| Assuming that what you
want to do is to describe how a task ought to be performed to ensure
it is carried consistently each time there is certain information you
need to convey to the people who will use it. Procedures should define
who does what, why, where, when and how as appropriate.
In deciding what should go into procedures one should limit them to
defining the activities and decisions to be carried out and only
prescribe how actions and decisions should be carried out where:
- the method is critical to the result
- too much choice can be bad for efficiency
- it would be unreasonable, unsafe or unreliable to
expect staff to commit the knowledge required to memory
A typical structure is shown above right. There are
variations on this theme with Objectives in place of purpose,
References before Procedure and a section on Responsibilities.
However, it should not be necessary to define responsibilities
separately from the procedure text since the “who does what” should be
stated in the text. By including a separate responsibility statement,
you increase the probability of duplication and conflict. You can
identify the functions to which the procedure is applicable in the
scope and applicability statement. Further guidance is contains in
ISO 9000 Quality System Development Handbook by David Hoyle (now
out of print but obtainable from libraries in UK) |
