Standard Operating Procedure. A written set of step-by-step instructions compiled by an organization to help workers carry out complex routine operations. They aim to achieve efficiency, quality output, and uniformity of performance, while reducing miscommunication and failure to comply with industry regulations.
Heard on the job
Check the SOP before you power up that boiler, because if you skip a valve sequence it's your job on the line.
Insider tip
While officially it stands for Standard Operating Procedure, older military and government veterans sometimes insist it means Standing Operating Procedure.