USG Achieves 10x Faster Work Instruction Creation with Industrial AI
Company Profile
Building Materials
North America
3 (and expanding)
USG Plaster City’s Impact with Poka and AI
Digital work instructions created in 3 weeks
Faster documentation process with Poka AI
Saved by replacing legacy software
Improved operator engagement and contribution
Streamlined onboarding, compliance, and continuous improvement
Drastically reduced rollout time and staffing resources to support
Outdated Tools, Slowed Operations
At USG’s Plaster City plant, the pace of production is relentless. Home to one of the fastest board lines in the company’s network, the plant demands precision, consistency and above all—clarity of process. But for years, the systems meant to support this clarity were falling behind.
Alberto Macias, a former operator turned VWI (Visual Work Instruction) Safety Planner, knows the shop floor inside and out. When he took on the responsibility of transforming how digital work instructions were handled at the site, he knew there was significant room for improvement.
“Our process for managing work instructions was really outdated,” he explained. “It was bare bones, not user friendly and instructions weren’t easily accessible to operators. Everything lived in an operations database. Updates had to be made manually, then pushed to each workstation.”
For a high-speed production line like Boardline 3, this disconnect between knowledge and access created risk. Whether it was onboarding new workers, ensuring safety compliance or keeping up with process changes, the tools in place weren’t keeping up with the needs on the ground.
A New Vision for Knowledge Sharing
The turning point came when USG’s plant manager attended an industry event and heard about Poka—a connected worker platform designed specifically for frontline manufacturing teams.
“Liking what he saw, he came back really excited and asked, ‘What can we do to bring this here?’” Alberto recalled.
That question kicked off a full-scale digital transformation project. The USG Plaster City team began exploring Poka by using it to digitize daily forms, such as pre-shift inspections and mobile equipment checklists. The success of those initial use cases created momentum and led to a much larger goal: transferring over 2,000 legacy work instructions into Poka.
It was a massive undertaking. To get started, the team brought in two temporary workers to manually convert documentation from their previous system.
But shortly after the project began, Poka released a new AI-powered tool to help streamline the work instruction conversion process. USG became one of the early adopters.
10x Faster Work Instruction Creation with Poka AI
The Poka AI content conversion tool fundamentally changed the way content was created. What once required deep knowledge of content management systems and hours of manual entry became simple enough for any team member—regardless of technical background—to complete.
“We were planning to keep the temps on for four to five months,” Alberto explained. “But once we started using the AI tool, they were done in two weeks. We went from spending two hours per work instruction to creating one every few minutes.”
The difference wasn’t just speed—it was accessibility. Poka’s user-friendly interface allowed workers to capture and edit instructions directly from tablets at the workstation, eliminating the need to go back and forth between machines and office PCs.
“Being able to do everything right at the workstation dramatically sped things up,” said Alberto. “And because the interface is so intuitive, more people felt comfortable contributing. It’s really democratized the process.”
Even the temporary workers who had never used Poka before quickly became proficient.
“They picked it up really fast,” he added. “It mirrors the factory setup, which makes it easy to understand. That’s what really clicked with people.”
In just three weeks, the team created 1,433 work instructions—a milestone that would have been unimaginable using their previous tools.
We created 2,400 instructions and saved thousands of hours—that speaks for itself.
Alberto Macias
Visual Work Instruction Safety Planner
The Results: Tangible Savings and Scalable Impact
The time saved through AI-powered content creation translated into direct business value. One of the early goals of the project was to transition the plant’s Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) procedures into Poka. At the time, USG was using a separate software solution that cost the company $60,000 annually.
“Once we finished moving LOTO procedures into Poka, we were able to cancel that software entirely,” Alberto shared, adding to the ROI of the project. “It gave us the flexibility to expand the project and tackle more.”
With the foundational work in place and results to show for it, the Plaster City team began rolling Poka out to other areas of the plant—and even to other USG sites. Today, three plants are using the platform, with more in the pipeline.
Driving Change Through Leadership and Engagement
Alberto didn’t just help implement Poka—he became one of its biggest champions. As the original project lead moved on to another role, Alberto stepped up to drive the initiative forward.
“What really motivated me was seeing the potential of the platform. Once I understood how powerful it was, I wanted everyone else to see it too,” he said.
That passion translated into action. Alberto took it upon himself to go the extra mile—personally training operators, answering questions and leading by example.
Early on, there were some hurdles around change management. “At first, we did face a little resistance from some operators,” he admitted. “But leadership was totally bought in after seeing the data and analytics. And once operators got hands-on with it, they saw how it made their jobs easier. They became part of the process.”
This shift in mindset created a ripple effect. Poka’s Factory Feed™ feature, which mirrors the familiar feel of social media, helped foster a culture of engagement and healthy competition among workers.
“When people saw their content being used and recognized, it encouraged more participation. Their voices were being heard,” Alberto noted.
Executive Support and a Vision for the Future
During a recent executive visit, Alberto had the opportunity to walk leadership through the Poka platform and the transformation it enabled.
“I showed them how everything is structured, how the digital plant mirrors the physical one, and how easy it is to use,” he said. “They were really impressed with how much we’ve accomplished—and how much easier our workload has become.”
Today, Poka isn’t just a tool at USG—it’s become a part of their operations.
And the journey doesn’t stop here. The next phase includes a deeper focus on skills management, enabling workers to not only follow instructions but also track their qualifications and training history in the same platform. The team is also preparing to implement AI-powered video-enhanced work instructions, further improving clarity and standardization.
Advice to Other Manufacturers on Using Poka AI for the Factory Floor
For teams considering a connected worker platform like Poka, Alberto offers straightforward advice: “Know and understand that there is so much you can do with Poka. It’s what you make of it. If you know the outcome you want, Poka will help you get there.”
And if he had to summarize the impact in one sentence?
“We created 2,400 instructions and saved thousands of hours—that speaks for itself.”
Accelerating Results with the Right Partner
What started as a challenge to convert thousands of outdated work instructions became a launchpad for digital transformation at USG. By leveraging Poka’s intuitive platform and powerful AI capabilities, Alberto and his team not only saved months of manual work—they unlocked new levels of efficiency, engagement and scalability across sites.
Poka proved to be more than a tool. It became a catalyst for change, enabling frontline teams to take ownership, simplifying content creation and driving leadership buy-in through real-time insights and results.
Ready to transform your operations like USG? Book a demo and see how Poka can help you digitize, connect, and empower your frontline workforce.