Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
procedures would remove the redundancies; Departments
C and D would work together toward a single protocol
on the use of ESIs.
3. Department E has an SOP for operating an autoclave,
and another SOP for operating a capping machine. There
is no redundancy here; it would be counterproductive to
consolidate the two procedures, since they deal with
“apples and oranges”.
4. Department F has three SOPs and three packaging lines,
one procedure for the operation of each line; each
includes a brief section on equipment maintenance.
There is redundancy here, but not like that in Examples
1 and 2. The redundancy here is in the sections on
maintenance. Consolidation of the procedures would
remove the sections on maintenance and put them in a
maintenance procedure of its own. We will return to this
issue in the next section.
Consolidation of SOPs is essentially an issue of correctly
writing procedures. Very briefl y, procedure writing has six
steps, all but the last involving the collaboration of a procedure
author (usually a technical writer) and one or more SMEs.
First, the SME(s) and the author identify the process to be
captured in this SOP. Second, they identify the audience for
this SOP. Third, they develop the process map for this process.
The process map breaks down the process into its elements,
and displays the logical interconnections between the elements.
Fourth, the SME(s) and the author “chunk” the process. The
chunks are developed from the process map, putting like
elements together, and putting unlike elements apart. Fifth, the
text of the SOP will be written from the chunks. The author
writes this up and the SME(s) reviews the text in light of the
intended audience. Finally, the text will be revised by the
author of the procedure into the standard format of SOPs.
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