Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are essential for ensuring quality, safety, and efficiency in manufacturing engineering. However, SOPs can also become rigid, outdated, or irrelevant in changing situations. How can you balance standardization with flexibility in your SOPs? Here are some tips to help you create and update your SOPs with innovation and adaptation in mind.
Before you write or revise your SOPs, you need to clarify the purpose and scope of each one. What are the objectives, outcomes, and benefits of following the SOP? Who are the target users, roles, and responsibilities? What are the inputs, outputs, and resources involved? How does the SOP fit into the overall process and system? Answering these questions will help you define the scope and boundaries of your SOPs, and avoid unnecessary or redundant steps.
Keep SOPs very high level and insert references to the work instructions that give detail to the steps required to do the job while remaining compliant. Easier to alter work instructions than it is necessary to alter SOPs.
The best manner is to keep the SOPs broad and useful for the multiple departments involved as the perspective of use will differ between each of those departments. Specific SOPs per department can then be shared particularly to employees within the same department.
Your SOPs should be easy to read, understand, and follow by your target users. Use clear and consistent language, terminology, and abbreviations throughout your SOPs. Avoid jargon, slang, or vague expressions that might confuse or mislead your users. Use a standard format and layout for your SOPs, such as headings, subheadings, numbering, bullet points, tables, diagrams, etc. Use visual aids, such as flowcharts, pictures, or videos, to illustrate complex or critical steps.
All too often, engineers write work instructions in a vacuum, in the office. At a minimum, before finalizing work instructions, let unfamiliar operators perform the process using the documentation to see what needs to be added or changed. Even better, work with operators to create instructions using their language. Create images and other views (cutaway, iso, etc) so people understand the purpose of the step and when it's done correctly/incorrectly. Create an "executive summary" of the instruction with process settings, like pressures, times, and temperatures in a table and put it on the first page of the instruction. If someone doesn't know how to do the job, then they turn the page to learn more. Too often, the summary page is last.
Your SOPs should not be static documents that are written once and forgotten. They should be dynamic and responsive to feedback and improvement cycles. Solicit feedback from your users, customers, suppliers, and stakeholders on the effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction of your SOPs. Use data, metrics, and indicators to measure and monitor the performance and impact of your SOPs. Identify gaps, errors, risks, or opportunities for improvement in your SOPs. Implement changes, updates, or revisions in your SOPs based on the feedback and improvement cycles.
A well functioning change control system is necessary for any quality improvement activities. A good change control system must have a well structured document hierarchy with the right approvers on each level and document area. This allows for a smooth turn around on revisions and personnel training.
Your SOPs should not be rigid or inflexible rules that stifle creativity or innovation. They should allow for some flexibility and customization to suit different situations, contexts, or preferences. Provide options, alternatives, or variations in your SOPs, where appropriate, to accommodate different scenarios, conditions, or requirements. Specify the criteria, parameters, or limits for applying the flexibility and customization in your SOPs. Encourage your users to suggest or propose new ideas, solutions, or methods that can improve your SOPs.
Your SOPs should not be hidden or inaccessible documents that are hard to find or use. They should be well-trained and communicated to your users, customers, suppliers, and stakeholders. Provide adequate and relevant training and education on your SOPs to your users, especially when introducing new or revised SOPs. Use different methods and channels to communicate your SOPs, such as manuals, guides, posters, newsletters, emails, etc. Ensure that your SOPs are easily available and accessible to your users, such as online, offline, or mobile.
Information should be kept where the question is asked, not in manager's office in a binder or buried on a network. Visual standard work, like Ikea assembly instructions, can be effective when hung at the station. Video instructions are even easier to create. Use your phone to film someone doing the job. Let them explain what they're doing and how they know when a step has been completed properly. You can explain a lot in 30 seconds with video. Post the video as 'Unlisted' on YouTube and put a QR code at the machine. Set the standard of reviewing the video if it's been a while. A 'Single Point Lesson' on how to log into a program, or how to load a roll of material into a machine is quick and helps prevent errors and delays.
Your SOPs should not be outdated or irrelevant documents that are no longer valid or useful. They should be reviewed and updated regularly to reflect the changes and developments in your manufacturing engineering environment. Establish a schedule and process for reviewing and updating your SOPs, such as annually, quarterly, or after a major event. Assign roles and responsibilities for conducting the review and update of your SOPs. Document and record the changes, updates, or revisions in your SOPs, and notify your users, customers, suppliers, and stakeholders.
Following are the simple steps to have effective SOPs for different systems or processes. 1) Involve the cross functional teams 2) Decide what contents should be there in the SOP....Like Images section, Steps, Do's and Don'ts, safety/PPEs details, Abnormalities handling, Part/Process details with revision status etc. 3) Once the Contents/Sections are decided by the CFT then standardise the template of SOP. 4) Standardised SOPs are easy to use in any processes to make new one's or revise the existing one's.
This is very basic risk assessment. If you want to be risk adverse, you develop SOPs and assess qualitative ket performance indicators to monitor progress. If you want to be innovative, you're going to be risk-taking. You will not have the ability to develop KPIs or standardize tasks. Don't get stuck making oxymoronic company policy; it lowers productivity and gives your engineers conflicting priorities.
One thing I have found helpful is to first identify and delineate core processes that are critical and must be standardized and create flexible appendices that provide guidelines for handling scenarios where deviations from core SOPs may be necessary. The appendices are not subject to the life cycle of the core SOP, meaning, they could be reviewed and updated independently of the core SOPs, allowing for continuous improvement without compromising the core standards.references to these appendices should be integrated into the core SOPs. In addition, how to perform the process (work instructions) has to be outlined in the appendices and not in the core SOPs, providing more flexibility.