How to Design Standard Operating Procedures for Safety

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) documents provide consistent instructions to employees on how to perform a process the same the way every time. SOPs should take into account safety hazards that could expose workers to dangerous situations and guide employees accordingly. Having safety procedures in place will ensure compliance with U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards and decrease workplace accidents.

Instructions

• 1

  Identify potential hazards in the workplace. According to an SOP guide by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, these risks include exposure to hazardous materials, such as chemical, biological and radioactive material, or risks associated with equipment, such as glass, electrical, laser, heat and noise. See Appendix 2 of the OSHA Job Hazard Analysis for a comprehensive list of hazard descriptions.

• 2

  Determine what engineering controls, personal protective equipment (PPE) and training you could implement in the SOP to mitigate the identified hazards and exposure possibilities while performing a task. OSHA requires workplaces to have proper safety equipment available to workers or the procedure should not be performed. It is left up to the place of business to decide who is qualified to perform a procedure. See Appendix 1 of the OSHA Job Hazard Analysis for a detailed description of hazard control measures.

• 3

  Design your SOP to include the potential hazards you have identified and what preventive measures you can take to make the process as safe as possible. Depending on your SOP template and guidelines, this information may be presented in a standardized form as an appendix or an outline included as a section in the SOP.

• 4

  Submit the SOP for a safety review to your organization's safety office or an independent safety expert. Revise the safety sections of the SOP based on this review and document that the review took place by obtaining the appropriate certificates and/or signatures.