I know your pain all to well. We currently use bmps or jpgs and group them by station (for case assembly) We do this for inspection purposes. Sad truth is most people on the line end up becoming the "sole builder" of the product and decide they have a better method. They dont notify the goup that makes the documentation so the nice instructions you made are for crap.
I think this is going to need to be determined by your staffing, volume, and quality needs. If you need visibility, have a very thorough document laid out, piece by piece. If not, a basic 1 or 2 sheets given to the operator may be enough.
Wire harness assembly instruction I would labor over always. Routing power is serious and product could be scrapped to to poor instructions. I would suggest a color coded diagram (drawn in something like paint, photoshop, word, etc.) that gives each wire a reference and a place to go. Make the wires the same colors on the instruction as they are on the actuall assembly.
Sometimes it is important to spend some extra care on the documentation. You never know who is going to be reading them in the future. They should be understood by everyone and have almost no extra interpertation.
Al the best!
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