Procedures - Beneficial or a burden?

Are your procedures beneficial or a burden? They can easily fit into either category if you aren’t selective and thorough in their development and implementation.

Some organizations attempt to create procedures for every task they undertake. One small businesses we have worked with had over 1300 procedures. Be honest, when was the last time you observed an employee reviewing and following a procedure during their daily work activities? When was the last time you reviewed one? Procedures are only effective when they are developed properly, used in employee training, and reviewed frequently by employees conducting the work. If you have 1300 procedures, can you effectively use and maintain them? Ensure your procedures are not a burden to your operations and they remain effective in guiding employee actions.

Your procedure development should be governed by your formal hazard assessment process because procedures are administrative hazard controls. For example; the hazard is an employee not following a specific process could lead to injury, illness, or property damage. The control could include developing a procedure to guide employees on the proper way to complete the task.

Procedures should be developed using the following standard elements:

• Identified as Administrative controls in formal hazard assessments,

• Use standard language,

• Easy to understand and follow,

• Frequently reviewed for accuracy, and

• Available for workers in the field.