HOW TO ACCESS STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES (SOP’S)
How team members are able to access the SOP’s is also important. How often have we seen work instructions / how to’s or manuals that are put into a file and then put away in some drawer / cupboard just to gather dust? Hardly a way for them to be living, breathing, useful standards within an organisation! So no matter what SOP, it’s key that the standard is easily accessible at Point Of Use and that all relevant team members know how to access them. SOP’s can be made accessible in the following ways; Printed out and displayed in full A QR code which can be scanned by a mobile device to display SOP. This can also be put onto applicable process documentation and automated within an ERP system.
A “Lean Bible” where SOP’s can be accessed via url links for reference Via Mobile / Desktop application when they have been generated with specific software e.g. GembaDocs The appropriate method depends on the application. Incidentally, we designed the GembaDocs software to have “always latest” url’s meaning that if they are kept in a Lean Bible or an ERP system, that the url when clicked / QR code when scanned will always display the latest version of the SOP without the user / administrator needing to do anything else? How cool is that????? But let’s look at why we would bother doing any of this?