The first-week checklist for a new operator in electronics and embedded systems companies

A new operator's first week in an electronics unit settles two things. Whether the boards they touch survive it, and whether they return after the first weekend. A missing wrist strap may not show until functional test, or until a field return months later. A joiner placed on the pace-setting station on day one may simply not come back.

Print one copy for each newcomer and clip it to their bench for six days. It fits PCB assembly, EMS and finished-product lines. Every tick needs a name beside it, not just a mark. Why these units lose and spoil so much in week one is set out on our electronics trade page.

Day 1. Joining papers complete, gate pass and canteen card issued, locker allotted.
Day 1. Floor walk with the supervisor: stores, SMT line, benches, test, packing, first-aid box, fire exits.
Day 1. Static control shown and practised: wrist strap and its tester, heel grounders, smock, grounded mat, ioniser.
Day 1. Board handling: hold by the edges, use shielded bags and conductive trays, never stack bare boards.
Day 2. Bench safety: iron tip and holder, sponge and brass wool, fume extractor on, flux and isopropyl alcohol storage, burns first aid.
Day 2. Reading a traveller card and the photo work instruction for the first station.
Day 2. Buddy named and introduced. The buddy sits beside the joiner for the week.
Day 3. First station beside the buddy at reduced pace. Supervisor inspects the first ten boards.
Day 3. Stores explain reel labels, moisture-sensitive bags, humidity cards and how kits reach the line.
Day 4. Supervised work continues. Questions written on the back of this sheet and answered before shift end.
Day 5. Practical check: one real board from this station inspected under magnification. Pass, or repeat the station.
Day 6. Ten-minute seated talk with the supervisor and HR: what was hard, transport, shift timing, next station.
Signatures: joiner, buddy, supervisor, HR. Date filed.

Keep it to a single page. A three-page sheet is read as far as page one.

The day-one order is deliberate. Static damage to a MOSFET or a microcontroller pin is invisible at the bench. It shows later as a board that fails test intermittently, or a unit that dies in the field. So the strap tester, the heel grounders and edge handling come before any tool. Have the joiner test their own strap in front of the buddy each morning of the week, until it is habit.

• Tinning a fresh tip, wiping it on damp sponge or brass wool, and parking the iron in its holder every time.
• Using a flux pen and solder wick sparingly, and cleaning residue with isopropyl alcohol on a lint-free swab.
• Holding tweezers for small passives, and reading polarity marks on diodes, electrolytics and LEDs.
• Switching on the fume extractor and checking its filter before the first joint.
• Reading an MSL label and a humidity indicator card, and returning opened reels to the dry cabinet.
• Setting the magnifier lamp so the joint, not the operator's eyes, takes the strain.

• HR: day-one papers, gate pass, canteen and locker, the day-six talk, and filing the signed sheet.
• Supervisor: the floor walk, the choice of first station, the first ten boards and the day-five check.
• Buddy: static, handling and bench safety practice, plus the question list. A seasoned operator from that shift, never the supervisor.
• Stores: reel labels, moisture-sensitive packing and how material is issued to the line.
• Joiner: signs each day, and writes or tells the buddy anything that was unclear.

Choose buddies who are patient and stay on the joiner's shift all week. A buddy rotated to nights on day three breaks the chain. Lower the buddy's target that week and tell the line why, or the buddy will pick output over teaching.

Fine assembly is learned by repetition at one task. Moving a joiner across three stations in a week leaves three half-formed habits. Keep them at one station until the day-five check, then add the second. Raise the pace slowly. A line at full speed teaches shortcuts, not good fillets.

The day-five board becomes line one of the person's skill record. Use a real board, inspected under magnification by the supervisor or a trainer, with the result written down. If it fails, repeat the station for a few more days. Resist moving the joiner on simply because a stool is empty.

Hold the day-six talk seated in the canteen or training room, for about ten minutes. Ask what was hardest, whether shift timing and transport work, and whether anything said at hiring turned out different on the floor. Write the answers down. Early exits often start with a small mismatch, such as a bus that leaves a few minutes before the shift change.

1. 1

   Stagger a hiring batch

   Before a festive or seasonal peak, start joiners in small groups across a fortnight, so each buddy has one joiner and not five.

2. 2

   Brief buddies the day before

   Ten minutes on what they will show, what to watch for and how to fill the sheet.

3. 3

   Read every sheet on day six

   HR reads all sheets from the batch and notes shared problems, such as one confusing work instruction or a shift end that misses the last bus.

4. 4

   Fix one thing before the next batch

   Change the work instruction, the station order or the shift timing, and tell the next batch's buddies what changed.

The sheet is week one of a longer plan. Onboarding on the production floor covers the months that follow, and the onboarding process for electronic product manufacturers shows how it runs on a high-volume line. For the paperwork before day one, use the joining checklist template.