Process/Procedure Development

Documentation Matters

To have a formal system you need documentation – the right documentation. The structure, format, level of detail, and accuracy of your documents will have a dramatic effect on the success of the management system overall.

This is the core of the Complete Program. By having Clydesdale develop your Processes and Procedures we are able to fully evaluate and analyze your organization and make the most comprehensive and meaningful suggestions for improvement. We are also able to ensure consistency across processes/procedures and provide detailed training to your personnel on the requirements of the standard and how to choose the right document format and level of detail. As a result, we will considerably reduce your staff’s time in the project.

We begin the project by working with you to define the overall structure of your organization. We then determine the Processes that are critical to your success. Within each Process we determine the Procedures that are necessary to document to ensure that the Processes can achieve their goals. With that list of Procedures we hold a series of documentation development sessions to define the activities within the Process/Procedures.

Document Development Sessions

For each Process/Procedure we will identify the personnel that should attend a development session. This generally includes personnel who perform the Process/Procedure as well and the Internal Suppliers (personnel who provide information or material to the Process/Procedure) and the Internal Customers (personnel who receive information or material from the Process/Procedure). Having these three parties at the development sessions ensures that all parties clearly understand the needs of the other and ensures that the resulting documentation is accurate and meaningful.

For each Process/Procedure we will hold two sessions. First is an Original Session in which we will develop the document with relevant parties. During this session we will look for opportunities for improvement, identify any compliance gaps, determine needed work instructions and/or forms, and assign tasks to ourselves and to your staff (using our online project management tools) when appropriate. After an Original Session has been held for all Processes/Procedures, we will hold an Edit Session for each Process/Procedure with the same personnel. The purpose of the Edit Session is to verify the sequence of events between Processes/Procedures, review any assigned tasks, and come to a final agreement with all parties on the content of the Process/Procedure. After completion of all Edit Sessions, the documents are ready for formal release and implementation.

Document Format

We will create the documents in the format that best suits your organization. Our preferred method of documenting Processes/Procedures is in flowchart/process map format. This visual format allows for the documentation to be concise (a picture is worth a 1000 words) and allows for better collaboration during the development sessions (we will create the process maps in real-time during the session). The flowchart/process map format will also reduce the overhead costs of your management system because the documentation is clear and easy to follow, quick to change, and provides readymade training material. These documents are also perfect for facilities/organizations with multiple languages because there are fewer words to understand by non-native speakers and there is less to translate when translation is needed.

“Very professional organization! The flowchart approach rather than a text approach is a winner.”

—Bal Singh, Mylex Corporation