We have encounter this term all the time in our professional and daily lives; completing basic tasks and bigger projects where there is always a code of conduct or a rule set. However, either due to company policy/requirements or occasional confusion or misguidance among employees there exist a set of rules, standard procedures and codes of conduct. Concerning the maritime sphere, a place of heavy machinery, manufacture and management of complex operations.
By idea, standard procedures are meant to provide a set of universal rules which apply to all dimensions of operations, including failure states and a by-numbers guide to solving it; procedures are easily followed by all employees. This fact means that creation procedures lay the foundation to why this concept is important where the optimal and safest routines are selected and placed on this list which itself creates more predictable, safer results. Predictable results are much preferred by most organisations as aftermaths are also calculated when writing and implementing standard procedures.
Firstly, since in the modern economy is troubled and therefore always changing employees, who themselves are expensive to train and support with adequate salary; standard procedures save money on employee training as they present clear, consistent instructions. While this presents a disadvantage which makes the task repetitive and somewhat redundant but this can be averted with adequate breaks and motivations. Repetitive tasks, the more they get done become easier therefore done faster which boosts an organisation’s productivity levels since human beings thrive and improve on consistency.
Another benefit of standard procedures is that veteran employees can train and support newcomers; assessing potential which allows companies to tailor its jobs to fit the employees’ capabilities which further increases confidence in the company’s projects. Legally, well-defined and enforced standard procedures can contribute to the company’s defense in courts or other legal institutions if a serious accident is to occur; whether work-related or environment. Concerning safety and audits, standard procedures make it easier to evaluate companies in terms of employee safety and adequacy of facilities provided. The calculated nature of the procedures makes it easier to analyse and compare performance against previous times therefore detecting However this is controversial since it reduces safety and incidents to numerical statistics; a vague medium where miscalculations are possible and no solutions are provided.
Finally, the conclusion that can be drawn about standard procedures is that they are damage control in risky situations, leverage in legal arbitration and safety for employees. Along with this, it also has potential to increase faith of the company in its project since the outcome would always be reliable and productive; provided standard procedures are enforced and abided by.
