The operations manual is the documentation by which an organisation provides guidance for members and employees to perform their functions correctly and reasonably efficiently.[1] It documents the approved standard procedures for performing operations safely to produce goods and provide services.[2] Compliance with the operations manual will generally be considered as activity approved by the persons legally responsible for the organisation.[3]
The operations manual is intended to remind employees of how to do their job. The manual is either a book or folder of printed documents containing the standard operating procedures, a description of the organisational hierarchy, contact details for key personnel and emergency procedures. It does not substitute for training, but should be sufficient to allow a trained and competent person to adapt to the organisation's specific procedures.[4]
The operations manual helps the members of the organisation to reliably and efficiently carry out their tasks with consistent results. A good manual will reduce human error and inform everyone precisely what they need to do, who they are responsible to and who they are responsible for. It is a knowledge base for the organisation, and should be available for reference whenever needed. The operations manual is a document that should be periodically reviewed and updated whenever appropriate to ensure that it remains current.[4]
Content will vary depending on the organisation, but some basic structure is fairly universal.[1]
Typical sections include:[4][1][5]
- Organisational hierarchy
- Job descriptions
- Contact details
- Documented processes and systems
- Occupational health and safety instructions
- Emergency procedures
- Company History
- Products & Services
- Policies and position statements
There are two basic categories of information: Information that is relevant to all people in the organisation, and often also to clients and the general public, and information that is relevant to specific positions.[1]
There may be statutory or regulatory requirements for specific content. In some cases the CEO may be required to authorise the operations manual by signature, and this authorisation may be required to be present in the document. A version number and date of commencement may be required, and it may be a controlled document.[3]
Organogram
The organisational hierarchy is commonly and effectively described by an organisational chart, or organogram, a diagram that shows the structure of an organization and the relationships and relative ranks of its sections and members which gives the reader an easily understood picture of where key people fit into the organisation.[4]
Job descriptions
A job description is a document that describes the general tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a position, and may specify the functionary to whom the position reports, specifications such as the competence, qualifications, registration, certification or skills needed by the person in the job, and a salary range. Formal job descriptions help people understand their roles within the organisation and identify each other's responsibilities.[5]
These include names and contact details for key persons within the organisation and important external contacts.[5]
Occupational health and safety instructions
Emergency procedures
Any emergency procedure that would be the standard response to a reasonably foreseeable emergency in the normal course of business would be detailed in the operations manual as a reference. There might also be specifications on how frequently exercises should be held. Some frequently encountered emergency procedures include:
Policies
A policy is a deliberate system of principles to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent, and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organization. Policies can assist in both subjective and objective decision making. Policies to assist in subjective decision making usually assist senior management with decisions that must be based on the relative merits of a number of factors, and as a result are often hard to test objectively, e.g. work-life balance policy. In contrast policies to assist in objective decision making are usually operational in nature and can be objectively tested, e.g. password policy.
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