Creating Error-Free Procedures for Effective Quality Management

Creating Error-Free Procedures for Effective Quality Management
April 12, 2012 isowebseousr
error free procedures

How to Create Procedures That Ensure the Best Level of Quality Management

Sometimes, procedures are drafted in haste, or fail to communicate the objectives described above. If this is happening, the following tips may help to achieve a better level of quality management through your procedures.

  1. Graphics and images – rather than explaining tasks at hand, visual aids such as images or graphs or even screenshots can also be added to show employees exactly what is required. As procedures are intended to train staff to perform various processes that may be new to them, visual representation is a good way to get the message across clearly.
  2. Active voice – keep the tone direct and to the point, and write in a way that is easy to read. Procedures should not be open to interpretation, and wording can easily be misread if it is not clear. A missed punctuation mark or long-winded sentences can cause confusion, so be sure to proof-read the procedures after creation to ensure that everything is in order.
  3. Write for a single reader – even though multiple employees may be accessing the procedure, it is easier for information and training to be done if it applies to the specific reader rather than a broader audience. Imagine that you are teaching the procedure to a new employee who is not familiar with the processes or company, and always use easy to understand language.
  4. Give a clear objective – helping your audience to understand why the procedure has been drafted will make it easier for them to see how it fits in to the broader company objectives. Whether you are briefing a new employee on general procedures, or existing employees on a new procedure, they need to understand the objective in order to follow through.
  5. Keep it simple – procedures are often filled with jargon and hard to understand language that prevents a better understanding. In order to communicate your quality management objectives in a clear way, you need to keep things simple. State each task and step clearly, and avoid complicated terms that may not be understood by everyone.

Used effectively, procedures play a vital role in any quality management system. These documents act as a blueprint for various tasks that are required, and as such, they need to be kept concise and effective in order to aid your quality management processes.

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