I have recently seen articles of this nature floating around on the internet and thought I’d share my version. Much of this through my own experience.
The need for procedures.
A procedure is a written description of a task which clearly lays out all steps to be taken to complete the task in a safe and productive manner to complete the task. Why is this needed I hear you ask?
Well, as a business grows verbal descriptions get watered down. So, the original procedure might end up totally different to what it started out. Something called Chinese whispers! The reason to have written procedures eliminates any interpretation which might skew the task and steps needed.
Here’s a simple one for pumping a grease trap. (feel free to add to it as needed!)
1. Ensure you are at the correct address
2. Locate the grease trap
3. Position the truck and put out any necessary safety signage
4. Make sure you and any assistants are wearing correct PPE
5. Lay out hoses to ensure the shortest distance between the truck and grease trap
6. Ensure hoses will not damage any goods or property should they “whip” during the pumping process
7. Make sure you have correct tools to do the job
8. Open grease trap and if needed stir to create a consistent slurry to be pumped
9. Open inlet valve on vacuum tank
10. Start vacuum pump making sure it is vacuum mode
11. As the level of the grease trap starts to lower through the pumping process clean the walls for the grease trap as required
12. Once the grease trap is empty
13. Turn off vacuum pump and close inlet valve
14. Take verification photos
15. Place covers correctly back over grease trap
16. Clean hose and put back on truck, secure as needed
17. Clean and place any PPE, tools and signage back on truck
18. Fill out any paperwork as required
19. Make sure the area is as you found it prior to leaving
This could be another 20 steps longer, but you should get my angle by now.
So why do this?
The reason behind the procedure is to give employees a very clear outline of the steps which the business owner wants followed in order to do the task correctly. From my own experience the sooner you do this the easier it becomes. As business gets bigger it becomes harder to get all the procedures down on paper.
Giving employees a very clear written procedure helps them to do the task as you want it done. If they do it the wrong way or the is an issue with something they’ve done you can refer back to the procedure and ask them which step they omitted to follow… after banging your head several times against the nearby brick wall they then may start to understand why you have bothered to write the procedure in the first place.
Back in the day when cocky was an egg I actually wrote procedures for answering the phone. Jeez how stupid was that you might think??? Well, it just so happened that as the business grew and we had three or four people to answer the phone invariably they would do it totally differently… after I gave out the procedure and explained the “why” it became clear to everyone and any phone answering discrepancies went away.
You could have over one hundred procedures in your business. Having well written procedures which are easy to read enables you to bring new employees into the business in a way that gives them clear instructions on task to be undertaken with minimal needs for verbal instructions.
Rod Glue
