Work instructions

Why it matters

Paper instructions have a way of disappearing in the daily rush. They often end up at the bottom of a drawer, get lost in a truck, or never get read properly by the people they are meant for. As an owner, you rarely have a full overview of who has read what and who is still pending. You usually only realize this the day an accident happens on site or when the labor inspector unexpectedly shows up and asks for safety documentation.

Without a fixed process for instructions, you risk both your employees’ safety and your company’s legal protection. The explanation “I thought he knew” unfortunately does not hold up when responsibility needs to be assigned. It is about ensuring that everyone is properly equipped for the task before they start the work. This provides security for the apprentice, the journeyman, and the master alike.

How it works

Work instructions in APV are built for real-world use where things move fast. You open /company/instructions and select “Create instruction”. Here you write a descriptive title and the actual content of the instruction. If you already have a thorough guide or a safety manual as a PDF, you simply attach it directly to the instruction. Then you choose the relevant employees and set a deadline for when they must have signed off.

The employee receives an email and opens the instruction directly on their phone while they are on site or in the workshop. They read the text, review the attached PDF, and sign with their finger directly on the screen. It is simple and requires no login for the employee. The system automatically saves the signature along with the IP address and the precise timestamp of the sign-off.

To ensure the task is not forgotten, the system sends automatic reminders. If an employee has not signed yet, they receive a friendly reminder at 06:00 in their own timezone the day before the deadline expires. The same happens if the deadline has passed. As an owner, you receive a confirmation email as soon as the last employee has added their signature.

What the owner sees

You get one central overview of all the company’s active instructions. You can immediately see the status of each individual instruction: who has signed, who is still pending, and who is overdue. Status is shown with clear badges in green, yellow, and red, so you can quickly spot where extra attention is needed.

This means you don’t have to spend valuable time manually chasing people or looking for crumpled signatures in folders at the office. You have full control and can quickly document that everyone has received the necessary information. If an employee leaves or an instruction is no longer relevant, it can be deactivated with a single click, keeping your overview sharp and up to date.

Documentation for inspections

When the labor inspector visits, your documentation is always ready and at your fingertips. Every single sign-off acts as an immutable log containing the employee’s handwritten signature, their IP address, and a precise timestamp. All three values are stored securely in the database so they can always be retrieved.

This gives you undeniable proof that the instruction actually took place and that the employee confirmed receipt. You don’t have to search for physical documents or rely on your own or others’ memory. Everything is gathered in one place, digital and searchable. It makes inspections faster and more painless, and it gives you peace of mind as the person responsible for the company’s workplace safety.

See it in action