SOP Format- What all details go into the Standard Operating Procedure?

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Definition of SOP (Standard Operating Procedure): An SOP can be defined as a document providing an approach describing all the required activities required to complete a task in accordance with the regulatory aspects, the organisational operation or in a standard way that all the employees shall comply and work.

Through the creation of these SOP documents an organisation gets to streamlining and standardising activities resulting in enhanced productivity, increased revenue and everlasting customer satisfaction.

Having realised the potential of the SOP in an organisation it becomes imperative to develop them also in a standardised format which is what we call the SOP format detailed below:

SOP format:
The SOP format shall have the following points included:
 • Header Section consists of

• Subject: Standard Operating Procedure
• Title: The name of the SOP (Ex: Receipts of stocks at store). This shall be typed in sentence case and bold.
 Department: This denotes either the IT, Front-Office, House-Keeping or any department for which this SOP is typed and it is in bold and typed in sentence case.
• Document No: This attribute is represented and typed in upper case and bold.
• Prepared by: This denotes to the person who has authored this document
• Checked by: This is the Line Manager who has gone through this SOP document and verified for its correctness through an authorisation that things are in line.
 Approved by: This is the department in-charge who gives the approval of for its implementation
• Supersedes: This denotes the last version of this document (ex: 2.1.1)
• Date Issued: This represents that date this file was finally drafted and set to motion
• Review Date: This specifies the next date in future when this document’s current version needs to be reviewed.

SOP Format-Header Sample

Sample Standard Operating Procedure sop

Footer Section of the SOP format contains the following information:

Phrase: “This is not valid unless an official stamp is made available in red”.
• File Location: This refers to the location where the softcopy of this SOP format can be fetched for later usage and reference.
• Date Printed: This provides that date on which this SOP document was printed to ensure that the latest copy is the one that is being printed for use.
• Page Number: Create a provision in the Word Document to automatically update the pages of the document in the footer section as you traverse through the pages.

SOP Format-Footer Sample

sample sop ppt

General Document Titles that shall go into the SOP format as the body of the SOP include:

• Document Owner: This refers to the responsible authority from the management who shall approve the SOP content drafted and is also the one who will ensure its adherence through its journey.

• Affected Departments: The SOP format shall have this important attribute that lists all that departments that are to be likely affected as a result of this SOP. This way any cross function communication requirements are also clearly addressed to avoid confusion.

• Purpose: The purpose provides an overall high level overview of the intended control process under consideration and should clearly spell out what this SOP is all about precisely and succinctly. Through the details provided in this section an employee will be in a position to carry out his/her task effectively and efficiently. In fact a well-scripted SOP shall facilitate for effective training and a source of reference for the trainees.

• Scope: This details the boundary of the SOP in terms of how far this will go to covering all the nuances of the overall process and what are the limitations. In simple terms it will lay out a precise idea of what lies between the sky and the ground relevant to this SOP. This way the boundary of the SOP will be clearly defined without any ambiguity.

• Definition: This refers to clearly explaining the terms and the data dictionary used in the SOP. Also if there are any acronyms, homonyms used try providing relevant information on that. In case of any forms that are parts of the SOP are required are also included in this part for the purpose of becoming a visual display tool.
A Visual Display is a form that requires no written record but represents information as pictures or images, notice or operating instruction. A Visual Display form may be located permanently in an alternate location but may be deployed on-call basis for a period of time elsewhere.

• Related Documentation: This is the reference from another SOP, Forms, Visual content from which this SOP was inspired to be developed into.

Irrespective of whatever other SOP format you choose to use that is not as per the above guideline, there are a few elements of information that should be included with every SOP. This is what we would call the barest minimum necessary information and they constitute the following elements:

• Understandable and illustrative title
• the name of the author/personnel accountable for the SOP creation
• and the date on which the SOP or revision becomes into play

Also once these SOPs are developed businesses adopting to use them in real time shall adopt a logical numbering scheme for filing and to keep track of revisions. In addition to this, some SOPs shall include lists of other relevant materials/tools/software that facilitate to completing this job more efficiently. All SOPs that involve hazardous working conditions should include a list of safety precautions.

So to summarise SOPs are effective powerful mechanisms created to control workflow procedures effectively. They go on to specify the key details subtly to create a difference in the success or failure of a business as a whole. While capturing these activities with proper attention to detail in the specified SOP format discussed, it is very much possible to bring the employees at the grass root level, the managers and the top level management to work more collaboratively in achieving the organisational goals and objectives more precisely in the best possible way.

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