February2020

BoostingValueinaTechnicalManualByShannonThompson,DocumentationSpecialist,CorporateProjectServices,WengerManufacturing,Inc.

Ican’tsayIknowanyonewhowouldcallanoperationsmanual“riveting”ora“realpageturner”—buthereatCorporateProjectServiceswetreattheseresourcesasanopportunitytoaddvalueforourclients.

Thoughtechnicalinnature,welookatthemasacommunicationtoolthatweusetohelpourclientsbridgethegapbetweenideasandexecution.AllofusatCPS,andWengerManufacturingasawhole,strivetocreatethiskindofvalueeachandeveryday—andthatcoverseverythingfromequipmenttoprocessestoourconsultingservices…andevenouroperationsmanuals.

IleadtheTechnicalPublicationsGroupforCPS,andourobjectiveistocreateinstructionalresourcesthatempowerclientstogetthemostproductivitypossiblefromtheirWengerequipment.Whatwecreateincludesinstallation,howtorunitandadjustsettings,cleaningandsanitation,howtotieittootherpiecesofequipment,andmore,dependingontheclients’needs.

Wedon’tlookateachprojectasjustanothertechnicalmanual;weseeitasanopportunitytooffersomethingusefulandbeneficialtoclients.Thatrequiresthinkingbeyondourtechnicalexpertisetocapturewhat’srelevantandmeaningful—the“how”andthe“why”ofallthe

processesandoperationsassociatedwithfactoryequipment.

Why?Becauseeventhoughit’satechnicaldocument,it’salsoacommunicationvehicle.Andforthattobeeffective,wehavetothinkaboutitinawaythat’sdifferentthanexpected.

Yet,simplifyingcomplexinformationcanbeastretchforourtechnicalbrains.Ourworldisfilledwithengineersandprocesstechnologyexperts,sowenaturallydefaulttotechnicaljargon…becausethat’sjustthewaywethink.Sothekeyistogostraighttothesourcetopickoutwhat’smeaningfulsoyoureallycanbridge

thatgapratherthanjustcreatingahow-todocument.

BeyondNutsandBoltsWhenItookthisrolewithCPSafewyearsago,mymanagertoldmerightoutofthegatetobecomeknowledgeableabouteverything—thatmeantengineering,extrusion,safety,dryingandeveryothercomponentourbusinessoffers.There’sgeniusthinkinginthatbecausedocumentingthestepsinsettingupatwin-screwextruderisfardifferentthanunderstandingWHYthosestepsareimportant,andhowtheyfitintotheoverallprocess.

That’swhereon-the-groundexperiencereallymakesadifference,andhowwereallygetto

February2020

theheartofit—the“how”andthe“why,”ifyouwill.

Nothingbeatshands-onexperiencewhenitcomestolearning.Youcanspendhoursatyourdeskreadingabouthowamachineworks,andthatwillgiveyouinformationandideas.Butthere’snosubstituteforwhatyougainfromobservingtheequipmentandalltherelatedprocessesinactionwithyourowneyes.It’showyoudiscovertheissuesoperatorsmayrunintowithinstallationsandhowtheyneedtoworkwiththesettingsonthemachinetoaddressthem.Thisexperiencetellsyouwhichstepsrequirelessexplanation,andwhicharethemostrelevantandusefultotheclientandthereforedeservemoreattention.

ImmersingmyselfwiththeequipmentishowI’mabletocraftthemostbeneficial,all-encompassingresourcepossible.OnlythroughthissubmersionintotheenvironmentandtheprocessesishowIcanpickoutwhat’srelevantandassesswhichpartsnecessitatemoreexplanationandinwhatform.Ilearnwhat’simportant,whatquestionstoask,anditpreparesmetofieldquestionsfromclients(orknowwhototurntofortheanswer).WhileImaynoteverbeamasterofthesedisciplines,havingasolidunderstandingaboutthemishowIbringvaluetotheendproduct.

PickingOutWhatMattersMostOurmanualsarenotonesizefitsall,andwetailorthemforeachclientbyfirstunderstandinghowthisequipmentfitsintotheirgoals.

Todeterminetherightapproach,youhavetostartattheend—whatdoesthecompletemanualneedtolooklike?Whatdoweneedittoaccomplish?Whatproblemsdoweneedittosolve?Whataretheinterlockingpieces?Knowingthesefactorshelpsus—onceagain—gettothe“why”andthe“how”foreachclient.Thenwemaketheroadmap.

Lookingatitfromeveryangleisthekey.You’vegottobeupcloseandpersonalwiththeequipment,butyou’vealsogottotakeastepbacktoseeitfromabroaderpointofview.Sometimesanoutsidesourcecomesupwiththebestquestions—somyadvicealwaysistofindaneutralpartytotestwhatyou’vewritten.Heorshecanflagstepsthatareconfusingthatwemaynotnoticebecauseweseeiteveryday.

Wealsohavetotakeintoconsiderationthevariousaudiencesandtheirinformationneeds.Itmustbeuser-centricandeffectiveforthefactoryfloor,becauseapoorlycraftedresourcecanleadtoerrorsanddowntime.Puttingyourselfintheirshoeshelpsguideselectionofrelevantinformationtoinclude.

Customersdon’tnecessarilyaskforthis—mostmayassumewhatwecreateisjustatechnicaldocumenttokeepontheshelfandreferencewhenneeded.Butoncetheyhaveit,theyseethevalue.Theydidn’tknowtheyneededituntiltheyhaveit—andthenwe’veexceededtheirexpectations.

Ourintentwiththesetechnicalmanualsistoprovidethelinkbetweenthecustomerandgettingthemostfromtheirextrusionequipmentandprocesses—it’sjustoneofmanywaysCPSbridgesthegap,andweworkhardtofulfillthatgoaleveryday.

IfyouhavequestionsforCPSorwanttolearnmoreabouthowourconsultingservicesandresourcescanhelpyoureachyourgoals,pleasereachouttoourteam.

CorporateProjectServices,adivisionofWengerManufacturing,isadynamicgroupofplanningspecialistsbackedbyWenger’smorethan80yearsofprocesssystemsupplytotheindustry.Ourknowledgebaseandbreadthofexperienceinextrusionprocessingandfacilitiesconstructionisunsurpassed–andourcommitmenttoexcellenceisrecognizedaroundtheworld.