SOP Full Form

As Alexander Graham Bell rightly said, ‘Before anything else, preparation is the key to success. If you don’t plan for success, you plan to fail. A goal without a plan is just a wish. Proper planning increases the chances of being successful and the four steps to achievement are-

1. Plan
2. Purpose
3. Preparation 
4. Execution

Similarly, a successful business or organisation is fruitful only if it runs like a finely-tuned machine and to avoid falling apart the team members need to work together at all times both faithfully and figuratively. This is properly done through SOP. The full form of SOP is Standard Operating Procedure.

The SOP is documentation that provides clear-cut commands and regulations of how the team and the members within an organisation must work together to execute certain processes. It is a rule and guide penned down for every worker in the organisation. It describes the step-by-step process which must be executed to perform a routine activity properly. 

Aims of SOP

A Standard Operating Procedure aims to accomplish the following-

• Productivity 

• Quality output 

• Stability of execution 

• Reduction of misperception 

• Avoidance of failure to act by industry regulations

• Production of guidelines for resolving issues

• A safe work environment 

• Increased profitability

• Reduction of errors

• Overcoming obstacles.

One must follow the SOPs to guarantee the consistency of the organisation in compliance with industrial directives and business standards. To benefit from an SOP, a particular organisation needs to make a list of all the business processes. The day-to-day responsibilities of the employees and their roles need to be discussed by the organisation’s manager to ensure all the procedures. 

The very first step to writing a standard operating procedure is to define the goal of the task and comprehend the reason behind that particular goal for its entailment of an SOP.

The second step is to determine the kind of layout to be used for the SOP and the organisation may have a store-bought template provided or it could be designed by them on their own. Some examples are-

• Flowchart or workflow diagram 

• Hierarchical steps 

• Simple steps.

A flowchart workflow diagram is used to exhibit the procedures with various aftermaths.

Simple steps are often noted down in the form of a bulleted and numbered list including documents like safety guidelines. It is best used with strategies shortly and simply.

The hierarchical steps are also penned down as a bulleted and numbered list with the intention for procedures with many steps and decisions. Whether the SOPs are written should be available in the form of a hard copy or online must be decided once the format is selected.

The third step is to identify the task dependencies and decide the embodiment of those into the new SOP or if it would be better to add the new standard operating procedure into an existing one since the task may be recorded depending on other procedures within the organisation.

The SOP needs to be persistently updated per annum to make sure that they remain pertinent to the organisation’s present requirements. The standard operating procedures play a vital role for a company to gain the customer’s trust while opening new branches or producing new goods. Every organization requires advice to run or execute the duties and functions of every element in the organization.

Roles of SOP

• It maintains a person’s regularity in performing duties

• It reduces mistakes with the featured written procedures of a set of instructions

• It improves communication through the updated standard of operational procedures with modifications in processes

Components of SOP

• Title page 

• Table of contents 

• Step by step list of the procedures 

The title page enlists-

• The title of the procedure for whoever it is concerned- 

• The specific role department 

• Agency 

• Team 

• SOP identification number 

• Names and signatures of the people who prepared and approved the SOP.

The table of contents provides an easy approach to the various sections in detailed SOPs.

A step-by-step list of the procedures includes an explanation of-

• The aim of the task 

• Roles and commitments 

• Regulatory needs 

• Terminology 

• Descriptions of what needs to be done to complete each step 

• Discussion of decisions that must be made.

Benefits of SOPs in organisation

The SOP provides the following benefits-

1. Directness of information- A proper SOP not only provides fruitful production but also necessary safety, health, environmental and operational information to avoid accidents, fines, and disputes in the future.
2. Schedule adjustments- It prolongs a compatible quality and specificity in the product. It also defines the steps to check the production operations running consistently to maintain the quality control of the process and the outcome. 
3. Reduction of failure- It ensures no failure taking place in the manufacturing process which could harm anyone in the work area.
4. As a standard of coaching- It plays a vital role in training the management as well as improving the overall standard of operating skills of the employees.
5. Improved job skills- The importance of learning from fellow workers by observing them, their strength, and performance help anyone to use the particular SOP to train others to improve his or her work skills.