TWI Program – 10 Myths about Training Within Industry

The Training Within Industry (TWI) program is becoming increasingly popular every year, both in Poland and around the world. Many companies decide to implement it in their plants. This happens for three main reasons.

First, the implementation of the TWI program improves key performance indicators such as workplace safety, productivity, quality, and machine reliability.
This is confirmed by the results from Cooper Standard Automotive (supported in the TWI implementation by LeanTrix), where in 20 factories across Europe, thanks to the TWI program, it was possible to:

• increase labor productivity by an average of 17.55%,

• reduce defect levels by an average of 35.83%.

(Data from 2017 based on the Cooper Standard Automotive case study presented at the Lean Management Conference)

Second, the TWI program effectively minimizes the negative effects of high employee turnover.

• Through the Job Instruction (JI) method, employees can be efficiently onboarded into their work.
• The Job Methods (JM) method helps to improve the workplace so that it becomes more ergonomic.
• The Job Relations (JR) method teaches leaders how to effectively solve interpersonal problems, while Job Safety (JS) focuses on identifying hazards, making the workplace safer and more employee-friendly.

Third, many companies use the TWI program to more effectively train and onboard foreign-language employees (for example, from Ukraine).

Our experience with different companies

Our experience shows that every second manufacturing company in Poland now employs non-native workers. For many companies, this is a challenge — but with the TWI program, it can become an opportunity!

However, among many managers in Poland, a number of myths about the TWI program have developed, which discourage them from implementing it.
Myths that often have little to do with reality.
In this article, we attempt to debunk the 10 most common ones.

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Myth 1 – Our company is not ready for the TWI program

The TWI program forms the foundation of organizational culture based on the principles of Lean Management. It builds the approach known as work standardization, which in the Toyota Production System (TPS) represents the very foundation (see Fig. 1). Every house must be built from the ground up if it is to be stable.

If TWI represents the foundation, it is precisely on this foundation that other Lean tools should be built — and it is from here that your journey toward Lean Management should begin.
Above all, the TWI program helps develop employee awareness, and without this awareness, it is impossible to implement other Lean tools within an organization.

Therefore, if you have not yet started implementing Lean Management tools, begin your journey with the TWI program.
It will be much easier later to implement other Lean tools such as 5S, SMED, and so on.

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Myth 2 – The TWI program is only a training method

TWI is often associated only with the Job Instruction (JI) method, but in reality, it is just one of three — or actually four — core methods that make up the program.
Since its creation in the 1940s, TWI has focused on developing three key skills essential for frontline leaders:

• The ability to instruct employees (TWI Job Instruction – JI),

• The ability to improve work methods (Kaizen – TWI Job Methods – JM),

• The ability to build good relations with employees (TWI Job Relations – JR).

In addition, another method was later developed: Job Safety (JS).
These four methods together represent the fundamental competencies every leader and experienced worker should possess to operate effectively within a Lean Management culture.

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Myth 3 – Job Instruction (JI) is only suitable for repetitive operations

Indeed, the Job Instruction method was originally designed for cyclical, repeatable tasks. It might seem difficult to use it for complex operations such as 20-minute machine changeovers — since the standard JI method requires multiple repetitions of the instruction cycle.

To address this, LeanTrix has developed a modified TWI method that uses a structured TWI instruction sheet accessible to the trainee during training.
Unlike the classic approach (where the trainee receives the instruction only after the instruction process), in this modified version the training is based on three cycles:

• Cycle #1 – The instructor demonstrates the task while discussing with the trainee the key steps, key points, and reasons for those points — using the TWI instruction sheet.

• Cycle #2 – The trainee explains the steps, key points, and reasons using the instruction sheet, and then performs the task under supervision.

• Cycle #3 – Conducted 2–3 days later, when the trainee repeats the task and the instructor performs an audit.

Another effective solution is to divide the job into smaller parts and instruct employees on each segment separately.

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Myth 4 – The TWI Job Instruction method forces employees to memorize instructions

The TWI JI method is far from rote memorization.
This misconception often comes from people who have never used the method in practice.
The essence of JI is for the trainee to understand the reasons behind each key point — achieving true awareness of the task.

By having the trainee repeat the main steps, key points, and reasons, the instructor can confirm whether the message has been fully understood.
Repetition is a crucial element of learning — according to the learning curve, repeating aloud helps retain up to 80% of information (see Fig. 2).

However, the most effective form of learning is practice.
In the JI method, it occurs four times under the instructor’s supervision.
Just as we don’t start learning multiplication before mastering addition, we shouldn’t expect skill mastery after a single demonstration.

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Myth 5 – It is impossible to measure the results of TWI implementation

This myth appears because TWI primarily addresses root causes of problems, not their visible symptoms — and those symptoms are what most KPIs measure.
Therefore, direct cause-effect relationships are sometimes hard to observe.
However, there are measurable indicators that reflect TWI’s effectiveness, such as:

• Scrap and defect rate,

• Unplanned downtime,

• Productivity,

• Time to full employee proficiency (not to be confused with instruction time).

TWI indirectly improves many aspects of process performance. The key is to select KPIs that reflect the nature of the process being improved.

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Myth 6 – The TWI program is outdated; it was created in the 1940s

Very few management methods have remained effective for 40, 50, or even 70 years without major changes.
TWI is one of those exceptions — for a simple reason: it operates at the intersection of people and processes, shaping the skills needed to achieve results from both (see Fig. 3).

As long as people and processes exist, the TWI program will remain relevant and beneficial.
In TWI, we always observe and standardize human work, whether it involves manual operations, machine handling, or knowledge work — it can always be standardized and improved.

At LeanTrix, we develop digital tools that support TWI implementation:

• eTWI – An IT system for creating work instructions (SOPs) in the TWI structure: key steps, key points, and reasons for key points.

• KaizenUp – An AI-based tool that helps supervisors implement work standardization by preparing job breakdown sheets and finding improvement ideas based on TWI Job Methods principles.

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Myth 7 – The TWI Job Instruction method takes too long

The real question should be: Is your current instruction process effective?
An instruction is only effective if, afterward, the employee can perform the job independently and correctly.
If training is ineffective, it can never be efficient.

Investing more time in high-quality instruction is worthwhile, as it leads to employees who work safely, efficiently, and produce quality output.
The TWI JI method is one of the simplest ways to achieve this.

Some observers claim that JI training seems long — but this impression is held mainly by people watching from the outside.
For those directly involved — the instructor and the trainee — time passes quickly.
Moreover, TWI JI eliminates unnecessary “noise” from instruction: irrelevant details, technical lectures, or redundant information.
It focuses solely on key steps, key points, and reasons — the essence of effective learning.

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Myth 8 – The TWI JI method suppresses employee creativity

The TWI program is designed both for onboarding new employees and for training experienced workers taking on new roles.
For instructors, leading a successful training is a highly satisfying experience — they’ve helped another person master a skill.
Far from suppressing creativity, TWI enhances it, particularly through the Job Methods (JM) module, which encourages employees to suggest process improvements.

TWI was designed to build leadership and creativity — not to suppress it.

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Myth 9 – The TWI JI method cannot be used for foreign-language employees

After World War II, the TWI program spread from the USA to Japan, and today it can be found on every continent.
Our consultants at LeanTrix have trained people from over ten countries — including Canada, Mexico, Brazil, India, and China.
Language and cultural barriers are always present, but TWI’s structured and visual nature makes it universal.

A practical solution is to train bilingual employees as TWI Instructors or Trainers who can teach others in their native languages.
We have helped many organizations create TWI instructions in Ukrainian and Romanian.
This not only improves training effectiveness but also builds engagement and unity within multicultural teams.

In workplaces with high foreign employee turnover, video-based instruction can also help.
By recording the demonstration phase and translating it into the target language, multiple trainees can be instructed at once — significantly reducing training time.

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Myth 10 – Work standards should be created by engineers

Engineers undoubtedly possess deep technical knowledge of processes — but that alone is not enough to create effective work instructions.
In daily practice, operators develop small, informal “tricks” that make their work easier — often accounting for 25–30% of all useful key points.
These insights usually exist only in their heads.

That’s why effective instructions must be created together with the people who actually perform the work.
Engineers should approve and validate standards, but operators and TWI Instructors should co-create them.

TWI builds this communication bridge — bringing together engineering and production to create practical, understandable, and teachable work standards.

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Summary – The TWI Program

When implementing the TWI program, we will face many challenges, obstacles, and myths.
However, these are not the root causes of failure.
The real cause is often the lack of understanding or commitment from top management.

It is essential to remember that TWI implementation is not about introducing another tool — it’s about developing a Lean culture.
As Jim Huntzinger, one of the leading Lean consultants, said more than ten years ago:

“Your company will not become Lean simply by practicing TWI,
but it will never be Lean without TWI.”

The TWI program was the foundation upon which Toyota built its management culture — a culture based on continuous improvement and constant learning.
It remains the starting point for implementing the Lean Management philosophy in any organization.