The Devil is in the Details - Or is it the Missing Details?

TeamOJT Tip of the Month for January, 2005

As the poet Alexander Pope claimed, it is human nature to err. One of the most frequent causes of human error occurs when some seemingly minor detail is left out of a procedure or process - an error of omission. One way to greatly reduce errors of omission is by carefully documenting procedures and processes and then training to those exact procedures and processes. Research shows that when written procedures are used for training, employees are more likely to follow the procedures when actually performing the job.

I frequently get requests from trainers to conduct train-the-trainer courses for their companies' OJT trainers. When I ask what materials they use in training, the answer is usually, "We don't have any training materials." Attempting to train without written materials is just asking for trouble - big trouble. The result is no consistency from worker to worker and valuable details left out. Not even a subject matter expert will always remember everything. And the trainee, without a written procedure to guide him or her, will remember even less. What's worse is that the trainee will assume that it's okay to complete tasks without following procedures.

Ideally, the employees themselves should be charged with writing the procedures - a mixture of experienced and not so experienced employees. Why are less experienced workers included? Because they make sure all the proper details are included. As a Boeing engineer once remarked following a team session of documenting non-destructive test procedures, "Boy, I never realized how many 'holes' are in our procedures." (Less experienced engineers on the team were tasked with asking questions every time they didn't understand something.)

Here are some tips for good procedure writing:

1. Communicate instructions using simple and concise language.
2. Use action statements to communicate procedure instructions to users.
3. Maintain consistency in language (words, definitions) and format among instrument labeling, procedures, and training.
4. Avoid using synonymous terminology merely for the sake of introducing variation. Use words and phrases consistently throughout procedures.
5. Write instructions clearly. The users should not have to infer the meaning.
6. Select vocabulary carefully. Use simple, common vocabulary that accurately reflects intended meaning and which is common and familiar in the context of the training users receive. Use technical terms when they are the most common and familiar terms to the users.
7. Rewrite sentences, if necessary, to avoid excessive punctuation.
8. Avoid ambiguous words, e.g., "the right valve" should be rephrased as "the right-hand valve" and augmented by the specific valve name or number.
9. Avoid vague adjectives (words modifying nouns) and adverbs (words modifying verbs) which are subject to interpretation. Specify quantities whenever possible (e.g., "Drain the tank at 10 gallons/minute" is preferable to "Drain the tank slowly.")
10. Limit the use of abbreviations and acronyms.
11. Develop a restrictive list of abbreviations and acronyms and use only those words on this list. Users should be familiar with these acronyms and abbreviations without having to refer to the list.
12. Adhere to grammatical conventions and to the punctuation rules of standard American English.
13. When in doubt about the level of detail, write to the lowest common denominator.

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