Preparation of Effective Operating Manuals to Support Waste Management Plant Operator Training

Effective plant operating manuals used in a formal training program can make the difference between a successful operation and a failure. Once the plant process design and control strategies have been fixed, equipment has been ordered, and the plant is constructed, the only major variable affecting success is the capability of plant operating personnel. It is essential that the myriad details concerning plant operation are documented in comprehensive operating manuals suitable for training the non-technical personnel that will operate the plant. These manuals must cover the fundamental principles of each unit operation including how each operates, what process variables are important, and the impact of each variable on the overall process. In addition, operators must know the process control strategies, process interlocks, how to respond to alarms, each of the detailed procedures required to start up and optimize the plant, and every control loop—including when it is appropriate to take manual control. More than anything else, operating mistakes during the start-up phase can lead to substantial delays in achieving design processing rates as well as to problems with government authorities if environmental permit limits are exceeded. The only way to assure return on plant investment is to ensure plant operators have the knowledge to properly run the plant from the outset. A comprehensive set of operating manuals specifically targeted toward plant operators and supervisors written by experienced operating personnel is the only effective way to provide the necessary information for formal start-up training. WHAT OPERATORS NEED TO KNOW To successfully start up and optimize a process plant requires that plant operators are thoroughly familiar with certain key information. This information must be applied by the operators and front-line supervisors during the initial plant start-up and subsequent operations. In start-up situations, failure of the operators and supervisors to learn this information, and to apply this knowledge during the commissioning phase, will likely result in either outright failure or a long, agonizing, and protracted effort to achieve design capacity—if design capacity can be achieved at all. In on-going operations, performance will not be optimized unless this information is applied. This key information consists of several components. Process Unit Operations First, it is essential that the operators can thoroughly describe the principle of operation of each major equipment unit in their area of responsibility. Conceptual knowledge allows for more effective reasoning when process upset conditions occur. Rather than attempting to provide a rote procedure covering possible upsets, the operator’s fundamental understanding of principles will allow for effectively troubleshooting the problem. For all key equipment units, the following information must be provided to each operator and supervisor: The objective describes the purpose of the equipment unit. For example, the objective of a neutralization circuit is to adjust the pH of a waste stream to ensure plant discharge meets the environmental permits issued to the plant. Basic theory identifies the chemical, mechanical, electrical, etc., application (e.g., heat, chemical reaction, mechanical action, differential density) associated with the equipment unit to achieve the objective. The principle of operation is the methodology by which the basic theory is applied by the equipment unit. Diagrams, schematics, photos, etc., are used to illustrate the fundamental principles of operation as necessary. WM’03 Conference, February 23-27, 2003, Tucson, AZ WM03ABS455.DOC 2 Critical variables are those variables associated with any equipment unit that must be controlled in order to achieve the design output specifications. For example, exhaust gas oxygen content is a critical variable indicating the efficiency of combustion in a furnace. Each variable bearing on the effective operation of the equipment unit must be documented.