GE Vernova Interactive Process Flow
Transforming complex, static wind turbine manufacturing SOPs into an interactive, role-based digital learning and decision-support experience.
Enterprise Manufacturing Knowledge Platform
Digitally mapping complex sequential activities across operators, quality engineers, and laboratories into a single high-performance interactive timeline.
Project Overview
GE Vernova manufactures highly engineered wind turbine components through complex, multi-stage industrial processes involving quality checks, specialized equipment, and multiple operational teams.
One of these workflows—the **Unibody Coating Process**—contains numerous sequential activities distributed across operators, coating specialists, process quality engineers, laboratory teams, and digital monitoring systems. While the manufacturing process itself is standardized, the supporting documentation was largely static. This made it difficult for employees to quickly understand task ownership, process dependencies, quality checkpoints, and phase transitions.
"The objective of this project was to redesign this documentation as an interactive digital manufacturing experience, allowing users to explore each stage of the coating workflow through contextual information panels, stakeholder mapping, and visual explanations."
Business Context
Modern manufacturing organizations operate through highly standardized procedures that ensure consistency, safety, and quality. However, these procedures often exist as lengthy documentation, manuals, spreadsheets, or static process diagrams. Although technically comprehensive, these formats present usability challenges.
The Unibody Coating Process consists of three interconnected manufacturing stages:
Pre-Coating Phase
Preparation, surface conditioning, validation, inspections, and environmental setups.
Coating Phase
Application of multiple specialized coating layers under strict environmental controls.
Post-Coating Phase
Testing, thickness verification, defect recording, curing heat treatment, and approvals.
Problem Statement
Although the manufacturing process itself was well documented, the information was difficult to consume because it was presented in static formats that prioritized documentation over usability. Employees frequently struggled to understand:
Fragmented Ownership
Difficulty tracking which stakeholder group owns which specific manufacturing task.
Hidden Dependencies
Prerequisites and dependencies before progressing to secondary coating layers were unclear.
Document Hopping
Operators and engineers had to navigate separate SOPs, engineering manuals, and quality checklists, leading to slower onboarding.
Primary Objectives
Simplify Manufacturing Knowledge
Convert detailed engineering documentation into a structured visual workflow understood quickly by teams.
Improve Process Visibility
Provide a complete end-to-end view of the manufacturing lifecycle while preserving engineering accuracy.
Support Collaboration
Clearly communicate task responsibilities and handoffs across all manufacturing stakeholders.
Reduce Learning Curve
Enable new operators and engineers to grasp complex procedures without relying on traditional raw text documents.
Unibody Coating Process Flow
Select a stakeholder in the left legend to filter responsibilities, or click any step card to expand SOP detail instructions.
My Design Responsibilities
As the Product Designer, I was responsible for translating a technically dense manufacturing process into a user-centered digital experience:
UX Research & Mapping
Information Architecture
Interaction Design
Visual & Prototype Design
Rather than redesigning the manufacturing process itself, my focus was on redesigning **how users understand and interact with the process.**
Primary Users
We identified five core stakeholder groups involved throughout the coating workflow:
Operator
Executes physical grit blasting, thermocouple setup, and heat treatment. Needs clear task sequences and safety guidelines.
Coating Cell
Applies specialized coating layers (Stellite, Bond, AG1, AG4). Needs thickness specs and layer dependencies.
Process Quality Engineer
Responsible for inspections, roughness verification, defect logs, and final approvals. Needs test criteria and standards.
MetLab
Responsible for microscopic evaluations and lab verification tests. Needs evaluation standards and logs reporting templates.
Success Metrics
The redesign was considered successful if users could achieve the following metrics:
Research & Discovery
Before redesigning the experience, I analyzed how manufacturing process documentation was structured and consumed by different stakeholders. Discovery goals focused on understanding:
- • How different teams navigate static process documentation.
- • Where users lose context during complex procedures.
- • How manufacturing information can be layered without overwhelming users.
- • Which content should be immediately visible versus progressively revealed.
Key Research Insights
Five recurring usability issues became apparent in the discovery phase:
1. Information Was Linear
Static manuals forced sequential reading, but troubleshooting users seek specific questions (e.g. "What if this test fails?").
2. Context Was Hidden
Supporting guidelines (SOPs, tools) existed outside the flowchart, forcing users to constantly hop between manuals.
3. Hard to Track Ownership
Responsibilities were unclear, forcing collaboration to rely on institutional memory rather than UI design.
4. Equal Visual Weight
Critical inspections like profilometer roughness measurements looked identical to routine prep steps, hiding quality gates.
5. Documentation Was Static
Flowcharts communicated raw structure but failed to show depth, preventing integration of videos or photos.
Opportunity Statement
"How might we transform a complex manufacturing workflow into an interactive knowledge experience that helps engineers, operators, and quality teams understand manufacturing procedures faster while creating a scalable foundation for future digital learning?"
Three Core UX Principles
1. Progressive Disclosure
Level 1 (Process Flow) → Level 2 (Step Overview) → Level 3 (Detailed Info) → Level 4 (SOPs) → Level 5 (Videos). Keeps layout approachable.
2. Visual Chunking
Divided the workflow into three natural cognitive boundary containers: Pre-Coating, Coating, and Post-Coating phases.
3. Role-Based Understanding
Surfaces responsible stakeholder group badges on every card, answering the user's question: "What am I responsible for?"
Information Architecture
The platform is built on a structured hierarchy from entry points to deep assets:
Key Design Decisions
Card-Based Process Steps
Individual cards improve visual scan rates and support modular extensions for new line processes.
Phase Containers
Dedicated sections visually group steps, reinforcing sequential manufacturing progression.
Stakeholder Badges
Clear, color-coded badges on every card communicate task ownership immediately.
Context Panels
Drawer overlays prevent context-switching, keeping operators oriented within the main flow.
Challenges Overcome
Precision vs. Simplicity
Prevented information overload while preserving the critical engineering accuracy required in aerospace/wind manufacturing.
Multiple Persona Support
Served both experienced engineers needing fast reference and new operators requiring guided SOP training.
The Final Solution
The resulting platform transforms traditional static engineering flowcharts into a centralized gateway to manufacturing knowledge. Users can map responsibilities, explore stages, view quality parameters, and access contextual video tutorials on the factory floor, significantly reducing dependency on static paper documentation.
Business Impact
Future Roadmap
The platform is designed for long-term expansion:
3D Component Models
Interactive CAD models of turbine parts embedded directly in steps panels.
AR Work Instructions
Smart glasses instructions overlays connected directly with the digital database.
Live IoT telemetry
Live temperature and pressure monitoring feeds displayed directly inside curing cards.
Digital Twin Integration
Mapping process steps directly with the plant simulation layers.
Key Learnings & Reflections
Working on the GE Vernova Interactive Process Flow reinforced that enterprise UX is not merely about designing software, but about designing **how knowledge is discovered, understood, and applied**. Manufacturing documentation should not just list raw tasks; it must support decision-making, quality checks, and cross-functional team collaboration.