Monitoringsprocedures

Monitoringsprocedures, commonly called monitoring procedures, are the documented methods used to observe, measure, and report on the status, performance, and compliance of a system, process, or activity. They define what to monitor, how data are collected, how often, and who takes corrective action.

Purpose and scope: The aim is to provide timely information for decision making, risk management, and regulatory compliance. They are used across domains such as IT, manufacturing, environmental management, healthcare, and finance, with domain-specific metrics and thresholds.

Core elements: Objectives and KPIs, data collection methods, sampling frequency, data quality controls, escalation rules, and documented results and actions. Roles and access controls are typically specified to ensure accountability and traceability.

Lifecycle: planning, design, implementation, operation, review, and improvement. Design selects indicators and tools; operation handles data capture and reporting; reviews assess effectiveness and update metrics and procedures as needed.

Governance and standards: Procedures align with internal policies and external requirements. They may reference quality and security standards, or sector-specific guidelines, with documentation supporting audits and reproducibility.

Challenges: Data quality, false positives, integration across sources, privacy and security concerns, and maintenance as systems evolve.

Examples: IT monitoring tracks server health and application performance; manufacturing monitoring follows process controls and equipment condition; environmental monitoring records air and water quality; healthcare monitoring may involve patient vitals and treatment outcomes under appropriate consent and regulation.

Benefits: Earlier issue detection, improved compliance, better resource allocation, and support for continuous improvement programs.

See also: monitoring, key performance indicators, incident management.