An Operating Procedures Manual provides detailed, scenario-based operating instructions for specific plant systems or process areas. In oil & gas refineries, petrochemical facilities, and continuous-process industrial plants, it ensures that operations staff have clear, consistent, and safe procedures for running equipment under all operating conditions.
These manuals cover normal, abnormal, and emergency operating scenarios, and are essential for preventing process upsets, maintaining safety, and achieving regulatory compliance.
What This Manual Is For
This manual defines the step-by-step procedures that operators must follow when starting, shutting down, or adjusting refinery process units or system equipment. It documents operator actions, equipment interactions, and control-system behaviour for each operational scenario.
In complex, integrated sites such as refineries, these procedures support:
- Safe and repeatable unit operation
- Consistent shift-to-shift performance
- Compliance with process safety and operational integrity requirements
- Correct operator responses to alarms, trips, and equipment faults
Who It’s For
- Control room operators
- Field operators
- Operations technicians
- Start-up and commissioning teams
- Operations supervisors and process engineers
- HSE and competency management teams
Why It Matters in Oil & Gas and Petrochemical Plants
In high-hazard processing environments, precise operating procedures are essential because they:
- Minimise human error during critical operations
- Provide the correct response steps for abnormal or emergency conditions
- Support Process Safety Management (PSM) and COMAH/Seveso requirements
- Reduce unplanned downtime, equipment damage, and flaring events
- Provide a training and competency framework for new and existing operators
Typical Contents of an Operating Procedures Manual
Based directly on Orchid’s approach, an Operating Procedures Manual includes detailed procedures for a specific process area or system, covering multiple operating modes.
1. Operating Procedures / Instructions for Each Scenario
Procedures cover operating scenarios such as:
Normal startup
Startup following an Emergency Shutdown (ESD)
Normal shutdown
Abnormal/emergency responses
Changeover procedures
Load changes or mode changes
These are essential in refinery units such as crude distillation, hydrotreating, catalytic reforming, FCCU, and utility systems.
2. Supporting Lists & Technical References
The manual includes supporting materials that operators require to correctly execute procedures:
Equipment lists (showing all equipment relevant to the procedures)
Valve lists with assigned valve IDs / tag numbers
Valve position tables for each operating state
Drawing references such as P&IDs
Cause & Effect (C&E) chart references
These are vital for maintaining procedural accuracy in process-critical systems.
3. Digital / Control-Room Compatible Formats
Operating Procedures Manuals can be provided in electronic formats suitable for uploading into plant control computers, enabling operators to view and follow procedures at their console.
This is particularly useful in refineries where multiple units must coordinate closely.
Applicable Standards
- ISO / IEC / IEEE 82079-1 – Preparation of Information for Use
- ISO 20607 – Safety of Machinery: Instruction Handbook
- ISO 12100 – Safety of Machinery: Risk Assessment and Risk Reduction
- ISO 01.110 Series Technical Product Documentation Standards
How We Work
Orchid develops Operating Procedures Manuals for complex process facilities by:
- Reviewing P&IDs, C&E charts, valve listings, and control-system data
- Working with operations and engineering teams to confirm procedural accuracy
- Writing clear, scenario-driven procedures tailored to the plant’s operating philosophy
- Ensuring consistency with existing Operations Manuals and Training Manuals
- Producing both printed and fully digital control-room compatible formats
Orchid can write operating procedures for any process plant system, from major refinery process units to utility systems and auxiliary equipment.
Delivery Options
- Printed and bound field manuals
- Searchable PDFs for operations networks
- Digital procedures formatted for control-room or DCS/HMI viewing
- Fully aligned multilingual editions
Next Steps
To discuss an Operating Procedures Manual tailored to your refinery or process plant — or to request a quotation — please contact the Orchid team via our standard enquiry channels.
Other Manual Types can be seen here.
