8 replies to this topic

[That Guy]

How specific should an SSOP be? Do I need to include steps such as; how and where to discard unusable waste and cleaning solutions or to wash hands after cleaning has been completed?

 

A lot of the steps are GMP basics or covered in other training sessions such as Chemical handling. I know it won't hurt to remind people to wash their hands after sweeping the floor but I don't want to make simple procedures twice as long as they need to be.

 

 

[George @ Safefood 360°]

Standard Operating Procedures are used to clearly define how a particular activity, duty, job or task is performed and are usually applied at an operational level within an organization where repeatability of a task is important. The detailed required in an SOP depends on a number of factors including:

 

• The importance of the procedure in regard to food safety, quality etc.
• The skills level of the person conducting the activity
• The importance of detail in terms of being audit-able 
• The importance of detail in terms of being used as a training aid.

On the first point, the rule is usually that SOP's should be as detailed as necessary - where the absence of such detail would present a real risk to the safety of the product produced. This is a judgement that must be made by an experienced and competent person.

 

In regard to skill levels - for low skilled employees the detail of the SOP should be sufficient to eliminate any interpretation of what is required or force the employee to fill in the gaps. For more skilled personnel the detail of the procedure can be less. For example maintenance personnel will often perform complex work on machines which they qualified and trained to do. It is not necessary nor in certain cases desirable to provide detailed SOP's in these situations.

 

If the SOP is to be audited as part of the compliance system, there should be sufficient detail in the SOP to allow the auditor to conclude that the procedure is being conducted correctly and for training the SOP should be sufficiently detailed to allow for consistent and repeatable training and performance of the task.

 

In summary it really depends. In all cases it will require a responsible, competent and experienced manager to draft and define the level of appropriate detail.

 

George

[Charles.C]

How specific should an SSOP be? Do I need to include steps such as; how and where to discard unusable waste and cleaning solutions or to wash hands after cleaning has been completed?

 

A lot of the steps are GMP basics or covered in other training sessions such as Chemical handling. I know it won't hurt to remind people to wash their hands after sweeping the floor but I don't want to make simple procedures twice as long as they need to be.

 

Dear Cody,

 

George's first "bullet" is certainly relevant, eg are you working in a slaughterhouse or making baby foods ?

 

Rgds / Charles.C

[That Guy]

 

In regard to skill levels - for low skilled employees the detail of the SOP should be sufficient to eliminate any interpretation of what is required or force the employee to fill in the gaps. For more skilled personnel the detail of the procedure can be less. For example maintenance personnel will often perform complex work on machines which they qualified and trained to do. It is not necessary nor in certain cases desirable to provide detailed SOP's in these situations.

 

 

 

Thank you this is the clarification I needed.

[mgourley]

I might have a quibble here. I design my cleaning procedures to be fairly generic, unless there are specific buttons that have to be pushed in a certain sequence to make the machine do what is necessary. I would never hand a SSOP to a new person and expect them to "clean" the equipment properly. That's what training and mentoring by myself or others with experience is for. 

 

In the "real world" there is more than one way to clean a piece of equipment or area. Granted, the end result should be that the piece of equipment is "clean". How one gets there, however, is not always a matter of following a step by step checklist.

 

Marshall

[Charles.C]

Dear All,

 

Actually the original post was SSOP.

 

I would suggest this is somewhat more focused than "SOP" ?

 

But perhaps Cody meant SOP ?

 

Rgds / Charles.C

[That Guy]

I meant SSOP, Sanitation Standard Operating Procedure. I was just worried that I was adding steps to each SSOP that may no be required because it should be basic knowledge covered in other training.

[Charles.C]

I meant SSOP, Sanitation Standard Operating Procedure. I was just worried that I was adding steps to each SSOP that may no be required because it should be basic knowledge covered in other training.

 

Dear Cody,

 

Well, yr product type / standard was unmentioned and may be relevant.  You may well find that published sets of typical Sanitation SOPs  exist on the net covering the desired scope. For example  sets like -

 

http://www-seafood.u...cp/ssop/lox.htm

 

This example would undoubtedly be too concise for some situations but does contain "barebones" to expand on. I recall there is another lengthy set of USA  "SOPs"  posted on this forum (somewhere) which are much more detailed and contain (from memory) most of the typical SSOPs within them.

 

Rgds / Charles.C

[That Guy]

When produce and package chewing gum. We are currently usign AIB standards.