Benefits of PPA Procedure Writer Certification
Procedures are the driving force for creating a safe environment at the workplace. They must be well written, provide clear instructions to the reader, and be free of human factored errors. Procedures are perhaps most important in the nuclear power industry due to the job's innumerable regulations and high-risk nature.
While the nuclear power industry may be one of the most crucial areas for technical procedures, all individuals and industries can benefit from well-written technical procedures—especially industries requiring details of operating and maintaining a facility.
Because of this necessity, the Procedure Professionals Association (PPA) was created to be a collective voice in procedure and work instruction writing, reviewing, and associated training. The PPA Procedure Writer Certification is valuable for companies and individuals to improve their human factored procedure and work planner writing.
Read on to learn why this certification is beneficial for individuals and companies and how you can become a PPA Certified Procedure Writer.
Certification Benefits for Individuals
If you're a job seeker or just looking for skills to advance your career, a PPA certification is one of the best ways to do this. Many companies, especially high-risk industries, may prefer or require PPA certification for staff. Having "PPA Certified Procedure Writer" on your resume can aid in setting you apart from others who lack certification. This certification is recognized industry-wide and can assist in providing potential career advancements.
Becoming a PPA Certified Procedure Writer can also be the difference in writing procedures that keep your fellow team members safe. Procedure writers will have the ability to become more human factored focused. This certification is also incredibly beneficial to procedure reviewers as it provides the tools to identify human performance errors. It is a significant opportunity to develop more specialized procedure writing and reviewing skills.
Certification Benefits for Companies
A PPA certification is beneficial to companies because it helps reduce errors that cause injuries and death among staff and can reduce the costs associated with human performance errors. Simple mistakes can cause fatalities or plant shutdowns, resulting in millions of dollars in reparations. These errors can also result in bad PR that may ultimately require PPA certification for procedure writers and reviewers as proof of addressing quality issues.
Offering PPA certification also gives employees the opportunity for professional development. These employees will be able to demonstrate initiative and gain the necessary skills to fill future positions. Employees may also feel more valued, appreciated, and happier at a job investing in their professional development. In turn, this can create less turnover and a larger applicant pool.
How to Become a PPA Certified Procedure Writer
Procedure Solutions Management is the industry leader in providing human-factored technical writing courses for procedures and work instructions. These courses provide skill enhancement for all levels of writers and procedure program managers. Since 2008, we have helped over 20,000 procedure writers and reviewers become PPA Certified Procedure Writers.
Classes are conducted by our founder and Chairman of the Board, Steve McCord. Steve has over 30 years of operations/maintenance experience. He has been integral to the development of industry-wide human factored procedure and work instruction program standards.
PPA certification courses are open to the public or can be offered as client-specific courses. Client-specific courses can be designed to address the company’s specific needs. The class discusses industry concepts and rules, identification of human performance challenges in procedures, conservative operational decision-making, and human-factored technical procedure challenges. Courses are 20-hours long, and certification is obtained upon completion of the course and successfully passing a PPA certified exam.
For more information on course dates, costs, and class content, please visit our website or contact us at info@proceduresolutionsmgmt.com.




