A benefit of designing document workflows around two-pocket vs single-pocket job ticket holders is visually and physically organizing information for faster retrieval and confirmation.
A single-pocket holder works well when the workflow contains documents handled as a common set of information like work orders, travelers, checklists and drawings. This type of packet is usually used by the same person or department.
A two-pocket holder becomes useful when two sets of related information need to stay with the same job as it moves through a workflow process in a shop, office or other work environment. In this case, the different sets of information are used by different types of workers or departments. As an example, it may help to keep job information separate from from test or inspeciton documentation.
What Is a Single-Pocket Job Ticket Holder?
As the name describes, a single-pocket job ticket holder provides only one compartment to hold all paperwork associated with a job, order, part, piece of equipment, bin, cart, rack, or other work process.
Differentiateing between different sets of information requires using separate folders, envelopes, paperclips or other methods to keep paperwork grouped together for easier retrieval.
Typical songle-pocket uses include a work order with its attached pages, a production traveler, a maintenance checklist, or a set of instructions that is always handled as one document group.
What Does a Second Pocket Add?
A two-pocket job ticket holder gives the same job two separate storage areas. The important word is separate.
Instead of combining every sheet into one stack, the second pocket can keep one group of information apart from another while both remain associated with the same job. TIE Office-Mates two-pocket styles use a main document pocket together with an additional front pocket, allowing information in that front pocket to remain easy to identify and retrieve.
That can be useful when a workflow has information with different purposes, different users, or different stages of completion.
Examples of useful pocket separation
- Primary work order and supporting paperwork: Keep the main job information in one pocket and related notes, receipts, inspection sheets, or supporting documents in the other.
- Current information and completed paperwork: One pocket can hold documents still being used while another keeps completed paperwork with the job.
- Instructions and records: Keep reference information separate from documents employees need to fill out or update.
- Important front-page information: A smaller front pocket can make a frequently referenced document easier to identify without searching through the main packet.
The exact arrangement is up to the workflow. The advantage is simply that related information can travel together without becoming one mixed document stack.
When a Single Pocket Is Usually Enough
Choose a single-pocket holder when there is no useful reason to divide the contents.
For example, if employees receive one traveler containing all of the information needed as a part moves through production, keeping those pages together in one pocket may be the clearest arrangement. Manufacturing work orders or travelers can contain fabrication, process, inspection, and other information associated with the item being produced, so the important question is whether your particular process treats those records as one packet or as separate groups.
Adding another pocket simply because documents have several pages does not necessarily improve the system. If everyone naturally handles the paperwork as one packet, a single pocket keeps the organization straightforward.
When a Two-Pocket Holder Makes More Sense
A two-pocket holder is worth considering when employees are already separating paperwork manually.
If people regularly clip one document to the front, tuck receipts behind a work order, remove a frequently referenced sheet from a packet, or create separate piles of paperwork for the same job, the workflow may be telling you that one compartment is not enough.
In that situation, the second pocket is not simply extra capacity. It creates a visible organizational boundary between two categories of information.
Two Pockets Are Not the Same as Extra Capacity
This distinction is easy to miss.
A two-pocket holder solves an organization problem. An expandable holder solves a capacity problem.
If one document packet is simply too thick for a standard holder, dividing it between two pockets may not be the best answer. An expandable or gusseted job ticket holder is designed to provide additional room for thicker packets and larger groups of paperwork.
On the other hand, a relatively small amount of paperwork may still benefit from two pockets if the documents need to remain separated by purpose, status, or user.
A Simple Way to Choose
Before choosing the holder, look at how the paperwork is actually used during the job.
- Choose one pocket when everything should remain together as one document set.
- Choose two pockets when two related groups of information should travel together but remain separated.
- Choose an expandable holder when the real issue is the thickness or volume of the document packet.
Also consider document size, portrait or landscape orientation, opening direction, mounting method, and how employees access the holder during the work process. Pocket count is only one part of choosing the right job ticket holder.
Compare TIE Office-Mates Job Ticket Holder Options
TIE Office-Mates offers standard single-pocket job ticket holders as well as two-pocket and expandable configurations in multiple sizes and styles.
Browse job ticket holders, compare 9x12 job ticket holder options, or view two-pocket job ticket holders when separate document organization is the better fit.
If you are unsure whether your application calls for another pocket or simply more capacity, TIE Office-Mates can help identify the type of holder that best matches how your paperwork is actually used.