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Operating Procedures

Plant specific Operating Procedures (OP's) are developed for plant personnel to provide clear and concise, step by step procedures for the safe operation of plant equipment and systems.  Similar to our approach for System Descriptions, these procedures are developed in a standardized format.

In general, an Operating Procedure is developed for each plant system; such as Condensate, Compressed Air, Plant Wastewater, etc.  The individual Operating Procedures are developed using a consistent format, which contains similar sections for consistency and ease of locating information.  

In addition to the Operating Procedures developed for each system, an Integrated Operating Procedure is typically developed for the plant as a whole.  This procedure addresses bringing the plant from a cold condition to full load, as well as other transient conditions such as warm/hot start, partial load, etc.

This example Table of Contents illustrates what is developed for each system:

System Preoperation Checks:

• Precautions and Limitations - Lists safety precautions and relevant equipment operating limitations.
• Valve Alignment List - Provides the valve position of all manual valves.
• Power Supply List - Provides the MCC location and required status of all power supplies.
• System Prerequisites - Lists the systems that must be in service prior to starting this particular system, and verifies any other required steps have been taken.

Operating Procedures:

• System Start-up - Step by step procedure describes the normal, cold startup of the system. Where appropriate, warm/hot starts are also addressed.
• System Normal Operation - Lists the tasks to be taken during the normal, rountine operation of the system.  This may include temporary operations such as swapping pumps for runtime.
• System Shutdown - Lists the steps to bring the system down to a standby condition under normal circumstances.
• Emergency Operations - Lists the steps necessary to immediately trip the system in the event of an emergency condition.

Alarm Response - The alarm and initiating device, probable cause, and recommended action is listed in tabular form.  In general, all DCS based alarms are addressed, as well as likely local/common PLC alarms.

Maintenance Considerations - Rountine, preventive type maintenance tasks for the equipment/system are listed by frequency.