Engineering Procedures Manuals—Benefit or Liability?

Abstract

A study was conducted on the utility of procedures manuals in engineering firms. These documents are produced with the intent to manage (or at least guide) the work of engineers. A review of the literature indicated that the use of such manuals is minimal but their production can cost in excess of US$250,000.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 engineers from nine companies on their particular use of procedures manuals. The majority of engineers interviewed worked for companies that had procedures manuals. Of these engineers, more than half either had not seen the document or had viewed it only once. Long documents (in excess of 1000 pages) were shown to be used less often and to be less current than documents with 50 or fewer pages. Suggested guidelines for producing procedures manuals are presented. These include such recommendations as posting the document electronically for easy access and maximizing the use of flowcharts and checklists.