1. Standard Operating Procedures
April 14th, 2015
Alissa Agnello
North Seattle College

2. Outline What is an SOP? How to write an SOP SOP components
General tips

3. What is an SOP?
Who uses SOPs? Who writes SOPs? Where are SOPs located? When is an SOP used? When is it written? Why are SOPs important?
Everything from spill procedure to how to test water samples to….
Used for:
Testing materials / structures
Making materials / structures
Creating and studying processes
What are their roles?
Provide practical detail
Not necessarily standardized between groups
May have additional guidelines (FDA, ISO, etc.)

4. Creating an SOP Do the procedure Write down the steps Test it
Rewrite it
Have others test it
Post
Train
Audit
Living Document!

5. Parts of an SOP Header Purpose and scope
Title
Original Date and author
Revision/Review Date and author
number of pages
Purpose and scope
Materials and equipment needed
Safety notes
Step-by step procedure (emphasis of "critical steps“)
Records to be kept (log book?)
Glossary / Definitions
References
Supervisor’s signature
Description of instrument parts, maybe glossary

6. Writing Style Choose words wisely Use the active voice Be succinct
“Push the circle button” v.
“Press the button with a circle icon (located above the disk drive)”
Use the active voice
Be succinct
Don’t assume anything
e.g. turning on the computer; needing to be wearing the grounding strip, etc.

7. References
8 Steps to Writing an SOP." Lab Manager. Lab Manager Magazine, LabX Media Group, n.d. Web. 18 April <

8. Parts of an SOP Header Purpose and scope
Title
Original Date and author
Revision/Review Date and author
number of pages
Purpose and scope
Materials and equipment needed
Safety notes
Step-by-step procedure (emphasis of "critical steps“)
Records to be kept (log book?)
Glossary/Definitions
References
Supervisor’s signature