices at workstations, streamlining real-time production adjustments and eliminating outdated processes.
- Automated Approval Workflow: The client saw immediate improvements with Dozuki’s Automated Approval Workflow. Revisions flowed through an automated approval process, eliminating the back-and-forth of email chains. Managers received updates directly within the system, reviewed the changes, and provided electronic approvals with a single click, accelerating compliance without adding extra work for the Document Control Specialist. This process eliminated delays and kept operations moving smoothly.
- Instant Access for Operators: Once updates were approved, they were automatically published across all relevant production lines in digital format. Operators had instant access to the latest instructions in real-time, ensuring everyone was working with the most current information. Updates were even scheduled to align with planned production adjustments, ensuring seamless transitions without interrupting workflows or causing downtime.
- Continuous Training Automation: The manufacturer also automated their training processes with Dozuki. Whenever a document was updated, the system tracked which team members required retraining and automatically initiated the process. Operators were notified through in-app alerts for minor updates, and major updates triggered retraining directly within the system. Supervisors no longer had to manually track or enforce training, drastically reducing the burden on Team Leads while maintaining compliance effortlessly. This automation ensured that all training was always up to date, critical in their fast-paced and safety-focused environment.
By automating and streamlining the document update process for just one Document Control Specialist, this manufacturer saved 20 hours per week in labor, equating to $26,000 annually in labor cost savings.
But that’s only the beginning.
To fully grasp the scale of impact from this single workflow optimization in Dozuki, consider the implications as they are scaling across the broader enterprise.
The reported savings represent only one facility and one individual. This labor-saving automation applies to just a fraction of the hundreds of facilities operated by this company. As Dozuki is being deployed across all these locations, the savings are exponential.
- Facility Count: With hundreds of locations globally, initial targets for scaling this document control workflow across 100 facilities is forecast to yield $2.6 million in savings annually.
- Labor Multiplier: Each facility has multiple Document Control Specialists, Supervisors, and Team Leads involved in manual updates, compliance approvals, and training processes. Scaling these time savings across several roles exponentially increases efficiency and cost reduction.
Currently, each facility employs five key personnel managing similar workflows, meaning these savings are forecast to scale up to $13 million annually once fully deployed.
Also, for operational efficiency on a global scale beyond labor savings, there are additional benefits to consider:
- Faster Rollouts: With Dozuki, document updates are instant, ensuring every employee operates with the most up-to-date information. Across hundreds of locations, this uniformity leads to fewer errors, increased productivity, and enhanced compliance, reducing costly production delays or errors.
- Enterprise-Level Consistency: When a change is made at headquarters, it’s seamlessly reflected across all facilities without delays, ensuring global alignment with safety standards and production best practices.
Your operation can see similar benefits. By scaling Dozuki across hundreds of facilities, just like this manufacturer, you have the potential to unlock millions of dollars in savings, dramatically reduce production bottlenecks, and enhance operational agility.
This isn't just an incremental improvement—it's a transformative leap toward unparalleled efficiency across the enterprise.
This is the power of scaling with Dozuki: a solution that starts with a single location and scales into an engine of savings and productivity across the entire global operation.