mrprocedure

With the foundation provided in the introduction, descriptions of equipment and controls, and the set-up steps, the learner is prepared for the actual productive operation of the equipment.

In my experience, the operation of the equipment is a surprisingly short section. In many cases, once the process is set up, “operation” often consists of monitoring conditions, or the repetitive placement of material, performing the function and removing of material. Most of the work of equipment operation takes place in the setup.

In many instances, particularly in situations where a process is susceptible to incident (explosion, fire, etc.), the procedure must describe more than operation under ideal or correct conditions. In such cases, learning to perform the task means being ready and able to respond to an upset in the process. That is the next part of the procedure, and the next post.

We have pushed our learner deeper and deeper into the pool; he or she is now waist deep and ready to try some swimming (dog-paddling, maybe). The remaining sections of the procedure will focus on the activities that must be performed to succeed with the process, to achieve the objective for which this piece of equipment has been obtained.

The first activity elements relate to the set-up of the equipment. In nearly all processes involving equipment, incorrect set-up cannot be compensated for by any action taken during the actual operation.

Set-up steps fall into one of two categories:

Equipment pre-check: here, we determine whether or not equipment components are functional or not. We may also determine whether or not conditions (e.g., cleanliness) are sufficient for successful operation. While it is true that components may fail during operation, or other issues arise, but it is essential that we ensure that the equipment is at least functional at the outset, before we commit time, material and people to an operation.

Equipment set-up: here, we perform all actions on the equipment to ensure the correct operating conditions. Temperatures, pressures, operational speeds, energy inputs, etc. are all obtained prior to beginning the actual operation.

What I have found in nearly all types of equipment operating documents I have created, much more effort (in terms of number of activities and length of descriptive sections) goes into the setup than into the actual operation. (Which is a key point I always made during equipment operational training: if everything is properly pre-checked and set up, the actual operation–making the product, for example–is a relative breeze. That is, assuming the process is capable of achieving success. But that’s a separate topic for another day.)

Next up: describing the actual operational steps.

The next part of the procedure provides a pivot point in the discussion. With our learner about knee-deep in the learning experience, we will now discuss the equipment controls. With the background established from the description of components, we will add a new layer, specifically, how we get the equipment to do what we want it to do. Or how to read the equipment to know what conditions are present and whether or not those conditions are acceptable.

In this discussion, every control, every lever, every adjustment dial, etc., is described. Every one. This requires some organization, of course. The best means of organizing the discussion of controls and instruments is to lay them out in the same order that equipment components were discussed.

The progression is designed to allow the learner to add a layer of understanding onto the layer acquired through the description of equipment components. To this point, the boundaries of the procedure/task are understood, the learner understands the implications and consequences of incorrect performance, knows what components are called, where they are located and what they do, and now the learner has learned how components are activated and what instruments monitor the process. The learner is now ready to apply that knowledge to the “doing” represented by the activity descriptions that occur in the sections to follow.

Sorry for the digression in the last post, but I wanted to attempt to explain why the “1.0 Scope, 2.0 Applicability, etc.” format gets in the way of a procedure achieving its purpose. So back to the procedure structure.

The introduction does little more than get the learner’s feet wet. The boundaries of the procedure (task covered, activities described) are set. So, now one of two things will take place next.

The first is a review of process safety. In the case of equipment operating procedures, and equipment operating manuals, this is essential. In most corporations, particularly in manufacturing, a strong emphasis is placed on worker and process safety. Inasmuch as this structure closely follows the procedure elements of Process Safety Management (PSM), a well-organized discussion of safety issues and potential hazards is integral to learning. The learner must be made aware that learning to operate the equipment safely is a key element of operating the equipment productively.

Now, if the procedure were along the lines of preparing and distributing a production schedule, safety would not be a key concern. This part of the discussion may focus on quality issues, or other “this will be the bad result if the procedure is not followed” words of warning.

We have now moved our learner about ankle deep into the pond (assuming we haven’t scared them away). Next, we will move into a functional discussion of the process or the equipment. Equipment is best handled by describing components in a linear fashion, one that follows the process path. In my current employment, I write manuals for laser processing equipment. So it is natural to have the discussion begin where the light is created, move sequentially through all of the optical components, and finish at the application location (where the light acts on the material).

In this part of the procedure, we establish the vocabulary the learner needs to know. This is what components are called, this is what the component does, etc. At this point we have not discussed a single step-by-step activity. That is okay, because we are teaching the language that will be used when the step-by-step activities are described. We now have our learner about knee-deep in the process.

In the next post, we will look at the discussion of equipment controls. Thank you for reading!

A lot of people writing procedures will already be crying “foul” over my structure, even though I have only discussed the Introduction section. Many well-intentioned people will say, “This is how a procedure must be structured:

I. Scope

II. Applicability

III. Supporting Documents

IV. Definitions

etc. etc.”

I am sure I got some of those wrong, because I rebelled against the format years ago. That put me out of step with many people, including organizations dedicated to quality, even the so-called experts at my last company.

I refer to this structure as “Policy Format,” because it is wonderful for policies. However, it is terrible for procedures! Policies are fundamentally different than procedures–I touched on this in previous posts. One key difference in policies is that they are not necessarily intended to be read in order from beginning to end. Procedures–in following the “wading into progressively deeper water” concept–should be read in order. And when reading in order, a paragraph that begins

8.6.5.2

is a distraction to the reader. Numbered paragraphs are fine for policies, since they are useful in locating sections of interest. The reasoning behind this I have covered in previous posts.

So in my next post I will return to discussing procedure structure. If you wish, you may leave a comment here within my blog, or contact me directly. My email address is mrprocedure.com.

Thanks for reading!

The procedure introduction is important, if for no other reason than it is the reader’s first contact with the subject matter. The purpose of the procedure is to set boundaries around the procedure content. If I indicate in the first sentence of a procedure, “this procedure describes the XYZ Machine,” then what I am trying to convey is that “everything an operator will need to know for success with the equipment is described here.”

The introduction often will include an initial comment about safety (this will vary with the organization’s commitment to safety). Typically, an introduction is no more than half a page.

I know what some of you are thinking about procedure structure…and I will make it the focus of my next post.

The structure of procedures–now the structure of manuals–that I settled on is based largely on OSHA’s Process Safety Management (PSM) Standard (29 CFR 1910.119). The purpose behind Process Safety Management is to ensure that persons performing particularly hazardous processes (like the process that went awry in Bhopal, India in 1984) would know how the process works, how to identify when a process is moving toward upset, and how to address the problem before disaster (fire, explosion, escape or release of hazardous materials, etc.) occurs.

So, the procedure structure, borrowing heavily from PSM, is as follows:

Introduction: what the procedure will cover

General safety and safety controls

Basic Components of the Equipment (this assumes the procedure is focused on a piece of equipment, which manuals will be)

Controls on the Equipment (a complete discussion of every gauge, indicator, button, etc. that performs some function)

Steps to Setting up the Equipment or Operation

Performing the Operation

Upset Conditions and How to Respond to Them

Shutdown of the Equipment

Those familiar with PSM will recognize some PSM-mandated procedure items are not addressed in the list above. But every PSM element is addressed, even if not in the order listed in the standard.

In the next posts, I will discuss in detail each section and what belongs there.

In developing a manual for a piece of large capital equipment, the outcome of the manual is that training of users of the equipment would be effective,  that ultimately the user organization would achieve its purpose for the equipment purchase.

If a manual is the equivalent of an operating procedure, then its sole purpose would be to teach individuals how to perform every task or activity necessary for success with the equipment.

And if the manual is the equivalent of a procedure, then it follows that the manual should be structured in the manner of an equipment procedure of the sort an engineer, trainer or technical writer would write on the inside for a company.

So how should the manual be structured? The structure I use and teach when teaching procedure development I liken to “walking into progressively deeper water.” This could also be characterized as “layered learning,” where basic concepts are introduced and used as stepping stones toward a more detailed explanation of the equipment and the activities performed on the equipment.

In my next post, I will outline the structure for procedures, which has become the structure for manuals I now develop in my current employment.

The foundation of the product manual, as discussed Monday, is the list of activities (which we are calling “tasks” in this context) that must be performed by someone in the user organization or the product will not meet its objective. Now, in most manufacturing organizations, there are multiple people with differing skills that perform tasks on the equipment:

•    Some people are assigned to use the equipment to produce a specific product, or to perform some similarly value-adding activity
•    Some people are assigned to performing maintenance on the equipment to keep it functioning at a high level of productivity with as few upsets (i.e., breakdowns) as possible
•    Some people are assigned to develop, test and optimize the methods of equipment operation, to increase yields, reduce variation, i.e., make more of them or make them better

If the tasks are grouped together based on who (or what function) will perform them, the result will be three smaller lists rather than one large list (recognizing, of course, some tasks may end up on multiple lists).

As a result, not everyone needs to be taught every task. And not everybody needs to be fed the same supporting information. And, maybe, the manual better serves the user organization by becoming multiple manuals, with one manual targetting the day-to-day equipment operator, one targetting maintenance and service, and one targetting the process engineer. In other words, we can “right size” manuals by delivering to each group the information they need to be successful.

Will it lead to less writing? Probably, but not because of the grouping of tasks (in some ways, that may add volume to the writing). The brevity will come from having the manual information center on specific, confirmed lists of activities, and allowing for any information that does not support task performance being eliminated (ideally, not written in the first place).

In the next post, we will discuss the organization of manuals, which follows almost to the letter the structure I used writing equipment procedures in my past employment. Because, in reality, that’s exactly what I am doing.

I left the last post describing a customer manual as a training program, with the piece of equipment representing a “department.”

So the question becomes, “what are the tasks that must be performed to keep the machine running and producing?” And from this, working with the subject matter experts, this list is assembled. For the time being, this list is created without consideration of who should or will do the task.

This may sound like a daunting task in and of itself, but the good news is the list is finite. Eventually, every task can and will be identified. This in turn becomes the focus of the manual or manuals. Any other information included in the manual is there to support task performance. If the information does not facilitate the successful operation of the product, it should not be there.

Now that the list is assembled, we will ask the question, “Who is the best person to perform this task?” This will be integral to the manner in which the manual information is arranged. And that we will discuss in the next post. Until then, thanks for reading. All comments may be fed directly to me at mrprocedure@gmail.com

Thanks for reading!