Manual, procedural operating procedures

As microprocessor-based controls displaced hardwired electronic and pneumatic controls, the impac t on plant safety has definitely been positive. When automated procedures replace manual procedures for routine operations, the probability of human errors leading to hazardous situations is lowered. The enhanced capability for presenting information to the process operators in a timely manner and in the most meaningful form increases the operator s awareness of the current conditions in the process. Process operators are expected to exercise due diligence in the supervision of the process, and timely recognition of an abnormal situation reduces the likelihood that the situation will progress to the hazardous state. Figure 8-88 depicts the layers of safety protection in a typical chemical jdant. 

During this assessment phase, deliberately look for programs and elements. The most likely sources are Operating Manuals/Procedures, PSM, and ESH Manuals, and PSM and ESH specialists. In each case, your assessment team should seek out descriptions of the objectives of each... 

Every analytical laboratory, governmental, private, or university, has a standard set of procedures that provide both general and specific information to laboratory members. These fall into certain categories, including the laboratory s standard operating procedures (SOPs), quality assurance/quality control manuals (QA/QC manuals), procedural manuals, analytical method files, and laboratory information management systems... 

FDA. Regulatory Procedures Manual Import Operations/Action. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. Aug. 1,1997, Chap. 9. 

Process Safety Booklets, 6th ed., 1984, AMOCO Oil Company Refining and Engineering. It seems this fundamental, matter-of-fact safety practices book is not available via the normal book sales route. You may contact Matt L. Smorch, AMOCO Oil Company, 200 East Randolph Dr., Chicago, IL 60601, (312) 856-7232. It is a superior book intended as a safety supplement to operator training courses, operating manuals, and operating procedures. The first edition of these booklets appeared over 40 years ago. The text is a real value at about 50. 

Procedures and user manuals may be outdated, with users relying on typed or handwritten instruetions to supplement or replace old manuals. Procedures for operating the computer system should be reviewed and updated as necessary to reflect the current use of the system. Training reeords should be eurrent and refleet training in these npdated procedures. Access rights should be cheeked as appropriate and authorized. Role specifications may need to be updated. Business Continuity Plans should also be reviewed and amendments made as required. 

The Validation Report responds to the VMP, providing a summary of the actual approach taken and the documentation produced. Any deviations from the approach prescribed by the VMP must be justified and the consequence of the deviation assessed. Where the deviation is not acceptable, a corrective action plan must be formulated to address the issue. It may be possible that by implementing manual procedures to overcome the issue in the short term, the system will be enabled to move into the operational enviromnent while the issue is being addressed. 

Where there are no issues or they can be overcome by manual procedures, the system may be recommended for operational use. 

In the first edition of Stahl s laboratory handbook Durmschicht-Chromatographie published in 1962, equipment for coating glass plates is illustrated, and detailed procedures for the preparation of TLC plates are described. Even today, TLC sorbents for a manual coating operation are produced in an only shghtly modified form, especially where labor costs are small and time is a minor consideration. The layers obtained often show good selectivity, but do not achieve the separation efficiency obtained by precoated layers and seldom lead to reproducible results. 

Until the advent of FIA, all automated methods of analysis emulated not only the sequence, but also the underlying concept of individual operations performed in the course of a manual procedure (Fig. 1.2). A simple chemical assay (Fig. 1.2a) requires mixing of a precisely metered volume of sample solution with a precisely metered volume of reagent. 

Precipitation is one of the oldest separation techniques used in classical chemical analysis. However, its importance in modem analytical chemistry has declined due to the development of more versatile and efficient separation techniques such as solvent extraction and ion-exchange which are also more easily automated. Conventional operations for precipitation in the batch mode are both labour and time consuming, and require considerable operator skill. When coprecipitation methods are used to separate or preconcentrate trace constituents, the long manual procedures are particularly undesirable, as they may introduce contamination risks which are difficult to overcome. >espite the obvious drawbacks of the precipitation-dissolution manual batch procedure, little has been attempted for its automation, presumably owing to difficulties in designing efficient automated procedures for aging, quantitative transfer of precipitates on to a filter, and its subsequent dissolution or weighing [1]. 

A chronic vexation for those who write procedures is the lack of an agreed-upon standard for the meaning of words and phrases such as manual, procedure, task, and SOP. Different companies, organizations, and operating facilities apply different meanings to such terms. 

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