434 CHAPTER 9 Operating procedures Table 9.1 Terminologydcont'd Term Maintenance procedures Explanation Like an operating procedure, a maintenance procedure is a collection of instructions that describe an overall activity, such as repairing a pump or checking the set point of a relief valve. Operators and maintenance technicians do not usually use procedures on a regular basis, particularly for routine work. However they will use summary checklists to make sure that nothing was overlooked while carrying out a sequence of tasks. A standard operating procedure (SOP) describes a generic set of instruc- tions for tasks such as starting pumps, lighting burners or filling vessels. The SOPs can be used as the foundation of specific procedures. For example, the SOP, `How to start a centrifugal pump' can be used as the basis for the specific procedure, `How to start centrifugal pump, P-100'. The use of SOPs can greatly improve the quality of the final procedures, and can drastically reduce the development time for the complete manual. Quality is improved because the generic SOP can be very carefully reviewed by all the pertinent disciplines (operations, process, electrical, maintenance) to ensure that it represents the very best understanding of Checklists Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)