Glossary

Standard operating procedure (SOP)

A written instruction for how a specific task is performed in a specific business. In the trades it usually takes the form of a numbered checklist rather than a narrative document. An SOP describes how your shop does the work, which is different from a manufacturer instruction, which describes how a product must be installed.

Also called a work instruction or a method statement.

Acknowledgement

A record that a named person confirmed reading a specific document on a specific date. Useful in a dispute only when it names the exact version of the document, since procedures change and a signature attached to text that has since been rewritten proves little.

Version control

Keeping each edit of a procedure as a separate numbered version rather than overwriting the original. It matters for training records because an acknowledgement should stay attached to the words the person actually read.

Audit trail

A chronological record of actions taken on a document, including who did what and when. An audit trail is only worth anything if it cannot be edited afterwards by the person it might incriminate.

ESIGN Act

A United States federal law giving electronic signatures and records the same legal standing as paper for most transactions. Individual states have their own version through UETA. For internal training records, the practical questions are attribution and integrity rather than the format of the signature itself.

This entry is a description, not legal advice.

UETA

The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, adopted in most states, which establishes the validity of electronic records and signatures at state level. It works alongside the federal ESIGN Act.

Toolbox talk

A short safety briefing delivered on site, usually at the start of a shift and usually on a single topic. Common in construction and the trades. The record should capture the content and the person delivering it, not only attendance.

Also called a tailgate meeting or a safety moment.

Job hazard analysis (JHA)

A breakdown of a task into steps, with the hazard at each step and the control that addresses it. More detailed than a procedure and usually written for higher risk work.

Also called a job safety analysis.

Lockout tagout (LOTO)

The practice of isolating an energy source, locking the isolation device and tagging it with the name of the person who applied the lock, so equipment cannot be re-energized while someone is working on it. Only the person who applied a lock removes it.

Competent person

In safety regulation, a person capable of identifying hazards in the work and authorized to take corrective action. Competence is specific to a task, so someone can be competent for one type of work and not another.

Qualified person

In electrical work, a person with training and demonstrated skill to recognize and avoid the hazards of the equipment they are working on. Distinct from a competent person, though the two are often confused.

Near miss

An incident that could have caused injury or damage but did not. Near misses are the cheapest source of information a shop has about its own procedures, and the most commonly discarded.

Incident report

A written record of what happened, when, where and who was present, made as close to the event as possible. Value drops sharply with delay, because memory rereorganizes itself around the outcome.

Callback

A return visit to fix something that should have been right the first time. Callbacks are usually treated as a technician problem when they are more often a procedure problem, since the same callback recurring across different technicians points at the instruction rather than the person.

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

Equipment worn to reduce exposure to a hazard, such as gloves, eye protection or arc rated clothing. PPE is the last line of defense, applied after the hazard itself has been reduced as far as practical.

Onboarding path

An ordered sequence of documents and tasks assigned to a new hire, with a defined end point. Different from a document library, which is a reference for people who already know what they need.

Comprehension check

A short set of questions answered before an acknowledgement is accepted, turning a confirmation of receipt into evidence that the content was understood. Two or three questions is usually enough to catch someone who scrolled to the bottom.

Point in time record

The ability to reconstruct exactly which version of a procedure was current on a given past date and who had acknowledged it at that moment. This is the question asked after an incident, and most document systems cannot answer it.

Work instruction

A step by step description of a single task, usually more detailed and more narrowly scoped than a procedure. In small shops the distinction is academic and the two terms are used interchangeably.

Retention period

How long a record is kept before disposal. For training records the useful benchmark is the life of the underlying risk, which normally outlasts the employment of the person named in the record.