Permissives and Interlocks

Permissives and interlocks are operational requirements that are built into a control circuit.
Permissives must be "satisfied" before the system/equipment can be started.
An example of a boiler feed pump's permissives might be:

Auxiliary oil pump operating with normal pressure

Boiler feed pump discharge valve closed

Boiler feed pump low flow recirculation valve open

These permissives are electrical requirements that must be satisfied before the pump will be
allowed to start. This does not mean that these are the only requirements for starting the
boiler feed pump. There are many things that must be checked prior to starting a boiler feed