Technical Writing

Technical documentation is the glue that holds an automation project together—it is the means through which technical designers and programmers interact with non-technical operators and managers, communicate what they intend to create, and verify that they have accomplished what they set out to accomplish.

There is little value in having an automation system work flawlessly if Operations doesn't understand what it is and how it works.

Documents We Provide

We provide technical documentation, as requested, with every automation project we design. Options include:

• Detailed Project Scope
• Functional Description
• Cause and Effect Charts
• Standard Operating Procedures
• Sequence-of-Operation Descriptions
• Testing Procedures
• Electrical Schematics
• PLC Ladder Logic Comments

Documents We Help Others Produce

In 1984, OSHA introduced a rule intended to minimize the consequences of a catastrophic chemical release from a process. The Process Safety Management Rule 29 CFR 1910.119, or PSM, covers 14 different components of process safety.

We can provide technical support to companies auditing and documenting their compliance with this rule.

• PSI - Process Safety Information
  • Update instrumentation on process drawings (P&IDs)
  • Audit compliance with area classification drawings
  • Document components of safety systems (interlocks, detection, suppression)
  
  
• PHA - Process Hazard Analysis
  • Identify methods of leak detection
  • Document process monitoring and control instrumentation
  • Document process alarms
  • Identify combustible and toxic gas detection hardware
  
  
• Operating Procedures
  • Identify safety systems and their functions
  • Assist with creating operating procedures related to process instrumentation
  
  
• PSSR - Pre-Startup Safety Review
  • Verify electrical equipment is installed according to design specifications
  • Verify controls operate as specified
  
  
• MI - Mechanical Integrity
  • Document emergency shutdown systems
  • Create testing procedures for:
    • Emergency shutdown systems
    • Instrumentation
    • Monitoring devices, sensors, alarms, and interlocks
  
  
• MOC - Management of Change
  • Describe technical basis for proposed change
  • Train employees affected by proposed change
  • Update Process Safety Information:
    • Electrical drawings
    • PLC Schematics
    • Instrumentation Data Sheets
    • Testing Procedures
  
  
• Compliance Audits
  • Audit systems for compliance with state and federal electrical codes