Creating And Using SOP’s – The Right Way

One of the most useful undertakings a company can begin is to require all employees to create SOP’s (Standard Operating Procedures) for every task they perform. It is also one of the most daunting. Some individuals will write a ‘book’ describing one simple task. Others will write three sentences they think will cover a complicated-time consuming job. So how do you get them right? You require that every SOP be tested by someone who knows nothing about the task to see if they can successfully complete it using the written instructions only. If they can’t, the SOP needs to be re-written until it works.

Once completed properly, it is very simple for someone to cover for an employee out sick or on vacation. The replacement has the SOPs to tell them exactly what to do and how to do it. Every time a new task is taken on by an employee, they should be required to create an SOP for that task and test the SOP on a fellow employee.

Don’t forget that the SOPs need to be revised as time goes by. They should be reviewed and tested at regular intervals (i.e. once a year or once every 18 months). SOPs are also great to have for training new employees. If it seems like too big a task to take on, try starting small and building it up. Ask each employee to start working on their SOPs and require one completed per week. By the end of 6 months they should be all completed or nearly done.

The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.