TWI Job Instruction: How Japanese Plants Run OJT in 4 Steps

You supervise a line at a Japanese-owned plant in Thailand, India, or the US. A new hire keeps skipping a step that was "explained twice." Your Japanese manager hands you a sheet with two columns, omona suteppu (important steps) and kyusho (key points), and asks you to teach the job "using the four steps." What is that method, and what does the Japanese side expect from you?

Most of the time it is TWI Job Instruction (JI), a US wartime training method that Japanese factories adopted after World War II and still use for on-the-job training (OJT). It has two parts: four things to prepare before you teach, and four steps for the teaching itself. When every trainer follows the same steps, results depend less on who does the teaching.

This guide covers why Japanese plants care about the method, the Japanese terms you will hear, the preparation, the four steps, how to decide when a new hire can work alone, how safety training fits in, and common mistakes. It ends with a checklist and a list of questions to ask your Japanese counterpart.

Contents

1. Why Japanese Plants Care About How OJT Is Taught
2. Japanese OJT Terms You Will Hear
3. What Is TWI Job Instruction?
4. Before You Teach: Four Ways to Get Ready
5. The Four Steps of Job Instruction
6. When Can a New Hire Work Alone?
7. Safety Training Is Not Left to OJT
8. Common OJT Mistakes and How to Fix Them
9. Checklist: Teaching a Job the TWI Way
10. Questions to Ask Your Japanese Trainer or Manager
11. Where This Guide Does Not Apply
12. FAQ
13. Sources

Why Japanese Plants Care About How OJT Is Taught

OJT is training done while the person works their normal job. Training away from the job, such as classroom courses, is called Off-JT in Japan. Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) defines "planned OJT" as OJT with a set trainer, trainee, period, and content, carried out step by step and continuously. Its example: a line leader teaching subordinates work methods based on a training plan.

In the MHLW's FY2025 Basic Survey on Human Resource Development (establishments with 30 or more regularly employed workers; planned OJT results for FY2024), 60.6% of establishments across all industries gave regular employees planned OJT. Manufacturing was slightly higher at 64.8%. That still leaves more than 30% of manufacturing establishments without planned OJT for regular employees. Smaller sites do less: 44.4% for establishments with 30–49 employees, against 78.4% for those with 1,000 or more.

Figure 1: OJT in Japan by the Numbers

About six in ten establishments provide planned OJT, and many report a shortage of people who can teach.

Manufacturing, regular employees64.8% run planned OJTAll industries: 60.6%. For new hires, 52.3% of establishments across all industries

All industries80.1% report training problemsShare of establishments with some problem in skills development or training

All industries, top problems59.5% lack people to teachFollowed by "trained staff quit" (51.6%) and "no time for training" (45.5%); multiple answers allowed

Source: MHLW, FY2025 Basic Survey on Human Resource Development, establishment survey (30 or more regularly employed workers; valid response rate 54.2%). Planned OJT figures are FY2024 results.

The same survey found that 80.1% of establishments have some problem with skills development. The most common is a shortage of people who can teach (59.5%), followed by "trained staff quit" (51.6%) and "no time for training" (45.5%). Japan's 2026 White Paper on Manufacturing (Monozukuri Hakusho), using the previous year's survey (FY2024, published June 2025), reports that 62.8% of manufacturing establishments with training problems named a shortage of trainers, with the problems ranked in the same order as across all industries. Because the survey years differ, do not compare that figure directly with the FY2025 numbers above.

The takeaway for an overseas plant is the same as for a Japanese one. When trainers and time are both short, the answer is not longer training but a teaching method that works in a short time and that every trainer uses the same way.

Japanese OJT Terms You Will Hear

You may hear these Japanese words from Japanese trainers or see them on forms. The right column gives the English terms commonly used in TWI materials or in plants for the same ideas.

Figure 2: Japanese OJT Terms and Their English Equivalents

Romaji, Japanese, and the term used in English-language TWI materials.

Japanese

Meaning

TWI / English term

Shigoto no oshiekata (仕事の教え方)

"How to teach a job"; the Japanese name for JI

Job Instruction (JI)

Kunren yoteihyo (訓練予定表)

Who to train, on which job, by when

Time table (training timetable)

Sagyo bunkai (作業分解)

Splitting a job into steps and key points

Job breakdown / job breakdown sheet

Omona suteppu (主なステップ)

The steps that move the job forward

Important steps

Kyusho (急所)

What you must get right in each step

Key points (with reasons)

Hitoridachi (一人立ち)

Working independently, with periodic follow-up checks

Signed off / qualified to work independently

Rikiryo-hyo (力量表)

Matrix of who can do which job

Skill matrix / skill map

Sagyo hyojunsho (作業標準書)

The written standard for a job

Work instruction / standard work document

The English column follows common TWI usage. Your company may use different names; check its forms.

What Is TWI Job Instruction?

TWI (Training Within Industry) is an in-company training program for supervisors, developed in the US during World War II. Skilled workers were scarce, and factories needed to make inexperienced people productive quickly. In 1950, the program was introduced from the US to Japan's Ministry of Labour, which then supported its spread across the country. In Japan today, organizations such as the Japan Industrial Training Association (founded 1955) still run courses.

TWI lists five needs of a supervisor: knowledge of the work, knowledge of responsibilities, skill in improving methods, skill in leading people, and skill in instructing. Job Instruction (JI) trains the skill of instructing. It sits beside Job Methods (JM) and Job Relations (JR).

One line sums up JI: "If the worker hasn't learned, the instructor hasn't taught." Instead of blaming the learner's ability or attitude, the trainer looks at how the job was taught. The four steps are the famous part, but in practice JI puts as much weight on preparing before you teach.

Figure 3: How TWI Job Instruction Fits Together

Prepare first, then teach in four steps, then keep checking.

Before teaching: get readyHave a time table / Break down the job / Have everything ready / Arrange the workplace

Once ready, teach

The four steps of instructionStep 1 Prepare the worker → Step 2 Present the operation → Step 3 Try out performance → Step 4 Follow up

Continues after the person starts work

Sign-off and timetable updateCheck often, taper off coaching, and add each new skill to the time table

Item and step names follow common English TWI wording. The Japanese source cites the MHLW guide TWI Katsuyo no Tebiki: Shigoto no Oshiekata via a paper by Inada and Yamaguchi (Nakagami). The bottom box is this guide's summary.

Japanese managers sometimes quote a saying attributed to Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto: "Show them, tell them, have them do it, and praise them, or people will not move." The order of showing, telling, and having the person try matches JI. JI adds the job breakdown before teaching and the follow-up afterward, and it fixes the details so that every trainer teaches the same way. It is a shared shop-floor rule, not a personal attitude.

Before You Teach: Four Ways to Get Ready

Busy lines tend to skip preparation and start teaching on the spot. JI lists four things to do first, in this order: have a time table, break down the job, have everything ready, and arrange the workplace.

Have a Time Table

The training time table (kunren yoteihyo) specifies who will be trained, on which job, and by when. It is the "plan" in planned OJT. Lay it out as a grid of people and jobs. You will see jobs that only one person can do, and gaps that a resignation or transfer would open. It also makes it easier to decide, against the production plan, which job to teach a new hire first.

Figure 4: Training Time Table (Fictional Example)

For each job, list who can do it now and who will be trained by when.

Job

Can do it now

Who, by when

Drilling on a drill press

A, B

C (new hire) by the 2nd week of October

Tapping

A, B

C by the 4th week of October

Visual inspection

A

B by end of October; C by the 2nd week of November

Changeover

A only

B by end of December (A is due to transfer)

Fictional workplace. Set deadlines from the production plan and the person's progress, and review them.

A skill matrix (rikiryo-hyo) shows the whole team's skills. The time table pulls out the next part of it: who teaches what to whom, with a deadline.

Related: Skill Matrix Template: Rikiryo-hyo Japanese Customers Audit

Break Down the Job

A job breakdown splits the job into important steps and picks out the key points (kyusho) for each. Important steps move the job forward. Key points are what the person must keep in mind to do a step correctly. A key point is anything that makes or breaks the job, could injure the worker, or makes the work easier. The Japanese guide states that safety is always a key point, so anything that could cause an injury goes on the sheet.

Experienced workers know the job by feel and often demonstrate it without putting the key points into words. Writing them down before teaching reduces gaps in the explanation and differences between trainers.

Figure 5: Job Breakdown Sheet (Fictional Example: Bench Drill Press)

For each important step, write the key point and the reason for it.

Important step

Key point

Reason

1 Put on PPE and check clothing

Wear safety glasses. Remove gloves. Button cuffs; tuck hair into a cap

Keeps chips out of the eyes. Gloves, sleeves, and hair can be caught by the spinning drill

2 Clamp the workpiece

Hold it with a vise or clamp, not by hand

Stops the part from spinning when the drill breaks through

3 Mount the drill

Insert fully and tighten. Always remove the chuck key

Prevents runout. A key left in the chuck gets thrown when the spindle starts

4 Drill the hole

Line the tip up with the punch mark. Ease off the feed at breakthrough

Keeps the hole in position. Prevents the drill from grabbing and breaking

5 Stop and clear chips

Wait until the spindle stops fully, then brush chips away, not by hand

No contact with moving parts. No cuts from chips

Illustrative example only, not a work instruction. Real key points depend on the machine, the material, and your own work standards and local safety rules. In Japan, Article 111 of the Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health prohibits gloves where hands could be caught by rotating tools such as drill presses, and Article 110 requires caps and work clothes where hair or clothing could be caught.

Size the steps to the learner. People can only take in so much at once, so a job with too many important steps is better taught over two sessions. Avoid vague key points such as "be careful" or "tighten firmly." Say where to look and what the right condition looks like, so the learner can check their own work.

Have Everything Ready and Arrange the Workplace

The third and fourth items are having the right equipment, tools, and materials ready, and arranging the workplace properly. If you teach with makeshift tools or leave mid-lesson to fetch material, the learner will copy that as the normal way. The same goes for the workplace: arrange it just as the worker will be expected to keep it, because the trainer is setting the example.

This is also the time to check that your breakdown does not conflict with the plant's work instruction (sagyo hyojunsho). If the two differ, sort out which one reflects the correct method before you teach.

The Four Steps of Job Instruction

With preparation done, teach in four steps. Each step has set sub-items. The Japanese names below come from the MHLW guide as quoted in the paper cited in the sources; they match the English TWI card closely.

Figure 6: The Four Steps of Job Instruction

Don't stop at explaining. Have the person do it, check, and keep checking after they start work.

Step 1: Prepare the workerPut the person at ease and say what the job is. Find out what they already know. Place them in the correct position

Step 2: Present the operationTell, show, and illustrate one important step at a time. Stress each key point

Step 3: Try out performanceHave the person do the job and correct errors. Have them explain the steps, then the key points, as they do it again

Step 4: Follow upPut the person on their own. Name who to ask for help. Check often, then taper off coaching

Japanese step names: narau junbi o saseru, sagyo o setsumei suru, yarasete miru, oshieta ato o miru. English wording follows the common TWI card.

Step 1: Prepare the Worker

• Put the person at ease
• Tell them what job they will learn
• Find out what they already know about it
• Get them interested in learning the job
• Place them in the correct position

This step is about the learner, not the job. A nervous person does not take in explanations, so help them relax and say what you are about to teach. Then ask how much they already know. Someone who ran a similar machine at a previous job needs a different level of detail from someone who has never held the tool.

To build interest, say in one sentence where this job shows up in the product or what the next process uses it for. Last, have them stand where they can see your hands clearly. Facing each other reverses left and right, so stand side by side.

Step 2: Present the Operation

• Tell, show, and illustrate one important step at a time
• Stress each key point
• Instruct clearly, completely, and patiently
• Do not give more than the person can master at one time

Use the important steps and key points from your breakdown. Do not say everything at once; go through the job several times and add detail each pass. Start with the big picture ("This job has five important steps"). On the first pass, do the job while naming only the important steps. On the second, add the key points. On the third, add the reason for each key point.

Explaining reasons helps the learner understand the job instead of memorizing it. A person who knows why gloves come off, or why the feed eases at breakthrough, can make the same call when the material or machine changes. "Do not give more than the person can master" means you do not cram to suit your own schedule. Watch the learner and make the steps smaller or split the lesson over several days if needed.

Step 3: Try Out Performance

• Have the person do the job and correct errors
• Have them explain each important step as they do it
• Have them do it again and state the key points
• Continue until you know they understand

This step also moves from the whole to the details. First, let the person do the job once without talking. If they are about to make a mistake, stop and correct it on the spot, because a wrong movement repeated becomes a habit. Next, have them name the important steps while they work. Then have them do it once more while stating the key points. The aim is to confirm both that their hands can do it and that they can put the key points into words.

Asking "Do you understand?" and hearing "Yes" does not count as checking. Keep having the person do the job and explain it until you, the trainer, are sure they have it. When you correct a mistake, say exactly what was different about the work. Criticizing the person's character or ability makes them reluctant to ask questions, which makes the next step harder.

Step 4: Follow Up

• Put the person on their own
• Name who they should go to for help
• Check frequently
• Encourage questions
• Taper off coaching

Even when a person gets it right just after training, steps can drop out or drift into their own way once they work alone. Step 4 is the check after they start the real job. First, tell them who to ask when they are unsure. If the trainer works on another process or another shift, name a contact for each shift. At the start, check at short intervals and invite questions. As you confirm they are doing it right, check less often.

When Can a New Hire Work Alone?

To "taper off coaching," you need to decide in advance what the person must show before you leave them on their own (hitoridachi). Without criteria, the timing depends on the trainer's gut and ends up too early or too late. Criteria differ by workplace, but these are easy to check on the floor:

• Safety: follows PPE rules and prohibitions without reminders
• Quality: follows the standard procedure and consistently makes parts that pass the required inspection
• Time: works within the standard time
• Abnormal situations: stops work when something seems wrong and reports to the designated person

The last one is the easiest to overlook. Making parts by the procedure and stopping and reporting, instead of trying a fix, when something falls outside the procedure are separate skills. It is safer to confirm both before signing someone off.

Figure 7: Follow-Up Schedule After Training (Fictional Example)

Check often at first, then less as the person proves they can do the job.

Training dayWatch the first few parts and each break pointStand beside them and confirm steps and key points. Remind them who to ask

First weekCheck several times a dayCheck the parts and the time the job takes. Ask if anything is giving them trouble

After thatSign off once criteria are metRecord the sign-off and move to the next job on the time table. Keep regular checks

Periods and frequencies are illustrative. Set them by the job's difficulty and hazard level.

Once the person is signed off, enter the date on the time table or skill matrix. The record shows what to teach next, lets the person see their own progress, and helps when trainers change. If it shows which jobs were taught, how far, and what was confirmed, the next trainer avoids repeating explanations or missing items.

Safety Training Is Not Left to OJT

Companies decide how they run OJT, but in Japan some safety and health training is required by law and cannot be treated as "covered during OJT." The main Japanese requirements are:

• Training at hiring and at a change of work (Industrial Safety and Health Act, Article 59): content is listed in Article 35 of the Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health, including machine and material hazards, safety devices and PPE, work procedures, and start-of-work checks. A topic can be skipped only for workers recognized as having enough knowledge and skill in that topic; being busy or seeming experienced is not a reason. A transfer to a different job counts as a change of work.
• Special education (tokubetsu kyoiku, also Article 59): required before assigning certain hazardous jobs, such as changing grinding wheels, arc welding, and driving forklifts under 1 tonne maximum load. You cannot teach and assign that job to someone who has not had it.
• Training for new foremen (shokucho kyoiku, Article 60): required in manufacturing (with some exceptions) for people newly placed in charge of directly supervising workers. It totals 12 hours or more and includes "methods of guidance and education," so teaching skill is part of the legal training in Japan.

These rules apply to workplaces in Japan. Outside Japan, your local safety regulations decide what training is mandatory and how it is recorded; confirm the requirements with whoever handles safety compliance at your site. A job breakdown sheet still makes a useful teaching aid for safety training, because it lists safety-related key points with reasons. For a related Japanese safety practice, see Kiken Yochi (KY) Training.

Related: Kiken Yochi (KY) Training: Japan’s Hazard Prediction Method

Common OJT Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Knowing the method does not stop the same mistakes from repeating on the floor. Most come from skipping preparation, Step 3, or Step 4.

Figure 8: Common OJT Mistakes and Fixes

Most problems trace back to skipping preparation or Steps 3 and 4.

Mistake

What happens

Fix

Teaching too much at once

Later steps get dropped; key points don't stick

Break the job into important steps; split long jobs into sessions

Only demonstrating

The motion can be copied, but key points and reasons are lost

Explain in three passes: steps, key points, reasons

Each trainer teaches differently

The learner can't tell which way is right and invents their own

Put the breakdown on one sheet that every trainer uses

Teach and walk away

Nobody notices when the method drifts days later

Name a contact and put follow-up checks on the calendar

Hard to ask questions

The person keeps working without understanding, leading to defects or injuries

Correct the work, not the person. Stop and answer when questions come

This guide's summary based on the TWI JI preparation items and four steps.

"No time to teach." The survey showed this too. Use the time table: build who teaches whom, and when, into the production plan, and treat that time as real work. Otherwise daily production squeezes it out.

Too much load on a few trainers. With a shared breakdown, anyone who has been signed off on a job can teach the next person, not just the veterans. The 2026 White Paper on Manufacturing describes companies that include veterans' teaching of younger workers in performance reviews.

Treating all learners the same. In the same MHLW survey, 25.7% of establishments with skills-transfer problems said the age or skill gap between trainers and trainees was too wide for good communication. "Find out what they already know" in Step 1 is how you treat each person individually.

Two problems lie outside the teaching method. If trained people keep quitting, look at onboarding and follow-up interviews as well. And if the work method itself is not standardized, careful teaching will still give inconsistent results. For another Japanese shop-floor program that includes worker training, see Jishu Hozen 7 Steps.

Related: Standardized Work Instructions: Sagyo Hyojunsho Template

Checklist: Teaching a Job the TWI Way

Use this before and after each training session.

• Time table shows who, which job, and by what date
• Job breakdown sheet written, with important steps, key points, and reasons
• Every safety-related point listed as a key point
• Breakdown checked against the current work instruction
• Right tools, materials, and supplies at the station
• Workplace arranged the way the worker must keep it
• Step 1: learner at ease, prior experience checked, standing beside you
• Step 2: three passes (steps, key points, reasons), no more than they can master at once
• Step 3: learner did the job, then explained steps, then key points, while doing it
• Step 4: help contact named for every shift; follow-up checks scheduled
• Sign-off criteria met: safety, quality, time, and stopping and reporting abnormal situations
• Sign-off date recorded on the time table or skill matrix
• Required safety training completed, not assumed to be covered by OJT

Questions to Ask Your Japanese Trainer or Manager

If your plant's OJT system came from a Japanese parent company, these questions help you match what the Japanese side expects:

• Do you use TWI Job Instruction, or a company version of it? Is there a standard breakdown sheet form?
• For this job, which items count as kyusho (key points)? Can we write the reason for each?
• Which document wins if the breakdown and the work instruction disagree, and who updates it?
• What are the sign-off (hitoridachi) criteria for this job, and who signs?
• Where do we record sign-off: skill matrix, time table, or another system?
• Which safety training is required for this job, and when must it be completed?
• How much time per week is planned for training, and is it in the production plan?

A short message you can adapt:

"We plan to train two new operators on the drill press line using TWI Job Instruction. Could you share your job breakdown sheet for this process, including key points and reasons, and the sign-off criteria you use in Japan? We would like our training to match your standard."

Where This Guide Does Not Apply

• Training forms, sign-off criteria, and follow-up schedules vary by company and plant. The time table, drill press breakdown, and follow-up schedule are illustrative examples.
• JI is built around teaching a job that can be split into set steps. This guide does not cover other kinds of training.
• The survey figures describe establishments in Japan with 30 or more regular employees, not Japanese-affiliated plants overseas.
• Japanese legal requirements apply in Japan. At other locations, follow local safety law and your safety department.
• The drill press breakdown is an illustration, not a work instruction.

FAQ

What are the four steps of TWI Job Instruction?

Prepare the worker, present the operation, try out performance, and follow up. Before those steps, the trainer prepares a time table, breaks down the job, has everything ready, and arranges the workplace.

What does "kyusho" mean in Japanese training?

Kyusho means "key point": the part of a step that makes or breaks the job, could cause injury, or makes the work easier. It is the Japanese term for the TWI key point, and Japanese trainers expect a reason to go with each one.

What is a job breakdown sheet?

It is a one-page sheet that lists a job's important steps, the key points for each, and the reasons for those key points. Trainers write it before teaching so that everyone teaches the job the same way.

Is TWI Japanese or American?

American. TWI was developed in the US during World War II and introduced to Japan in 1950 through the Ministry of Labour. Japanese factories have used it ever since.

How do you know when a new hire can work alone?

Set criteria in advance. Common ones are following safety rules without reminders, consistently making parts that pass inspection, working within standard time, and stopping and reporting when something is abnormal.

Sources

• OJT and Off-JT definitions, planned OJT rates, training problems, skills-transfer problems: MHLW, FY2025 Basic Survey on Human Resource Development, press release (Japanese); summary of results (Japanese); definitions of terms (Japanese)
• Training problems in manufacturing: MHLW, 2026 White Paper on Manufacturing, overview (Japanese)
• TWI history and materials in Japan: Employment Research Association (Koyo Mondai Kenkyukai), "TWI" (Japanese); Japan Industrial Training Association, "About the Association" (Japanese)
• Japanese JI steps, preparation items, and key points (quoting the MHLW guide TWI Katsuyo no Tebiki: Shigoto no Oshiekata): Inada and Yamaguchi (Nakagami), "The Missing Piece in Clinical Teaching: TWI Job Instruction," Byoin Anzen Kyoiku Vol. 9 No. 5 (Japanese)
• English TWI Job Instruction wording: Lean Enterprise Institute, TWI Job Instruction Card; Lean Enterprise Institute, "Training Within Industry (TWI)"
• Japanese safety and health training: Industrial Safety and Health Act (Articles 59 and 60); Order for Enforcement of the Industrial Safety and Health Act (Article 19); Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (Articles 35, 36, 40, 110, and 111) (all Japanese)
• Drill press safety points: MHLW, accident prevention guidebook for hazardous home-based work (Japanese)