Quality Control: Embracing SOPs in the Lab

Standard operating procedures (SOPs) may sound like a dry topic, but they’re more interesting than you might think—or maybe I’m just biased, since I find a thorough SOP binder so satisfying.

SOPs are crucial to any successful quality program. They set the baseline for all employees—and once written, they have the power to make your life much easier.

The following advice applies to brewery labs of any size. Whether you’re happy with a small operation or you have big plans to expand, having these guidelines in place will streamline the staff training and make your team’s methods more consistent.

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The Benefits

First, why is it important for a brewery lab to have its own SOPs? With certain tasks, you may already have a written set of instructions from the manufacturer. Those can be a great starting point, but being able to customize your procedures to fit your department will take your SOPs to the next level.

For example: You may have a method that seems straightforward, but after a few failed trials you discovered a trick for one of the usual steps—maybe you need to let your spectrometer warm up for at least 30 minutes, or maybe you’ve found that it’s better to shake a sample than to vortex it. Those are the kinds of details you can add to your lab’s SOPs to ensure that the method is being done the same way every time.

As with many aspects of brewing and science, small mistakes can be the downfall of a batch or a procedure. While there’s no way to fully eliminate the potential for human error, having clear SOPs will help reduce some forms of variability.

It might seem a daunting task to write out the SOPs for all your lab procedures, but that upfront investment in time will pay off when it’s time to train a new employee.

How to Get Started

Once you get this project going, it really isn’t that intimidating. Begin by creating a list of the lab SOPs that need to be written.

Even if your lab is small or just starting out, prepare to write an SOP for every task, even if it seems mundane or obvious. This can be as simple as taking a pH reading or performing a tasting. The goal is to be able to hand the procedure to anyone in any department of the brewery, and they would be able to understand and follow it.

If you happen to have a well-established program and you have many SOPs to catch up on, don’t be overwhelmed. Just focus on one at a time. When you have some free time, pick a method or process and go through it slowly while taking notes. That way, you can include any little details that might get overlooked in a general overview of the procedure.

When it comes to writing SOPs, it’s always helpful to have someone else available who can proofread or test out the procedure you’ve written. This could be someone who knows the method well, or it could be someone who’s never done it before. Having them actually follow the SOP to perform the procedure in question can show you the areas that need to be clarified or where more detail needs to be added.

Various example entries in an SOP binder.

What to Include in Your SOPs

Now that you have a good idea of the lab SOPs that need to be written, let’s round out the document.

It helps to make a template that contains all the sections you want to include for future SOPs. Start with the department and the name of the task. It’s also a good idea to include a table that states when the method was first created and who created it. Along with this table, you can include dates of when edits or changes have been made to the method. This can end up being a useful record of changes in your facility.

After this, you might want to include a description of the method, including how any chemical reactions work and why it’s important for beer quality. Having this ensures a more well-rounded understanding of the task. Instead of just following directions, the operator can get a better sense of the methodology, which will help with potential troubleshooting scenarios.

Another important section to have in the beginning of an SOP is one on safety considerations. It’s important that the operator can prepare with the correct equipment to keep themselves and others safe while working in the lab. Make a note of any necessary PPE and why it is required. For example, if there’s a method that involves working with hydrochloric acid, this section should state that gloves, eye protection, and a properly ventilated area are required for the task because this strong acid can be corrosive to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes.

While it’s important to have a clear safety section, proper PPE materials also can be included within the supply list, which should also be included in the beginning of the SOP, so that the operator can determine whether they have everything available to properly complete the task. It can be a real bummer to get halfway through a procedure and realize you don’t have enough sterile pipette tips—plus, it’s a waste of time and other materials if the task can’t be completed.

The final piece of the SOP is the method itself. Be sure to include each step individually and with clear wording. You can also include safety considerations in the body of the text—for example, you may want to highlight when equipment becomes hot to the touch. Depending on the method, you can include tables, equations, and pictures with labels throughout. That way, the SOP can be approachable for many different learning styles.

Depending on how much information you include in the method or within the SOP itself, you may have sources to note. These can include papers, presentations, or books that helped you to explain the methodology through text or images in the document. Having additional sources also can be useful to employees who want to learn more about the technique, and they can be helpful when it’s time to troubleshoot.

How to Use Them

Now that you’ve got some SOPs written and edited, what’s the best way to use them?

The clearest benefit of having up-to-date SOPs is that they streamline the training of new or existing employees. They should have the opportunity to read the relevant SOP before going through training with a supervisor. That way, they’re not going blind into learning a new skill. It gives them a chance to build a background base of knowledge and to be better prepared with questions when it’s time to shadow someone performing the method—or even if they’re performing it themselves for the first time.

The SOPs are also helpful in training employees who may use a particular method infrequently. If someone needs to step in while the usual employee is out sick or on vacation, the SOP can serve as a quick refresher on a method they haven’t done in a while. It can also help cut down on human errors when certain methods are used sparingly.

Then, Keep Going

Once you have the base tasks documented as SOPs, it becomes easier to add to the collection and to keep everything updated with the continual changes that happen in a lab setting.

Consider these to be fluid documents that can be revisited frequently as you develop your lab program and train more employees. However, once you get them all put together, compile your SOPs in a nice, fat binder—and don’t forget to sit back and admire your hard work.