Procedure Use: Stop When the Instructions Do Not Fit

Human Performance weekly series: lesson 11 of 52.

A 5–10 minute crew discussion, plus time to verify the actual controls. The crew talk and Word version are public. Separate supervisor and attendance records are included with free Safety & Systems membership.

Why this matters

A procedure needs to fit the actual task. A missing page, changed component or impossible step can leave the crew choosing between guessing and following an unsafe instruction. Bring that mismatch into the open. Keep the affected work safe while the responsible people resolve it through the approved process.

Learning objective

Confirm that the current procedure fits today’s work and route an unsafe or unworkable instruction for authorized resolution before proceeding.

Key hazards or failure points

Obsolete or incomplete instructions; missing prerequisites; a different equipment configuration; conflicting documents; an unclear branch; a familiar workaround replacing the approved method; continuing despite an unexpected result.

Practical controls

• Match the procedure to the task and equipment. Obtain its current approved version and all required pages, attachments and referenced instructions. Confirm how the procedure must be used during this work.
• Review prerequisites, limits, precautions and important steps before action. Identify the controls and checks required first. Familiarity with the job does not establish that today’s starting conditions are correct.
• When an instruction is unsafe, unclear or impossible to follow, hold the affected step and report the exact mismatch. Use the approved discrepancy and change process; do not skip, rewrite or improvise the step.

Verify It in the Field

• Compare the working copy’s identifier, revision and completeness with the controlled source. From a safe position, match the stated task and equipment identity. Record the document checked and any unresolved difference.
• Choose a consequential prerequisite. Have its designated verifier locate the governing criterion and obtain the required evidence using the authorized safe method. Record the finding and time; reading the prerequisite does not establish that it exists.
• For a reported discrepancy, trace the response to an authorized disposition. Confirm the revised instruction or approved direction, completed protection checks and crew rebrief. An email saying someone is reviewing the problem leaves the affected step on hold.

Stop and reassess

Hold for missing instructions, conflicting requirements, an unsafe step, unknown starting conditions or an unexpected result. Follow the task’s safe-state and notification process. Resume only after authorized resolution, required verification and a clear restart point. Record the problem so the next crew does not inherit the same uncertainty.

Crew discussion questions

• Which prerequisite must be established before this step?
• What part of these instructions is difficult to apply here?
• Who can resolve a discrepancy and authorize the next step?

For each required control, record its acceptance source and criterion, safe verification method, responsible checker, actual result and time. Use VERIFIED, HOLD/NOT VERIFIED, or N/A with a reason. A tick alone is not evidence. Complete all applicable task inspections; do not enter danger or improvise a test to fill out a form.

Leader preparation and practical detail

The drawing and the equipment disagree

Illustrative situation: the procedure names a component that is absent from the installed arrangement. Keep the affected step held and report the actual identifier, procedure revision, step and observed difference. The responsible technical or procedure authority determines whether the document, assignment or configuration needs correction. A more experienced worker’s memory can help explain the issue, but does not itself approve an alternate sequence. Check the authorized resolution against the actual task before release.

An instruction can be current and still unusable

A current revision may contain an unclear branch, an inaccessible observation point or a prerequisite the form never records. HSE guidance supports involving users in procedure design and management. Ask workers to describe the difficulty while the task remains protected, then route it to the owner. Keep competence, engineering safeguards and required permits in place. Improving the wording is useful only if the resulting method can be performed safely under the actual conditions.

Close the discrepancy, not just the message

A useful discrepancy record names what cannot be done, the affected step, the safe status and the person responsible for resolution. Closure needs the approved disposition, any required rechecks and communication to affected users. If a revised instruction changes a prerequisite or work sequence, determine the required restart point through the task process. Link the Place-Keeping lesson when step status is uncertain; this lesson concerns whether the instruction itself fits the work.

Short supervisor field check

• Current, complete procedure matches task and equipment.
• Use requirements, prerequisites and significant steps are understood.
• Required starting conditions have actual verification evidence.
• Discrepancy disposition is authorized and usable in the field.
• Corrected instruction, rebrief and restart point are confirmed.

Confirm the relevant trained/authorized people, unresolved items, interim protection, correction owner and recheck. Record required release authority and rebrief anyone affected. The separate sheet supports these records; it does not replace a specialist inspection, permit or engineering determination.

Attendance and follow-through

Use the separate attendance sheet for participants, roles, discussion concerns, actions and late-arrival rebriefs. Attendance is not proof of competence, functioning controls or authorization to work. Keep completed records private under employer procedures.

Source acknowledgment

This resource draws on the U.S. Department of Energy’s DOE-HDBK-1028-2009, Human Performance Improvement Handbook, Volume 2 (June 2009). Todd Jerome Jenkins makes no claim of authorship or copyright ownership in the original U.S. Government work. New explanations, examples, exercises and layouts are Todd Jerome Jenkins adaptations. No endorsement by DOE or the U.S. Government is implied. Third-party material credited in the handbook remains attributed to its source; this notice does not claim rights in that material.

Source excerpt: Volume 2/VOLUME 2 PROCEDURE USE AND ADHERENCE.pdf; Printed pp. 20, 21. The June 2009 handbook supplies concepts; this lesson uses original explanations and exercises.

Technical scope and references

References reviewed October 9, 2026. DOE human-performance tools and OSHA recommended practices support preparation and discussion; they do not establish universal technical acceptance criteria. Apply the current task procedure, manufacturer instructions, permit and required competent or qualified decisions. A successful exercise does not replace required training, technical verification or work authorization.

1. DOE-HDBK-1028-2009, Volume 2 — Procedure Use and Adherence — June 2009 illustrative guidance, printed pages 20–21: current complete instructions, prerequisites, discrepancy reporting and stopping when instructions cannot be used safely. Not a universal mandated procedure format.
2. HSE — Procedures — UK regulator guidance on usable procedures, user involvement, management and the limits of reliance on instructions; not a U.S. legal requirement.
3. OSHA — Hazard Prevention and Control — Recommended practices, action items 3 and 6: control responsibility and actual implementation checks.

Connect this discussion to your JHA/JSA

Use the JHA/JSA planning and field-verification worksheet to record the actual task steps, hazards, responsible roles and controls. No task-specific worked example is linked for this topic yet. Return to What Changed Today? when the plan or conditions change.

Related Todd Jerome Jenkins articles: How to Conduct a Job Safety Analysis and What Is Human and Organizational Performance?.

Related crew discussions

• Place-Keeping: Know Where to Resume
• Pause When Unsure: Make the Restart Clear

Continue the weekly series

• Lesson 10: Place-Keeping: Know Where to Resume
• Lesson 12: Component Flagging: Confirm the Right Item

Put one check into practice

Use the free JHA/JSA planning and field-verification worksheet to record today’s change, the required protection and the evidence needed before exposure.