The Power of Good Process Documentation

Why your processes should be living documents, not dusty binders which run the risk of being uncontrolled and worse – out-of-date.

Bad or outdated documentation is often worse than none at all.

Operational excellence hinges on reliable, current, accessible, and agreed standards for builds, experiments and procedures.

I believe we will be able to remember a time a key person was out and delays happened due to a lack of shared process information and documentation versus the seamless transition when a live Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was visual, simple, easily accessible and up-to-date for others to follow and use as required… At GDS Inst we had great build procedures.

The term Build Procedure aligns perfectly with the granular detail often required in manufacturing or development, sitting alongside the more operational focus of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

Its key to Differentiate between simply capturing steps and creating a standard that is accessible, training-focused, and owned by the people who use it.

• Build Procedure: Often highly technical, detailed, and focused on how to assemble/create a specific output (e.g., a product build, a physical product test). It's crucial for replicability and quality.
• SOP: Broader scope, often covers how to manage a routine operation (e.g., equipment calibration, incident response, staff onboarding).

The Modern Shift: Both must evolve from static text to "Living Documents."

This means using digital, visual, and collaborative tools (like embedding videos, or linking directly to source systems) that enforce version control and allow for real-time feedback.

From my experience: At GDS we introduced the use of JIRA software for live, sharable, controlled and accurate build procedures for all the products we manufactured.

These could be revision controlled, used in meetings to discuss potential changes – continuous improvement ideas - added to and updated as best agreed to suit to users.

This enabled a shift in not only how we used the documentation in a modern way but improved the quality of the products, reduced errors, reduced commissioning time and made flow from build – test – QA smoother with less rejects and reworking time required.

Actionable Takeaways:

Defined your " Process Drift":

• The accumulation of outdated, inaccessible, or confusing process documents that actively harm your operations.
• When documentation no longer matches the actual work being performed on the floor or in the office this is the core problem caused by documentation becoming outdated.
• This “drift” suggests a gradual, often unnoticed, straying from the standard - where small, uncorrected changes accumulate into major variability and wastes.

Take Ownership:

• Move to shift from Word documents to more visual, digital, collaborative platforms that make updating simple, easily controlled and instant.
• The ultimate Operational excellence win is when the team on the shop floor/in the office feels accountable for the process, not just following a directive.

VSM – value stream mapping - is the tool that makes that happen – this will be discussed in my next post.

This article is part of a series exploring Strategic Thinking vs Operational Thinking.