Standard operating procedure is written instructions that document a routine or repetitive activity followed by an organization or organizations. The development and use of SOPs are popular in many fields such as healthcare, education, industry, the military, etc.
Standard Operating Procedure
Standard Operating procedure (SOP) is an integral part of a successful quality system as it provides individuals with the information to perform a job properly, and facilitates consistency in the quality and integrity of a product or end-result. SOPs detail the regularly recurring work processes that are to be conducted or followed within an organization. SOPs need to be specific to the organization or facility whose activities are described and assist that organization to maintain their quality control and quality assurance processes and ensure compliance with governmental regulations.
In the standard operating procedure, companies or organization need to clearly define roles and responsibilities. for example, who is responsible the procedure and process, without any deviation or modification to guarantee the expected outcome? Any modification or deviation from a given SOP should be thoroughly investigated and outcomes of the investigation documented according to the internal deviation procedure. for those important process that will have big influence on the product qualities, the processes and procedures should be clearly laid out in Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). These SOPs should form the basis for the routine training program of each employee. ISO 22000 essentially requires the documentation of all procedures used in any manufacturing process that could affect the quality of the product
There are many benefits associated with SOPs. The development and use of SOPs minimizes variation and promotes quality through consistent implementation of a process or procedure within the organization, even if there are temporary or permanent personnel changes. SOPs can indicate compliance with organizational and governmental requirements and can be used as a part of a personnel training program, since they should provide detailed work instructions.
Standard Operating Procedure Template
Template format: there are no strict requirement for the format of your standard operating procedure template, however, companies need to build a standard template for employees to use. In your template, you need to include key sections: Introduction, Scope, Purpose, Procedure Description Approval Signature etc.