Correctly identifies the source of operating procedures is one of the observable behaviours of Application of Knowledge and Procedures, one of the nine ICAO core competencies. It covers knowing which document governs the task, taking the procedure from that approved, current source, and checking it is being applied correctly.
It sits underneath almost every other behaviour in the competency. A procedure applied perfectly from the wrong source, or from an out-of-date memory of the right one, is still the wrong procedure.
Of all the behaviours in Application of Knowledge and Procedures, this is the one most easily mistaken for administration. It sounds like knowing where the manuals are kept. In practice it is the precondition for nearly everything else in the competency. You cannot operate a system correctly, follow an SOP or apply a procedure if the procedure in your head is not the one that currently applies.
The behaviour has three parts, and the How-To guidance in High Performance Pilot builds them in order: know the document library well enough to navigate it, make sure every procedure you use comes from an official, current source, and check that the information you have selected is being applied correctly to the task at hand.
Memory Is Not the Source
The procedures used on every sector stay current because they are refreshed constantly. The flows, the callouts, the sequences: repeated across hundreds of flights, they become embedded and reliable. The procedures used rarely are a different matter. De-icing in a season when it is seldom needed. A ground air cart connection on a stand with no fixed services. Contaminated runway performance on an operation that almost never sees a contaminated runway. These were learned thoroughly once. Without regular exposure the detail degrades, and what remains is a familiarity that feels like knowledge but does not have its precision.
That is the specific risk this behaviour addresses: false confidence. Never operate from memory when a procedure exists. Never assume the procedure is what you remember, or that what you remember is current. The aircraft may have changed. The procedure may have been revised. The memory is a starting point for finding the source, nothing more.
"Never assume. Always go to the source. The confidence that comes from memory is not the same as the accuracy that comes from verification."
Which Document Governs Today?
Modern operations draw on several documents at once: the Operations Manual, the manufacturer's crew operating and training manuals, the QRH, company supplements, route and aerodrome guidance, performance documentation, NOTAMs, crew notices and temporary revisions, increasingly all held on an electronic tablet. Different operations, different aerodromes and different aircraft configurations may each call on a different combination of them.
The time to establish which sources govern today's operation is at dispatch, before the briefing begins. Identify which documents are relevant and make sure they are accessible. If there is any uncertainty about which procedure applies (a new NOTAM, a temporary revision, an unfamiliar aerodrome requirement) resolve it then, not during the brief or on the aircraft. A crew that discovers mid-briefing that it is referencing the wrong source has lost time and credibility. The briefing should present procedural information that has already been confirmed.
Approved, and Current
A source is only a source if it is official. Every operating procedure you use should originate from the approved company and regulatory documents for the operation. A colleague's notes, a printout from last year, the way it was done on a previous type or at a previous operator: none of these is a source, however reliable it has been until now. They can point you towards the answer. They cannot be the answer.
The approved source also has to be the current one. Crew notices arrive, revisions are issued, company policy changes. What the procedure said six months ago is not necessarily what it says today, and the pilot who has not read the latest amendment is working from a source that has quietly stopped being correct. Staying current is the subject of its own behaviour, but the two are inseparable: identifying the right document is only half the job if the version in your head is out of date.
Knowing the Library
The foundation of this behaviour is familiarity with the structure of the document library, not just its content. No pilot carries every procedure in working memory, and the goal is not to try. The goal is to know the system well enough to find any procedure quickly, to understand how the procedures are organised, and to recognise where the one you need is likely to live.
The pilot who can navigate to any infrequent procedure in thirty seconds is in a materially different position from one who knows it exists somewhere in the documentation but cannot find it reliably under pressure. The difference is not seniority. It is deliberate engagement with the manuals: opening them in the cruise, working through a revision before it becomes operationally relevant, finding the procedure for a situation you have not met in a while simply to know where it is. In a non-normal, unfamiliarity with the information systems on the flight deck is not an inconvenience. It is a loss of capacity at the worst possible moment.
Right Source, Right Task
Finding the correct document is not the end of the behaviour. At Mastery, the pilot also checks that the information selected is being applied correctly to the task at hand. Is this the procedure for our aircraft and our configuration? Do the conditions it assumes match the conditions we have? Is this the normal, the supplementary or the abnormal version?
Retrieval is only valuable if it is used to verify. The pilot who opens a procedure they half-remember and reads it looking for confirmation of what they already believe has missed the point of opening it. Read it for what it actually says, and notice where it differs from what you expected. That difference is the reason you went to the source.
"The retrieval is only valuable if it is used to verify, not simply to confirm what was already assumed."
A Crew Behaviour
Identifying the source is not a solo activity. In the situations where it matters most (an infrequent procedure, uncertain memory, time pressure) the other pilot is a resource. Delegate the search to the crew member whose hands are free. Ask the colleague who met the procedure more recently. Read the procedure aloud so both pilots are checking it against the situation, not one.
At its best, this begins before the aircraft. The pilot operating at Mastery arrives at dispatch having reviewed the procedural sources for the day, identifies any changes or unfamiliar requirements, verifies them against the authoritative document, and shares anything that needs attention with the crew before the formal briefing starts. The crew that reaches the aircraft already aware of the procedural context briefs more efficiently and executes more accurately.
- The relevant sources for the day identified at dispatch.
- Procedural questions resolved before the briefing, not during it.
- Infrequent procedures read from the document, not recalled.
- Revisions and crew notices read before the next flight.
- The procedure checked against the aircraft and the conditions.
- "Let's look that up" said without hesitation, by either pilot.
- "I'm pretty sure it's…" on a procedure used once a season.
- A procedure quoted from a previous type or operator.
- Personal notes or old printouts used as the reference.
- Searching for the right section while the situation develops.
- Reading the procedure only to confirm what was already assumed.
Building the Habit on Ordinary Sectors
Like every behaviour in the competency, this one is built when nothing is at stake. Each time a procedure comes up that you have not used for a while, go to the source and read it, even if you are confident you remember it. Each time a revision arrives, find where it sits in the library. Each quiet cruise is an opportunity to navigate to a procedure you hope never to need. Know a little more than you knew yesterday. On the day the infrequent procedure is suddenly the one that matters, the source will already be familiar ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 'correctly identifies the source of operating procedures' mean?
It is one of the observable behaviours of Application of Knowledge and Procedures, one of the nine ICAO core competencies. It means knowing which document governs the task in front of you, taking the procedure from that approved and current source rather than from memory or habit, and checking that what you have found is being applied correctly to the situation.
Why isn't memory good enough for a procedure I know well?
For the flows used on every sector, memory is reliable because it is refreshed constantly. For procedures used rarely, it is not. Detail degrades, procedures are revised, and what remains is a familiarity that feels like knowledge but lacks its precision. Memory is a starting point for finding the source, not a substitute for it.
Which documents count as an approved source?
The ones your operator and regulator have approved for the operation: typically the Operations Manual, the manufacturer's crew operating and training manuals, the QRH, company supplements and route or aerodrome guidance, together with current NOTAMs, crew notices and temporary revisions. A colleague's notes, an old printout or the procedure from a previous type or operator are not sources, however reliable they feel.
How do I get quicker at finding procedures under pressure?
By knowing the structure of the document library, not just its content. Navigate it deliberately when there is no pressure: in the cruise, before a trip, when a revision arrives. The pilot who can reach any infrequent procedure in thirty seconds has built that familiarity in advance; it is not something that can be acquired during the non-normal itself.
How is this behaviour assessed in the simulator?
Instructors look for whether the crew went to the correct document for the situation, confirmed it applied to their aircraft and conditions, used it rather than recalling it, and involved the other pilot in locating and verifying it. A correct outcome reached from memory, when a procedure existed and time allowed it to be used, is a weaker demonstration than it looks.
The Eight Behaviours
In the High Performance Pilot framework, Application of Knowledge and Procedures is assessed through eight observable behaviours. Each has its own deep dive.
On Every Sector
HPP maps every Application of Knowledge and Procedures behaviour across three development levels, with structured daily practice and a short reflection after each flight. Free to start.
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