18.10. Putting it all Together: The Operator Training Simulator (OTS)

An OTS can be very effectively used to train control room operators even before a chemical plant is operated for the first time. This is particularly important when new technologies are employed in a process plant or a less experienced workforce takes the place of an experienced workforce. This book includes discussions of all the components required for development of an OTS. In Chapters 13 and 16, various aspects of steady-state design of a process plant were discussed. This steady-state design is then used to develop a dynamic model of a system, as discussed in Chapter 17. One of the key requirements of a stable dynamic simulation is the appropriate design of the control system. Brief discussions on basic as well as advanced control system design were provided in Chapter 17 and in this chapter. After that, the logic control system is designed and implemented. Finally, an APC layer can be designed to satisfy objectives that cannot be satisfied with traditional control strategies. The APC layer is optional, and barring a few exceptions, in general, its absence will not impede developing an OTS but may result in unsatisfactory control performance. The steps mentioned above can be very involved and complicated for large, complex, and highly interacting process systems. The graphical interface of a dynamic simulator is usually not suitable for mimicking a “virtual control room” for control room engineers. Therefore, a user-friendly human machine interface (HMI) similar to the distributed control system (DCS) scre....Chapter 1, Figure 1.16). By putting all these components together, an OTS can be developed. The benefits of an OTS include the following: