The first-week checklist for a new operator in automation and robotics companies

Monday morning, a new wireman reports to a panel shop. He is shown his bench, handed a drawing and a box of ferrules, and left alone because the shop is behind on a dispatch. By Thursday he has wired half a section. The wire numbers follow his last employer's habit, not this shop's. The tester spots it on Friday, and the section is stripped and redone. The following Monday he does not come in.

The first week in an automation shop is short, and it sets habits that are hard to undo. This sheet fits panel shops, special-machine builders, robot cell build bays and sensor assembly lines. Print it on one page and keep it at the bench, not in a drawer.

Name, role, bench or bay, bench-mate, supervisor, joining date.
DAY 1, HR and supervisor: joining papers done; ID and gate pass issued; shift timing and attendance punch explained.
DAY 1, safety lead: floor walk; exits and first aid; PPE handed over and logged; safety shoes fitted.
DAY 1, supervisor: kit issued against the tool register, including ratchet crimper, wire stripper, torque screwdriver and multimeter.
DAY 2, bench-mate: how a job pack is laid out, with drawing, wire schedule, BOM and revision sheet.
DAY 2, bench-mate: shop standards shown on a finished panel or machine, such as bootlace ferrules, markers facing out, duct lids closing flat and earth bar links.
DAY 2, safety lead: lock-out and tag rules; no work on energised panels or inside a robot cell this week.
DAY 3, bench-mate: practice job starts on a scrap board or training panel, built to a real drawing.
DAY 3, supervisor: ESD strap and mat explained wherever boards or sensing elements are handled.
DAY 4, bench-mate: practice job finished; crimp pull test on sample lugs; continuity check done by the joiner while the bench-mate watches.
DAY 4, stores: how kitting and issue slips work, and where rejected parts go.
DAY 5, senior tester: practice job checked; each fault explained to the joiner, not fixed quietly.
DAY 5, supervisor: ten-minute talk covering the hardest task, any confusing symbol and the plan for week two.
Sign-off: joiner, bench-mate, supervisor. HR files this page on Friday.

Print one copy per joiner. The bench-mate keeps it at the bench and ticks lines as they happen. The supervisor initials each day before the shift ends, which takes a minute. On Friday HR collects the page, files it in the personnel record and notes any line left blank. A blank line is a question for Monday, not a failure.

• HR or the office. Joining papers, gate pass, attendance set-up and the filed page.
• Safety lead. The floor walk, PPE issue, lock-out rules and the week-one ban on energised work.
• Supervisor. Tool issue, the daily initials and the Friday talk.
• Bench-mate. An experienced hand on the same bench who shows the standards and watches the practice job.
• Senior tester. The Friday check of the practice job, with each fault explained.
• The joiner. Signs the page and says what is still unclear.

• Cutting and stripping. Side-cutters, an automatic wire stripper and a duct cutter that leaves square ends.
• Termination. A ratchet crimper with the right dies, bootlace ferrules by core size, ring lugs and a pull-test hook.
• Marking. Access to the label-printer, heat-shrink sleeves and a heat-gun, with the shop's marker style pinned above the bench.
• Fixing. Allen keys, a nut-runner set and a torque screwdriver set to the terminal maker's figure.
• Testing. A multimeter with a continuity buzzer, and supervised use of the insulation-resistance tester.
• Fine work, where relevant. Tweezers, a loupe, flux pen and a wrist strap for anyone near boards or sensing elements.

A practice job to a real drawing shows in four days what a new hand actually knows. Some arrive able to lace a loom neatly but unable to follow a wire schedule. Others read schematics well but crimp lugs loose enough to fail a pull test. The Friday check finds out which. It also teaches the shop's own habits, such as ferrule direction, duct fill and label placement, before the joiner touches a customer panel. A structured learning plan picks up from here with the stages after week one.

Week one is not the time for live work. Keep new joiners off energised panels, out of robot cells and away from pressure or temperature test rigs. They stay off until they have been shown the lock-out routine and the cell entry rules. A rushed dispatch is the usual reason this step gets skipped. The robot cell safety induction notes describe the habits worth building.

• No bench-mate named. The joiner learns from whoever is nearest, shortcuts included.
• Tools issued without a register. Missing crimpers turn into an argument at exit.
• Practice job skipped for a rush. The first real job becomes the practice job, on a customer's panel.
• Faults fixed quietly. The senior corrects the work and the joiner never learns what was wrong.
• No Friday talk. Early doubts go home with the joiner and come back as a resignation.

Week one hands over to a longer plan. The onboarding page for sensor makers shows a first-month path built on practice units. A three-stage onboarding plan template carries the joiner through the months after. The automation and robotics sector page covers the wider people problems in panel, machine and cell building.