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SOP template
A standard operating procedure (SOP) is the written, approved way a routine task is done, so anyone trained on it does it the same way, safely. Fill in the template below: document control, purpose, scope, responsibilities, the numbered steps, records and revision history, and download it as a Word file or PDF, or print a blank SOP template. Three filled examples from a sample plant show how. SOPs go out of date quietly; Morsa, an AI agent for plant operations, reminds each owner when a review is due and collects every reader’s confirmation on the new version.
Updated November 3, 2026
What is a standard operating procedure?
A standard operating procedure is a document that describes a routine operation step by step, with who does each step and what gets recorded. It exists so the result does not depend on who is on shift. A good SOP also carries document control: a number, a revision, an owner, an approver, an effective date and a review date, so people can tell whether the copy in front of them is the current one.
Plants write SOPs for safety (lockout/tagout, confined space entry, chemical handling), quality (receiving inspection, nonconforming material, calibration), production (start-up and shutdown, alarm response, changeovers) and administration (document control, training). Regulated industries require them: US drug makers, for example, must have written production and process control procedures that are reviewed and approved by quality and followed as written, with any deviation recorded and justified (21 CFR 211.100).
What to include in an SOP
These are the sections the template prints, in order. They draw on the structure in the US EPA’s guidance for preparing SOPs (EPA QA/G-6), trimmed for a plant floor.
| Section | What goes in it | Example (lockout/tagout SOP) |
|---|---|---|
| Document control | Number, revision, effective date, department, owner, next review | SOP-SAF-003 Rev B, review 12 months |
| Purpose | Why the procedure exists, in one or two sentences | Protect anyone servicing a CNC machine from unexpected start-up |
| Scope | What and who it covers, and what it does not | All CNC lathes, mills, saws and bar feeders |
| Responsibilities | Each role and what it does in this procedure | Authorized employee, affected employee, maintenance lead |
| Definitions | Terms a new person would not know | Energy isolating device, stored energy |
| Safety and PPE | Hazards, protective equipment, permits | Personal lock and tag, safety glasses |
| Equipment and materials | Tools, forms and materials needed | Machine energy sheet, voltage tester |
| Procedure | Numbered steps with who does each and the key point | Open every isolating device on the energy sheet |
| Records | What is recorded, where it is kept, for how long | Yearly inspection, LOTO binder, 3 years |
| References | Standards, regulations and related documents | OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147 |
| Revision history | Each revision, its date, what changed and who changed it | Rev B: added bar feeder power |
| Approval and sign-off | Owner and approver signatures, then a read-and-understood sheet | Signed by the plant manager |
How to write an SOP
Pick one task with a clear start and end. “Receiving inspection of bar stock”, not “quality”.
Watch it done, or ask the person who does it best. Write down what they actually do, including the step they skip explaining.
Write each step as an action, starting with a verb: “Open the main disconnect”, not “The disconnect should be opened”. One action per step.
Say who does each step and what they record, so the step can be checked.
Put the reason next to the step that needs one. “Only the person who put the lock on removes it” is followed more often than a bare rule.
Have someone else run it from the draft before it is approved. Every question they ask is a missing step.
Approve it, set the review date and train people on it. Collect the signatures on the read-and-understood sheet.
Review it on schedule and whenever the process changes. Update the revision and the history each time.
SOP examples
The template has three filled examples from a sample machine shop. Pick one above the form, press “Start from this example” and change it into your own.
Safety: lockout/tagout for CNC machines. Nine steps following the sequence in OSHA 1910.147(d) and (e), from telling the operator to removing your own lock, with authorized and affected employees as roles and the yearly inspection as a record.
Quality: receiving inspection of bar stock. Match the packing slip to the PO, check heat numbers, measure, find the mill test report for each heat, hold anything without one, release with a green tag.
Production: bar feeder fault on Lathe 6. What the operator does on alarm 1023, the rule of no more than two resets, when the shift lead calls maintenance, and the feed and insert that stop the fault coming back.
SOP vs work instruction vs policy
| Document | Answers | Level of detail | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Policy | What we commit to and why | A page or less | All energy sources are isolated before service |
| SOP | What is done, by whom, in what order | One process, a few pages | Lockout/tagout for CNC machines |
| Work instruction | Exactly how to do one job at one station | One task, with settings and photos | CVB-200 Op 10 setup on Lathe 6 |
| Form or record | Proof it was done | Fields to fill in | Lockout inspection sheet, work order |
How often to review an SOP
An SOP is only useful while it matches how the work is done. The EPA guidance says SOPs should be updated and re-approved whenever the procedure changes, and reviewed on a periodic basis, for example every one to two years, with the review date added to each SOP and retired procedures withdrawn. Energy control procedures have a hard rule: OSHA 1910.147(c)(6) requires a periodic inspection at least annually, done by an authorized employee other than the ones using the procedure. Set the interval in the template and it prints the next review date on the first page.
Keeping SOPs current without the binder
Writing the SOP is one job; keeping it current is another: the review date passes and nobody notices, the process changes on the floor but not on paper, and a new revision goes out by email while the old copy stays taped to the machine. And it is hard to show who has read the new version.
Morsa can take over that work. It knows each SOP’s owner and review date and reminds the owner when a review is due, with what changed since the last revision: a new machine, a repeated alarm, a question operators keep asking. When the new revision is approved, Morsa sends it to the people who run the procedure in WhatsApp, Teams or email, asks each one to confirm they read it, and follows up with anyone who has not. People approve; Morsa does the chasing. At J4S, a 120-person glass plant, the same follow-through on operational commitments (the tasks people had promised) took on-time completion from about 30% to about 75% across roughly 900 commitments in four weeks.
Frequently asked questions
What is an SOP?
SOP stands for standard operating procedure: the written, approved way a routine task is done, so anyone trained on it gets the same result safely. It names who does each step, what to record, and who owns the document.
What is the difference between an SOP and a work instruction?
An SOP says what is done, by whom and why, across a process: receiving inspection, lockout/tagout, handling a machine alarm. A work instruction shows one job at one station in close detail, often with photos and settings: the setup of one part on one machine. An SOP often points to the work instructions under it. For the second, use the work instruction template.
How long should an SOP be?
As short as it can be and still be followed without asking someone. A plant SOP is usually a few pages. If the procedure section passes about 25 steps, split it into two SOPs or move the detail of one station into a work instruction.
Who should write an SOP?
The person who does the work, with the person who owns the process. The EPA guidance recommends that someone other than the writer tests the draft before it is approved, and that a supervisor and quality sign it.
How often should SOPs be reviewed?
On a fixed interval and whenever the process changes. EPA QA/G-6 suggests a periodic review, for example every one to two years; regulated plants follow their quality system or customer, and lockout procedures need an inspection at least once a year under OSHA 1910.147. Pick the interval above and the template prints the next review date.
Do SOPs need signatures?
The approval needs one: it shows management reviewed and approved the procedure, and EPA’s guidance accepts electronic signatures; check your own quality system or customer rules. Many plants also have each person sign a read-and-understood sheet for every new revision, which is the sign-off page at the end of this template.
Can I edit the SOP in Word or Google Docs?
Yes. The Word download opens in Microsoft Word, Google Docs and LibreOffice with the tables intact, so you can keep editing there. The blank template also comes as Word.
Related tools
WHERE MORSA FITS
Stop finding out an SOP was out of date after the mistake.
Morsa reminds each SOP owner when a review is due, sends the new version to the people who run it and gets each one’s confirmation. It works in WhatsApp, Teams, email or whatever your plant already runs on.
