PROCEDURE MANUAL APPROVAL
Introduction: In Quality Manager/controlling officer meet held on 4th November 2011 at New Delhi, It is observed by dgca that organisation are not preparing and following the standard procedure. Regional DGCA office has been directed to carry out audit for Procedure Manual.
Procedure Manual is Level 2 document and it need not require approval from DGCA. But, it is mandatory to prepare manual for each department and get approval from Quality Manager.
Definition - Procedure:A fixed, step-by-step sequence of activities or course of action (with definite start and end points) that must be followed in the same order to correctly perform a task. Repetitive procedures are called routines.A procedure specifies the way to perform an activity (HOW), e.g. Internal Audit procedure. Procedures are for internal use.
The Guidelines on Writing Procedure Manual
Procedure manuals are useful tools for day to working. Whether employees need to know how to operate the battery cart or how to complete required safety training, a procedure manual can offer an overview of the steps. Procedures reflect processes and how to complete them. In putting together an effective procedure manual, it is essential to focus on the procedure itself provide the information that will be more useful to employees for accomplishing it.
Quality - A procedure manual should be simple to read and use. A procedure manual that requires its own procedure manual just to read it is not much use to any employee. Additionally, the procedure manual should be consistent in all elements, including style, design and information. A procedure manual is designed to assist others in completing a certain task, so it should be written with the readers in mind. The processes that are described should be clear and logical, so that all readers can follow the procedure without difficulty.
Features
Procedure manuals will vary in specific features, based on the type of information that is detailed. For the most part, however, effective procedure manuals are those that have clear and consistent formatting so that readers know how to follow the material. Paragraphs should begin and end without confusion, and readers should not have to wonder where one step ends and another begins. In describing steps, writers should use strong action verbs to ensure that readers know exactly what to do, and they should offer explanations and options where appropriate. Any icons, images or graphs /charts should be obvious to understand and simple to follow.
Writing Style
The writing style for a procedure manual should rely on clear and concise language. All procedural information should be accurate, and any acronyms should be clarified with an explanation. In procedure manuals that will be in circulation for some time, avoid using specific information that might become outdated quickly. Technical language and jargon that will be unfamiliar to most should be avoided.
Design
The design of the procedure manual will depend largely on the type of procedure that is being outlined, but some design recommendations apply for all procedure manuals. A good procedure manual uses a great deal of white space. That is to say, the manual is not overloaded with print but rather offers plenty of indentation and paragraph breaks to avoid scaring off the reader. Effective procedure manuals also have clear headings and sub-headings, as well as any other appropriate labels and outlining for many points.
Responsibilities
Those responsible for writing procedure manuals are also responsible for reviewing them periodically. If material becomes irrelevant, it should be removed or updated. If the information is not effective in helping employees, the manual should be revised and improved. A procedure manual is only as useful as the work it enables readers to accomplish, and if the manual fails to do that, the writer has the responsibility to change it.
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