Standard Operating Procedures Frequency of Revisions and Reviews, SOP Process

Standard Operating Procedures Frequency of Revisions and Reviews, SOP Process

SOPs need to remain current to be useful. Therefore, whenever procedures are changed, SOPs should be updated and re-approved. If desired, modify only the pertinent section of an SOP and indicate the change date/revision number for that section in the Table of Contents and the document control notation.

SOPs should be also systematically reviewed on a periodic basis, e.g. every 1-2 years, to ensure that the policies and procedures remain current and appropriate, or to determine whether the SOPs are even needed. The review date should be added to each SOP that has been reviewed. If an SOP describes a process that is no longer followed, it should be withdrawn from the current file and archived.

The review process should not be overly cumbersome to encourage timely review. The frequency of review should be indicated by management in the organization’s Quality Management Plan. That plan should also indicate the individual(s) responsible for ensuring that SOPs are current.