Tips For Writing Clear Safety Procedures

“I can't wait to curl up with a good SOP tonight.” Said no one, ever. But in pharma, SOPs can mean the difference between life and death. You want a shared truth that serves as the foundation for safe, efficient, and repeatable workflows. So here’s my advice (having helped companies such as Pfizer and GSK with their documentation) on how to craft your SOPs so your team follows them consistently and successfully: 1️⃣ Know Your Cast of Characters 🎭 • Analyze roles: From lab techs to QA managers, everyone's got a part to play • Understand each role's specific needs (A chemist and a compliance officer walk into a lab...) • Consider how different roles will access and use the SOP A one-size-fits-all approach fits no one well in the pharma world. 2️⃣ Keep It Simple, Scientist 📝 • Short sentences are your friends • Active voice is your superpower ("Add reagent," not "Reagent should be added by you, maybe, if you feel like it") • Consistent terms (Pick a word and stick to it. This isn't a thesaurus contest) Nobody wants to decode War and Peace while handling active ingredients. 3️⃣ Format for the Skimmers (i.e., Everyone) 👀 • Embrace white space (it's not wasted space, it's breathing room) • Clear headings are your roadmap • One step, one action (multitasking = multierrors) A well-formatted SOP is less likely to be used as an impromptu pillow. 4️⃣ Picture This: Understanding 🖼️ • Diagrams and flowcharts (Worth a thousand words, especially when those words are "complex procedural steps") • Visuals that clarify, not confuse (no abstract art, please) • Callouts for the "Don't mess this up" bits Sometimes, showing is better than telling (and retelling, and explaining again). 5️⃣ Sections That Make Sense 📋 • Clear, logical sections (Introduction, Prerequisites, Steps, Troubleshooting, "What Not To Do Unless You Want An Exciting Day") • Keep it relevant (Save your weekend plans for the water cooler) • Include only the must-knows A well-organized SOP is like a well-organized lab: Everything has its place, and you can find what you need without a search party. Because in pharma, SOPs aren't just documents. They're the guardrails keeping us from chaos, contamination, and some very awkward conversations with regulators.

I am working in a warehouse where English is a second language for many teammates. English is my only language. Turns out the communication gap was mine to close. A few (humbling) highlights: I once said, “Let’s hit the ground running.” One guy looked at me, pointed to the floor, and asked, “Where are we running?” I told the team to “break down that pallet” and came back to find the actual pallet boards stacked on the floor. What I’ve learned (and what actually works): Ditch the jargon. Use concrete, simple phrasing: “Cancel line 3,” “Wrap 8 pallets,” “Stage at Door 6.” Avoid idioms, acronyms, and double meanings. One action per sentence. Show, don’t just say. Write it, draw it, label it. Use whiteboards, sample labels, aisle maps, photos, and bilingual signs. Pictures beat paragraphs. Close the loop. Ask someone to repeat the plan or demo step one. Encourage questions and blame the instructions, not the person: “If this isn’t clear, that’s on me.” Moral: Clarity isn’t about “talking slower”—it’s about leading better. In a multilingual operation, respect looks like instructions that anyone can follow the first time. When we simplify, visualize, and verify, quality goes up, safety improves, and the team wins. #leadership #operations #warehousing #communication #clarity #continuousimprovement

Just walked out of a meeting where an MSP proudly shared their SOPs. And it reminded me that a good SOP is a compass, NOT a novel… Each SOP was 12 pages of “click here, select this dropdown, scroll two inches, hit confirm, check your email, confirm again…” all because someone believed an SOP should be so detailed their grandmother could do it. If your SOP has 87 steps for a 5-minute task, it’s not helpful and could be a liability. Too much detail is dangerous. User interfaces change. Platforms get updated. SOPs rot faster than bananas in the Phoenix, Arizona summer sun. Overwritten SOPs become outdated SOPs. ---->Write for someone skillful in the art of performing the task. A well-crafted SOP guides a competent technician or engineer to do the right thing. NOT click-by-click babysitting. You’re not documenting a ritual for ancient monks. You’re enabling action, consistency, and decision-making. The Goldilocks Rule applies: Not too vague, not too detailed & just right. Enough for the job to be done correctly, repeatably, and with confidence. Want to future-proof your processes? Respect the intelligence of your team. Write SOPs that teach principles, clarify outcomes, and empower people to think. #SOP #MSP #goldilocks