Remove the Instruction Manual from the container. Usually this is a box, mostly cardboard, with the item to be constructed also within. This may also include parts and tools. Do not throw anything away. It has all been enclosed to help finish the project.
Separate the parts and identify with the Instruction Manual that they are all present. If missing any, collect all the pieces, including the manual, and return them to the container so it may be returned to the place of purchase to procure a new one.
If all the parts are intact, proceed to assembly.
Do not throw away the Instruction Manual and decide to wing it. Most likely, the product will not work right. It might be uneven or unattached or unstable. Depending on what it is, it may even blow up in one’s face. That is not desired. It was not the point of buying or assembling this product, which is supposed to help in life and be beneficial.
The manual has been rigorously written and re-written by the manufacturer who originated the product. It is knowledgeable. It was created with the consumer in mind.
Do not read into the instructions. Do not look to them for alternate meanings. When it says, insert Part A into Part B, that is simply what it means. Extrapolating instructions upon those instructions is false and will create an inferior, and possibly dangerous, product. Do not try to insert Part B into Part A because one thinks that’s what it really means. That would be wrong. That would run counter to the Instruction Manual and would neither benefit the consumer nor any other person who has to engage with the product. Re-read the manual again. It is simple. Follow it.
Some individuals may decide to use a different Instruction Manual rather than the one that came with the product. Perhaps it is one that they’ve had lying around, one that they haven’t used on another project but are dying to follow. Or one that they created themselves based on social media input or poor journalism. Do not force a different Instruction Manual onto this product. It won’t work. It will fail and the individuals will blame the product for not adhering to their own imaginary designs.
Lay out the parts. Separate them and know which parts go with each step in the process. Do not substitute parts. Do not take Part C and think, “I can use this elsewhere” and then dig around in a toolbox for a part that resembles Part C and use it instead. Use Part C as instructed.
If problems occur, as they sometimes do in the creation of the product, do not take a hammer or any unapproved tools to it. This too will damage the product.
Sometimes the customer will have to backtrack to make sure the previous step was done correctly. Many individuals don’t like to go back to ensure that they’re following the appropriate directions. They merely want to forge ahead. This is similar to driving lost in a foreign location and refusing to use the GPS. Go back and check the work, check the manual, to affirm it is being done properly, safely and in accordance with the Instruction Manual.
Do not decide to use the product in a way it was not intended to be. Surprisingly, this is often a common result. The purchaser decides halfway through the project that they really didn’t want this exact product. It doesn’t necessarily profit them as much even though it could be used by many beneficially. The purchaser adds parts where none should be, discard parts they think they have no use for. As a result, what they have is a device that is wrong, a table that they try to use as a hammer, something useful to no one save themselves, and, ultimately, not a good idea as the purchaser imagined it to be.
Most importantly, once the product is assembled, it should resemble, in form and function, the concept discussed in the Instruction Manual. Do not be afraid to test it to verify that it works as it was built. If properly done, it will be an object that the consumer and the consumer’s family and friends can use for a lifetime that will benefit all.
Above all, use it wisely. There is always a chance it may be discontinued.
Ron Burch’s fiction has been published in numerous literary journals including South Dakota Review, Fiction International, Mississippi Review, Cheap Pop, New Flash Fiction, and been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and other awards. His last novel, JDP, was published by BlazeVOX Books. He earned his MFA from Antioch University Los Angeles and lives in Indianapolis, IN.
Image: istockphoto.com
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Heavy Feather Review 