NSC-17-21 How to Get Accurate, Clear and Complete Procedures

Description:

Reliability efforts in manufacturing and processing facilities are typically focused on physical assets – operating units and their equipment. The reliability of the work processes, how people perform tasks, is as important to these organizations as that hardware. An incredible amount of effort goes into the manufacture, installation and operation of equipment. Does the same level of effort go into the procedures people use for the start-up/shutdown, operation and maintenance of that equipment? Procedures are not new. Just about every organization refers to standard operating procedures. They’re written by someone familiar with the unit, but not with information design. Mistakenly, some organizations are more concerned about the format of the procedure than the content. The way procedures are created and used can vary widely within the same company. A particular step may seem simple to the person who wrote it, but someone else might find it confusing. There is an incredible amount of know-how that is never captured in a procedure. Fifteen year people may perform a task flawlessly because they’re familiar with it, but the risk changes when that person is on a different shift, on vacation or retires. Learning how to capture organizational know-how is important to the reliability of a facility. This paper provides some steps for accessing and storing experience that is already in your company. Make it available to others instead of losing it.