Power plant knowledge management with AI search: the approved procedure, cited and drawn on the P&ID in step order
Every answer drawn on the plant diagram, so the right valves close in the right order.
See one case, screen by screen ↓When a feed pump starts vibrating on night shift, the answer sits in three or four places: the operating procedure, the pump maker's O&M manual, the P&ID and the shift logbook. A plant like the demo's Saltmere station has 412 procedures for one block, 2,140 drawings and 184,500 logbook entries. The procedure says which valves to close. It does not say where the valve is, whether a plant change has added one since it was last reviewed, or why the order matters.
Isolations are where people get hurt, and a wrong valve or a wrong order can also trip the unit. The written, equipment-specific procedure is the control, and under OSHA 1910.269(d) the isolation must be verified before work starts. The people who know which valve passes on close and which one is behind the coupling guard are often the senior operators closest to retirement, and their knowledge lives in their heads and in logbook notes nobody can search.
Estimated split of the working days one control-room operator spends a year finding and checking procedures, by hand and with the solution. Our estimate, not a measured figure; the pilot measures it on the plant's own shifts.
Six specialist agents find the procedure, place every step on the current drawing and read the logbook; the shift supervisor confirms, the procedure owner decides what changes.
Tue 13 Oct 2026, night shift on Block 2, a 720 MW combined-cycle unit at Lumina Utilities' Saltmere Power and Water Station. HP boiler feed pump 2B is vibrating, and the fitter is booked for 06:00. Here is what happens next, screen by screen, in the working solution.
BFP-2B NDE bearing vibration high, 7.1 mm/s, on 2-FW-VT-2B. Every alarm in the last 24 hours from the DCS alarm journal is linked to its alarm response procedure. ARP-B2-FW-0412-07 gives the cause, what happens if nobody acts, the operator action and the time to respond: 15 minutes.
“If nobody acts: trip at 11.0 mm/s; one pump left, block runs back to 60%.”
At 02:22 shift supervisor Rafael Okonjo decided to change over to standby pump 2C and isolate 2B for work order WO-2026-48817. Yusuf types the question in plain words. The question reader finds Block 2, BFP-2B and the intent, isolate for maintenance; the procedure finder returns SOP-B2-FW-214 rev 6 and the pump manual §6.3 and §6.5.
“Searching 7,692 documents, 2,140 drawings and 184,500 logbook entries…”
The answer is SOP-B2-FW-214 rev 6, approved 2 Jun 2023 by Priya Natarajan: 10 steps, 5 valves to close, 2 to open, from 7 sources. Every tag is numbered on drawing 2-FW-PID-0412 rev F in step order — orange to close, blue to open, violet for breaker 2BA-07 on the 6.6 kV board. Each step names who does it and cites its section.
Drawing mapper: “14 tags on 2-FW-PID-0412 rev F · 1 not in the procedure”
Play walks the steps one at a time: each valve pulses, its line stops flowing and the step lights up. At step 6 the minimum-flow isolator 2-FW-V-121B has a second valve beside it. Plant change MOC-2025-031 added a bypass in March 2025, and the procedure was never updated. The extra valve is drawn in amber and the step is marked for the shift supervisor.
“Also close 2-FW-V-122B on the bypass. Drawing rev F shows it (plant change MOC-2025-031); SOP rev 6 does not. It was found open on 2B on 2 Oct.”
Clicking a valve opens its card. Discharge valve 2-FW-MOV-112B is a motorised gate valve, DN250 PN250, in the feed pump house mezzanine at +4.5 m, above 2B, with its actuator supply at MCC-2F cubicle 14. Its card says it passed on close on 19 May 2024 and was re-seated under WO-2024-31206 on 11 Jun 2024, and points back to step 4.
Step 4: “This valve passed on close on 19 May 2024; re-seated June 2024. Step 8 is your check.”
Under the drawing, the reason for the order sits beside its source. RCA-2023-017: on 9 Aug 2023 the suction relief on BFP-1A lifted at 22 bar because suction was shut while the discharge valve was passing; the 5-minute hold in step 8 was added in rev 6. Tomasz Wrona's logbook note of 19 May 2024 records MOV-112B passing on close, with suction creeping to 14 bar, and the pump manual §6.3 says the suction side is not rated for discharge pressure.
“A logbook note explains a step; it never becomes one.”
The drawing-against-procedure check shows 13 of 14 tags matching, 1 on the drawing but not in the procedure, and that MOC-2025-031 asked for this review 19 months ago. Yusuf sends it to Rafael with one click. Rafael confirms V-122B, and gap GAP-0047 goes to the procedure owner.
“Rafael Okonjo confirmed V-122B on shift · 02:44 · GAP-0047 sent to Priya Natarajan”
Send to field puts all 10 steps with the drawing on Liam Carver's tablet, and he ticks each one as he does it. When the steps are done, the isolated section of pipe is hatched on the drawing. Casing vent V-131B and drain V-132B are open, PI-133B reads 0 bar and TI-134B is below 60 °C. The shift supervisor proves zero energy and hands the isolation to the authorised person for the permit to work.
“2B isolated on the drawing · 5 valves closed in order · ready to prove zero energy”
GAP-0047 lands in Priya's queue on a 10-day clock. It sets what SOP-B2-FW-214 rev 6 §5.6 says beside what the current drawing shows, crops the drawing at grid C4–C6 and drafts the new wording for her to edit. The evidence is the drawing, MOC-2025-031 §3 and the shift logbook. Nothing in the procedure changes until she raises a change request and the review board approves.
Drafted: “5.6 Close the minimum-flow isolator V-121x downstream of the recirculation control valve and the bypass isolator V-122x.”
Practice asks Yusuf to click the valves in the order he closes them, on the real drawing, from the approved procedure plus V-122B, confirmed tonight. Beside it are tips recorded from senior staff, each with its source. Yusuf has 2 of 3 clean runs for an HP feed pump isolation, and 14 of 22 Block 2 isolations practised.
Tomasz Wrona, 31 years: “Discharge first, suction last. Then stand and watch the suction gauge for the full five minutes. That valve has passed before.”
The same isolation, seen by the five people it touches — what their night looked like, and what it looks like now.
Six specialist agents find the procedure, place every step on the current drawing and read the logbook; the shift supervisor confirms, the procedure owner decides what changes.
Reads the question with the active alarms and open work orders for the operator's unit, and finds the unit, the equipment tag and the intent: isolate, return to service, respond to an alarm, or explain.
Searches operating, emergency and alarm response procedures, OEM manuals and bulletins for the equipment and intent, and returns the latest approved revision.
Places every tag in the steps on the current approved P&ID revision, traces the line the step isolates and reports any isolation point the procedure does not name.
Reads the logbook, root-cause reports, work orders and plant changes that name the tags in the answer, and picks the events that explain a step or warn about how a valve behaves, quoted with author and date.
Writes the answer as numbered steps from the approved procedure, quoting safety-critical steps word for word, and adds a step only when the drawing mapper finds an isolation point the procedure misses.
When a marked step is confirmed, or a plant change closes with a procedure to be reviewed, opens a gap for the procedure owner with the evidence and drafted wording, and tracks the 10-day clock.
Confirms marked steps on shift. The agents propose; a named person decides.
Ask in plain words. Every answer names its source and points to the place on the drawing.
Why close the suction valve last?
Because the suction side is not rated for discharge pressure. The pump manual says shut the discharge valve before the suction valve (Brennmoor HDX manual §6.3, p. 88). At Saltmere it happened: in RCA-2023-017 the suction relief on BFP-1A lifted at 22 bar when suction was shut against a passing discharge valve. That is why step 8 holds for 5 minutes and watches PI-104B.
Which procedures name the minimum-flow valves?
Four procedures name 2-FW-V-121x. Three also name the bypass isolator V-122x added by MOC-2025-031: SOP-B2-FW-215 rev 4, SOP-B2-FW-221 rev 2 and the FCV-120x maintenance procedure. SOP-B2-FW-214 rev 6 does not: that is GAP-0047.
Has MOV-112B ever passed?
Once on record. 19 May 2024, Tomasz Wrona, night shift: “MOV-112B passing on close — suction crept to 14 bar with suction shut.” It was re-seated on 11 Jun 2024 under WO-2024-31206 and has held on every isolation since, most recently 4 Jun 2026.
Set up a practice run of this isolation for Yusuf
Done. The practice uses the approved steps of SOP-B2-FW-214 rev 6 plus V-122B, confirmed tonight, on drawing 2-FW-PID-0412 rev F. Yusuf has 2 of 3 clean runs; one more and Rafael can sign him off for feed pump isolations.
13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.
What the answers may draw on, in what order, and who confirms what. Changes are saved as a new version with their author.
| Setting | Default | Choose from |
|---|---|---|
| Approved operating and emergency procedures | Instruct · always first | Locked on: this row protects every answer |
| Alarm response procedures | Instruct | Locked on |
| OEM O&M manuals and bulletins | Explain and confirm | On · Off |
| Drawings, current approved revision only | Place every tag | Locked on |
| Root-cause reports and plant changes | Explain why | On · Off |
| Shift logbook | Explain; never a step | On · Off |
| Draft and superseded revisions | Never answered from | Locked off |
| A valve on the drawing but not in the procedure | Marked step · shift supervisor confirms | Confirmed by the shift supervisor on duty |
Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.
“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample plant data · “target” = the design goal, measured in the pilot · “estimated” = our arithmetic on the demo plant's inputs, replaced by the customer's: 6 operator-error trips a year, a third fewer = 2 trips × $550K a trip (the low end of the published range); the days split is our estimate · “typical” = published figures: OSHA via ISHN (lockout/tagout compliance prevents about 120 deaths and 50,000 injuries a year); Power Engineering (30 %+ of operators eligible to retire within 5 years); combined-cycle forced outage $500K–$2M per event (vendor sources, directional). OSHA 1910.269(d) is named as context. Lumina Utilities, Saltmere Power and Water Station and the people, equipment, documents and records named on this page are fictional — characters and sample data in the working solution.
AI search for plant staff that answers from the plant's own operating procedures, OEM O&M manuals, alarm responses and drawings, with citations. Plant Operating Procedure Search returns the approved steps, each cited to section and page, drawn on the current P&ID in step order, with the past events that explain the order.
Six agents work on each question. They read the question and the shift context, find the latest approved procedure and manual sections, place every tag on the current drawing revision, and read the logbook, root-cause reports and plant changes. Then they write the cited steps and raise any difference between the procedure and the drawing as a gap. In the demo, one isolation answer took 4.8 seconds and drew on 7 sources.
The drawing mapper finds isolation points on the current drawing that the procedure does not name. The step is marked in amber, and the shift supervisor confirms it on shift. The procedure owner then gets a gap with the evidence and drafted wording. The procedure itself changes only through a change request and the review board.
No. It supports the written, equipment-specific procedure and its verification step: the steps, the order, where each valve is and the zero-energy check. The authorised person still issues the permit to work, and the agents never operate plant or issue isolations.
Yes. The demo plant's extraction steam feeds MSF desalination units, and the same answers cover desal unit 6 procedures and alarms such as brine heater outlet temperature high. Every alarm from the DCS alarm journal is linked to its response procedure and can be shown on the drawing. The demo plant's settings list English and Arabic as its languages.
New operators practise each isolation on the real drawing from the approved procedure, with 3 clean runs and a supervisor sign-off before they write one. Senior staff's tips are recorded beside the steps they explain, each with its source. The aim is a new control-room operator standing a shift alone in 9 months, not 18.
Yes. The agents find, map and cite; they never rewrite a safety step, answer from a draft or change a procedure. The shift supervisor confirms marked steps, the authorised person issues permits and the procedure owner decides every change. Each answer, confirmation and gap is on the record.
The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements and documents — your procedures, OEM manuals, alarm responses, P&IDs and logbook — and it goes live once every quality gate has passed. We will walk you through it on your own procedures and drawings first.
We'll run Plant Operating Procedure Search on a sample of your own procedures, manuals and drawings.