Frequently Asked Questions
Find the answers to your questions about our services, training, and areas of expertise here:
Section 1: PPA Writer Certification
Section 2: Procedure Writing
Section 3: Procedure Program Audits
Section 4: Corporate Services
Section 5: Online Courses
Section 6: About Procedure Solutions Management
Section 1: PPA Writer Certification
What is the PPA Writer Certification?
The PPA Writer Certification is a globally recognized credential for professionals who develop, review, or manage procedures in highly regulated or compliance-driven industries. This includes organizations in sectors such as nuclear, energy, oil and gas, chemical, financial services, healthcare, state and local government, and other high-reliability environments. It is administered by the Procedure Professionals Association (PPA) and validates that a writer can apply human-factored procedure writing standards, procedure use and adherence, and related industry guidance. The certification is earned by passing the PPA Writer Certification Exam.
Who is authorized to provide PPA certification exam preparation?
The Procedure Professionals Association (PPA) authorizes only a small number of organizations to provide official training for the PPA Writer Certification. We are proud to be among these few authorized providers and remain actively involved with the PPA community, supporting its mission to advance leading‑edge, human‑factored procedure standards across all industries.
What is the format of the PPA Procedure Writer Certification course?
The standard PPA Writer Certification course is a required minimum of 20 hours of instruction delivered across 5 days in 4-hour online session blocks. This course is offered publicly online quarterly — in January, April, July, and October. PSM also offers custom courses for your corporate needs to privately train your staff online or on-site.
Do I need prior technical writing experience or education to take the PPA certification course?
No. However, a foundation in a professional work environment is preferred. The course is designed to benefit procedure writers and work planners establishing their foundation or expanding and refining their expertise. The curriculum meets participants at every experience level, including highly experienced practitioners.
Is the PPA certification exam included in the course?
The course prepares participants for the PPA Writer Certification Exam. Exam registration is handled separately through the Procedure Professionals Association. Contact our team for guidance on exam registration.
Is the PPA certification still relevant in a digital age?
Even in today’s AI‑enabled workplace, human performance is more important than ever: as systems grow more technologically dependent, the potential impact of human error—and the value of human expertise—both increase. When AI-generated content enters a procedure program without a clear-eyed understanding of what AI fundamentally cannot do, the result is not a better procedure. People still make the key decisions, interpret information, and are ultimately accountable for safe, compliant operations. That's why we prioritize the human factored approach and its value in improving human performance.
Is the PPA certification course ever presented in-person?
Yes. The quarterly public PPA Writer Certification courses are delivered online. However, you can request a custom in-person class for your company by reaching out to our team. We can provide the full PPA course, integrated with your company-specific processes and examples.
Section 2: Procedure Writing
What is a procedure error trap?
A procedure error trap is a writing or formatting choice that increases the likelihood of human error when an operator follows the procedure. Error traps can include vague action words, passive voice, missing level of detail, incorrectly placed cautions or warnings, and other issues that create ambiguity or cognitive load for the reader. There are 18 recognized categories of procedure error traps addressed in PPA standards. Identifying and eliminating error traps is a core skill taught in PSM's training programs.
What are human-factored procedures?
Human-factored procedures are written and formatted to support how people actually read, process, and execute instructions under real-world conditions — including under stress, time pressure, or in complex environments. Human-factored procedures use imperative voice, appropriate level of detail, clear action steps, correctly placed cautions and warnings, and formatting that reduces cognitive load and minimizes the risk of misinterpretation. Human factors principles in procedure writing are based on research into how the human brain processes information and makes decisions.
What is the difference between Work as Imagined and Work as Done?
Work as Imagined refers to how a task is expected to be performed according to documented procedures and official processes. Work as Done refers to how the task is actually performed in the field — which often differs from the documented standard due to informal adaptations, environmental conditions, time pressure, or gaps in procedure quality. The gap between Work as Imagined and Work as Done is a leading cause of incidents and near misses in high-risk industrial operations. Closing this gap requires human-factored procedures, effective training, and strong leadership — the three pillars of PSM's Performance Equation framework.
What are the most common procedure writing mistakes in industrial operations?
The most common procedure writing mistakes in nuclear, oil & gas, and high-reliability industrial operations include: writing steps in passive voice, using vague action words such as "check," "ensure," or "verify," placing cautions and warnings after the action they are meant to prevent, providing insufficient or excessive level of detail, failing to account for human factors in step structure and formatting, and not connecting procedure revisions to retraining requirements. These are the specific issues PSM's training programs are designed to identify and correct.
What is level of detail in procedure writing?
Level of detail in procedure writing refers to the amount of information provided in each step to guide an operator through a task safely and correctly. Too little detail leaves operators guessing and increases the risk of error. Too much detail creates cognitive overload and may cause operators to skip steps. Appropriate level of detail is determined by the complexity of the task, the experience level of the intended operator, the risk associated with the action, and the regulatory requirements applicable to the procedure. Determining appropriate level of detail is one of the most critical and challenging skills in professional procedure writing.
What standards govern procedure writing in the nuclear industry?
Procedure writing in the nuclear industry is governed primarily by INPO 11-003 (Guideline for Excellence in Procedure and Work Instruction Use and Adherence), NEI (Nuclear Energy Institute) guidelines, and PPA standards including PPA-AP-907-005 (Procedure Writing Standard) and PPA-AP-907-001 (Procedure Change Process Description). These standards are endorsed by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and form the basis of the PPA Professional Procedure Writer Certification curriculum.
What procedure writing standards apply to oil and gas operations?
Oil and gas procedure writing is governed by OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM) regulations (29 CFR 1910.119), API Recommended Practice 754, and where applicable, company-specific standards aligned with industry best practices. Human-factored procedure writing principles from nuclear industry standards (INPO, NEI) are increasingly being applied in oil & gas operations to reduce incidents and improve operational reliability.
Section 3: Procedure Program Audits
What is a procedure program audit?
A procedure program audit is an independent, systematic review of an organization's procedure library and procedure program against established industry standards. A procedure program audit evaluates document control governance, procedure format and usability, regulatory alignment, training integration, and continuous improvement processes. The purpose is to identify compliance gaps, human factors issues, and improvement opportunities before they are discovered in a regulatory inspection or contribute to an incident.
What does a procedure program audit from PSM evaluate?
PSM procedure program audits evaluate your procedure library against INPO, NEI, OSHA PSM, and API standards. The audit assesses document control and governance, procedure format and usability, regulatory alignment, training integration, and continuous improvement processes. Clients receive a detailed findings report with prioritized recommendations they can act on immediately.
How often should a procedure program audit be conducted?
The frequency of procedure program audits depends on regulatory requirements, organizational risk level, and the pace of change in your procedure library. In general, a comprehensive independent audit is recommended every 2–3 years, with internal self-assessments conducted annually. Organizations undergoing significant operational changes, regulatory scrutiny, or post-incident review should conduct an audit immediately.
What are the most common findings in procedure program audits?
The most common findings in procedure program audits include: procedures with no assigned owner or review cycle, revisions that did not trigger retraining requirements, steps written in passive voice or with vague action words, cautions and warnings placed after the relevant action, outdated procedure versions accessible in the field, missing or incomplete document control records, and gaps between documented procedures and actual field practice.
Section 4: Corporate Services
What procedure writing services does Procedure Solutions Management offer?
Procedure Solutions Management offers a full range of procedure program services for nuclear, oil & gas, DOE, chemical, and high-reliability industrial organizations, including: PPA Procedure Writer Certification training, procedure program audits, procedure writing and program development from scratch, procedure program implementation and consulting, accident investigation and root cause analysis, and risk assessment services.
Does PSM write procedures for organizations?
Yes. PSM provides end-to-end procedure writing services — building human-factored, PPA-standards-compliant procedures from scratch for organizations that need new procedures developed, existing procedures rewritten, or a procedure library built from the ground up. All procedures are written for the real operational conditions of the client's facility, not from generic templates.
What is procedure program implementation?
Procedure program implementation is the process of building or redesigning an organization's procedure program from the governance level through to individual procedure documents, training integration, and document control systems. PSM works alongside client teams to evaluate existing program structures, design standards-compliant frameworks, develop procedures, and build the training and document control processes that ensure procedures are used, maintained, and updated correctly over time.
Does PSM conduct accident investigation services?
Yes. PSM provides accident investigation and risk assessment services that trace incidents and near misses back to their procedural root causes. When a serious event occurs, PSM helps organizations identify which procedural contributing factors were present, document corrective actions, and build the frameworks to prevent recurrence. PSM's accident investigation services are grounded in decades of experience in nuclear, oil & gas, and high-hazard industrial operations.
Section 5: Procedure Program Audits
Does PSM offer more training than PPA Certification?
We do. We have our own online training courses that are available for purchase through our LMS. Sign up for an account and browse our course catalog for supplemental learning for your career development. We have courses on action steps, leadership and how it impacts procedure programs, and new courses launching all the time.
What is the Action Steps Practicum?
An advanced self-guided course for PPA Certified procedure writers. Participants work through all 18 procedure error trap categories and revise real industry procedure steps to full PPA Standard compliance. Designed to build expert-level judgment and subject matter authority in procedure writing.
What is the Performance Equation?
An advanced leadership and human performance course connecting leadership, human-factored procedures, and training into one integrated performance system. Designed for leaders, HSE managers, procedure writers, and trainers in high-risk industrial operations who want to understand how these three elements must work together to prevent incidents and build a culture of operational reliability.
Who are PSM's online courses designed for?
PSM's self-guided online courses are designed for professionals in nuclear, oil & gas, DOE, chemical, and high-reliability industrial environments. The Action Steps Practicum is designed exclusively for PPA Certified procedure writers. The Performance Equation is designed for leaders, HSE managers, operations professionals, trainers, and procedure writers at any level.
Section 6: About Procedure Solutions Management
What is Procedure Solutions Management?
Procedure Solutions Management (PSM) is a specialized procedure writing training and consulting firm serving nuclear, oil & gas, DOE, chemical, and high-reliability industrial organizations. PSM offers PPA Procedure Writer Certification training, procedure program audits, procedure writing services, program implementation consulting, accident investigation, and self-guided online training courses. PSM's founder Stephen McCord is a co-developer of the PPA standards that govern procedure writing across high-risk industries.
What industries does PSM serve?
Procedure Solutions Management serves organizations in nuclear power generation, oil and gas extraction and refining, the Department of Energy, chemical manufacturing, electric power generation and transmission, and any high-hazard or high-reliability industrial operation where procedure quality directly impacts safety, compliance, and operational performance.
What makes PSM different from other procedure writing training companies?
Procedure Solutions Management helped develop the PPA standards that procedure writing training is based on. This means PSM's instructors don't just teach the standards — they can explain the reasoning behind every requirement, which leads to deeper understanding, stronger retention, and better real-world application. PSM is also one of the only organizations authorized to deliver PPA certification exam preparation on behalf of the Procedure Professionals Association.
Where is Procedure Solutions Management located?
Procedure Solutions Management is based North of West Palm Beach and services the entire globe. Our mailing address is 4755 SE Dixie Hwy #566, Port Salerno, FL 34992
How can I contact Procedure Solutions Management?
Visit our Contact us page on our website at www.proceduresolutionsmgmt.com/contact, email us at info@proceduresolutionsmgmt.com, or you can call us at 1-800-278-8904. You can also connect with our company and staff on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/proceduresolutions