If your goal within your company is to increase productivity and avoid wasting resources, then you need to know the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). Keep reading to find out more!
Okay, first of all, let’s explain what SOP or Standard Operating Procedure is, before we talk about how it can be useful for your company and some extra information.
The Standard Operating Procedure is a document that describes how the activities of an operation are to be performed.
Thus, POP involves the meticulous detailing of each process. For example: the sequence of the procedure, those responsible for each one of them, the equipment, among other aspects relevant to carrying out the task within the expected quality standard.
That is, POP is a kind of guide to carry out each activity. This means that the POP makes clear the step by step that the team must follow. In this way, it is possible to standardize and optimize processes, departments and work routines.
One of the main objectives of the Standard Operating Procedure is to standardize processes within teams or areas of a company. In this way, the tool helps to maintain the quality of the product or service provided. It also helps in defining a standard, minimizes errors, rework, non-conformities and, therefore, losses.
In this way, even when a team member is absent, the replacement of the task can be done safely. After all, the information about that routine is duly standardized through the SOP.
This is why it is often said that the Standard Operating Procedure contributes to the implementation of total quality. And, in this sense, it also helps to maintain the competitiveness of the business.
See what areas Standard Operating Procedure can be used in
The Standard Operating Procedure can have several applications, as long as there is a process that needs a standard to be followed. Therefore, POP can be used to:
- Quality control
- Occupational Safety Processes
- Cleaning and disinfection procedures
- Inventory control and purchasing
- Predictive maintenance of equipment and facilities
- Financial registrations, payments and receipts
- Control of inputs
- In the communication sector
These are just a few examples, but POP can be used in many other situations.
Regarding the importance of the Standard Operating Procedure, as we have seen, it is precisely the standardization of processes. Therefore, in addition to minimizing errors, it avoids variations that can cause failures, as they directly affect quality.
This has influence on the simplest tasks to the most complex. After all, POP guarantees compliance standards and good practices, in addition to minimizing adverse impacts on the environment.
POP can also maximize production requirements or task execution, ensure safety in the work environment, predict operation failures and losses and, finally, be useful in training new professionals and teams.
As you can see, POP is a tool that works to standardize processes. With it, the company is able to ensure greater quality and efficiency in its activities — regardless of the stage, task or responsible department.
Did you already know POP? Do you already implement it in your company? If not yet, you saw here in this post good reasons to at least think about implementing it!
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