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Manufacturing document format?
I feel our current manufacturing documents are far too wordy and complex. The production staff are not necessarily following the instructions correctly, and many have English as a second language so there may also be a comprehension issue involved too
I found previous production operators were writing in a notebook rather than follow the manufacturing instructions
Is anyone able to share any information or the format of their manufacturing documents? I am curious to see how other cosmetic manufacturers structure their manufacturing instructions.
Any help/suggestions would be gratefully received.
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8 Replies
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SOP or batch sheet - in a language operators understand. You do not want them making product from memory, even short term memory, so it has to be immediately available to the operator and simple enough to be followed with ease.
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Absolutely agree with you - but as before, ours are far too complex.
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Can you write it to see how complex it is
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I know it is very wordy, complex and very long (spread across four pages).
I am keen to see examples of how others prepare the manufacturing documents, because I am sure it could be so much simpler.
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We have batch instructions which are usually only one page long.
The batch instructions have the list of raw materials with amounts required and their location in the warehouse at the top. The raw materials are divided into sections (e.g. Part A, Part B) if required.
Below the raw materials is a brief method on how to manufacture the products.
For example some instructions might be:
Add the raw materials in Part A to Tank 7 in order and stir until combined.
or
Add the raw materials in Part C to the tank when the temperature is 40oC (or less).
We also add in some basic safety instructions when working with Caustic, strong acids etc.
Fortunately our manufacturer’s are experienced or work with an experienced worker until they are competent so they don’t require too many details. You may require more details if your workers are inexperienced.
We don’t include information about the use of the equipment (tanks, pumps, blenders, emulsifiers etc) in our batch instructions. This is in a separate SOP for each equipment type.
Our products are pretty simple surfactant blends, emulsions, blended powders but if you have more complex products or equipment you might need more details.
Hope this helps. 🙂
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Prob more in the document but responding to “Stir until combined” - in what equipment/at what speed/setting/how does an operator know what combined means? Undefined terms in SOP’s will be defined by the operator/modified by the new operator/modified by the next operator. Over simplified batch directions/SOP’s become irrelevant. No one will reads ’em - any of them.
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You are correct there is more in the document. This particular tank is a fixed speed tank so no need for additional settings information but that should be added if required. The definition of “until combined” is covered in training our staff and just means until homogeneous. We manufacture simple products so our instructions don’t need to be too complex.
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I understand it works for you now. I offer the following from experience.
Allow me to clarify - this is your company culture - batch instructions, SOP’s, etc. are library documents. Operators own the batch and will resist the loss of authority if required to follow batch sheets/SOP’s for more complex products. They’ll train the next operator who will never bother with instructions. Efficiency, consistency and regulators will eventually require the sheet is in the operators hand as immediate direction to make.
Continue to grow, you may/prob will need to eliminate the cowboy operator. If one of the big guys buys in - it is a certainty. This will impact corp. moral as these are loyal and senior folks.
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