Developing an Operational Discipline Program

Operational discipline, or occasionally referred to as conduct-of-operation, is the reliable and proper performance of all day-to-day tasks by personnel each and every time the tasks are to be performed. Despite being a simple concept, breakdowns in operational discipline are contributory factors in many accidents – both large and small. Effective operational discipline results in continuous adherence to standard operating procedures by all individuals at an organization and across all levels of personnel: operations, engineering, and management. Aside from the routine tasks, good operational discipline results in the safe and controlled response to unanticipated situations. Repeat problems and near misses are indicative of the need for changes in operational discipline within an organization. This session will include papers describing how to develop an Operational Discipline program.