Industrial Communication Skills Log Books - 4th Edition PDF

Unit A-10 • Fundamental Industrial Communication Skills Objective 2 Describe the legal documentation requirements for Power Engineers, including log books and log sheets. Log Books Log books help to document regular activities. Power Engineers must maintain steady operating conditions, attempt to...

Unit A-10 • Fundamental Industrial Communication Skills Objective 2 Describe the legal documentation requirements for Power Engineers, including log books and log sheets. Log Books Log books help to document regular activities. Power Engineers must maintain steady operating conditions, attempt to normalize process conditions when disturbances occur, and respond to emergency situations. Because Power Engineers have so much responsibility, it is necessary for them to document the: a) b) c) d) e) Equipment they observe or test. Results of the equipment tests. Maintenance performed in the plant. Process disturbances or unusual conditions that occur. Decisions made: i. Regarding the results of equipment tests. ii. Due to the occurrence of unusual conditions. f ) Orders given with respect to observed conditions. g) Actions taken while on shift. h) Final results of the actions taken. The shift engineer is usually responsible for documenting this information. The timing of all the activities on shift must also be well documented. When Power Engineers are conscientious, choose wisely, follow plant procedures, and act in a timely manner, processes remain stable and safe. However, process upsets and outages do occur, even to well-qualified and experienced operators. When process upsets occur, operators can use log books to demonstrate that they took reasonable steps, followed approved procedures, and acted in reasonable amounts of time, to normalize process conditions. The logs can be used to re-examine and revise procedure manuals, to address how similar situations should be handled in the future. Log books are very useful for transferring information during shift changes. The incoming shift needs to be prepared for the conditions they will encounter. Is a shipment of chemicals due? Is it time to transfer over feed pumps? Will the plant be switching to standby fuel? Are the fire alarms being tested? Does the demineralizer need regeneration? Is maintenance replacing a chilled water pump seal? Has the process stabilized after a power outage? Without this information, the incoming shift will be surprised by the conditions they encounter, and may not react appropriately or promptly to situations that need their attention. Log books help to inform operators of operating trends. This includes energy usage and cost, plant and boiler efficiency, and boiler fireside cleanliness. When used over a period of time, log books document equipment operation and maintenance history. When plant maintenance is performed, log books briefly summarize the work performed, who did the work, and why the work was necessary. This is useful for changes in operational staff, maintenance staff, and ownership. 3-10 4th Class Edition 3 • Part A Plant Communications • Chapter 3 Log books are more than just ways of documenting activities and informing shift changes. Every Canadian jurisdiction requires Power Engineers to make log entries every shift, and then to sign and date each entry. Operators who do not make the required entries contravene the law, and may be found guilty of an offense. Therefore, it is important to think of log books as legal documents that can and will be used to determine culpability in a court of law. Who was operating at the time of the accident? What were the conditions observed by the operator? What was the sequence of events, and when did they occur? What decisions did the operator make? What were the orders issued by the operator? What were the outcomes of the orders that were issued? How often were tests conducted? With careful documentation, boiler inspectors and safety officers can examine operator behaviours, and determine responsibility should a significant hazardous event occur. Log books must be made available to jurisdictional inspectors upon request. As well, log books should be kept for a minimum number of years, as prescribed by the jurisdiction. Good Practice for Log Book Entries Because log books are legal documents, entries must be legible, accurate, and concise. The following list covers additional good practice. a) Use ONLY official plant log books. Do not make official log entries on scrap paper or in personal notebooks. b) Write legibly, in permanent black ink. c) Make log book entries as the opportunity arises. It is possible to forget events or times, if waiting for the end of the shift. d) Record the time of each event entered in the log book. Use the 24-hour clock to indicate times. Entries in the record must be in chronological order. e) Make sure to note significant equipment, plant areas, workers, orders given and received, tests, and actions taken. f ) Write only facts. Do not enter opinions. g) NEVER erase entries. h) NEVER remove pages from the log book. i) Try not to leave large blank spaces. Draw diagonal lines through large spaces, where they occur. Initial and date the diagonal line. This indicates the vacant space is deliberate, and should not have content. j) If a mistake is made, draw a single line through the text. Initial and date the line. NEVER use correction fluid or correction tape. k) Sign and date all entries at the end of the shift. 4th Class Edition 3 • Part A 3-11 Unit A-10 • Fundamental Industrial Communication Skills Log Sheets To help Power Engineers document the tests they perform and the observations they make, log sheets are often used. Small hot water heating plants may have only a single log sheet for the boiler. Steam heating plants may have separate log sheets for the boiler and for water tests (Figure 1). The operator conducting the checks initials each entry. If unusual conditions exist, a brief entry is made in the comments area. Circumstances surrounding the unusual condition are described with more detail in the log book. Figure 1 – Steam Heating Boiler Log Sheet 3-12 4th Class Edition 3 • Part A Plant Communications • Chapter 3 Large plants have log sheets for each part of the plant. For example, the steam plant will have one log sheet for the boiler and another for boiler water tests. The turbine operator will have a log sheet for the turbine and turbine auxiliaries. The water treatment plant operator will have a log sheet for external (boiler feed) water tests. Figure 2 shows a sample water treatment log sheet. Figure 2 – Water Treatment Plant Log Sheet Log sheets can help operators and maintenance personnel to diagnose problems with equipment or processes. Log books can be used to compare how equipment operates when new, after being repaired, or after being in-service for a period of time. This informs equipment maintenance activities and replacement scheduling. 4th Class Edition 3 • Part A 3-13 Unit A-10 • Fundamental Industrial Communication Skills Most importantly, log sheets inform operators of the decisions made on previous shifts; the process conditions and trends that led to the decisions; and the results of those decisions. For example, an operator may notice that over the previous shift, the boiler M-alkalinity fell steadily. On further observation, the operator may notice that the continuous blowdown valve setting was increased by 10% in response to high dissolved solids. The operator may then choose to adjust the continuous blowdown back to its previous setting, depending on the most recent dissolved solids concentration. Power Engineers must recognize that, like log books, log sheets are legal documents, because log sheets support and verify the information recorded in log books. The same care in using log books should extend to the use of log sheets. 3-14 4th Class Edition 3 • Part A