Operator roles have expanded beyond valve-turning. Future operators will need broader understanding of chemistry, equipment and instrumentation to effectively troubleshoot and communicate issues.

In this podcast we discuss the changing landscape of operator training. Three key factors are driving change: a new generation of workers comfortable with mobile technology, emerging technologies like virtual reality and evolving job expectations.

Here is a look at the three top trending stories as reported on ChemicalProcessing.com.

• Explosion at Honeywell Plant Occurred Two Years After Replacement Recommendation, CSB Reports --Management approved the project but did not purchase or install a replacement shell before the Jan. 23, 2023, explosion.

In Case You Missed It brings the written word to life. In today’s episode, Editor-in-Chief Traci Purdum will be reading an article from Tom Blackwood, Chemical Processing’s Solids Advice columnist. This article “Combat Fine Particle Challenges -- What makes them good is also why they’re bad” was published to ChemicalProcessing.com July 22, 2024.

Here is the full column

Readers ask questions about their motors and our expert responds.

Proper troubleshooting is important. Here are a few questions that were posed to our motors expert, Tom Bishop, over the years. 

Bishop is a senior technical support specialist with the Electrical Apparatus Service Association (EASA). He joined the EASA staff in 2002 with over 30 years of hands-on engineering experience at electrical machinery manufacturing and apparatus service firms. He has a BS in Electrical Engineering and is a licensed professional engineer.

Read by Editor-in-Chief Traci Purdum.

This cognitive bias has operators clinging to beliefs despite contrary evidence.

In this episode, we discuss fixation, also known as confirmation bias or tunnel vision. It’s a cognitive bias in which people cling to beliefs despite contrary evidence. Dave Strobhar and Traci Purdum discuss how fixation can be problematic in industrial settings, citing examples like the Yom Kippur War and the Three Mile Island incident. Dave offers strategies to combat fixation, including the two-strike rule, testing hypotheses, shift changes, maintaining situational awareness, and fostering open team communication.

ChemicalProcessing.com

Focus on clarity in an engineering report. While such reports fall into several types — cost estimates, engineering calculations, proposals and studies (e.g., related to laboratory work or calibration, failures and inspections, or optimization)  — all benefit from a clear discussion and conclusion. Sometimes this requires flexibility to stray from a company’s set format.

This ICYMI episode revisits a column from contributing editor Dirk Willard. You can read the column here: https://www.chemicalprocessing.com/asset-management/economics/article/11297512/write-engineering-reports-right-chemical-processing

Read by Editor-in-Chief Traci Purdum.

Distilled News examines the top three stories trending on chemicalprocessing.com. Hosted by Jonathan Katz, executive editor of Chemical Processing.

• Safety Lessons from the Great Molasses Flood of 1919

Hackers are targeting manufacturing to leverage intellectual property for big money. In a recent episode of Automation Chat, from Chemical Processing's sister publication The Journal from Rockwell Automation, Theresa Houck, executive editor and host of Automation Chat, digs deep into a study regarding advancing digital transformation in a time of unprecedented cybersecurity risk.

If you’re not already a subscriber to Automation Chat, you can subscribe to it here:

https://rokthejournal.podbean.com/

 Operator training hasn’t really changed in the past 50 years, relying heavily on on-the-job training with experienced operators as instructors. However, these operators often lack formal training in teaching methods and techniques. In this episode, we highlight the potential benefits of simulation-based training and the use of dedicated trainers, as well as the advantages of a five-crew rotation system that allows for dedicated training time. We also stress that facilities should focus on sending their trainers to "train the trainer" courses to improve the quality of their training programs and incorporate best practices from other industries, such as aviation and healthcare.

In this ICYMI episode Amanda Joshi, managing editor, reads a column from Dirk Willard on project management.

Filed and forgotten, that’s the fate of too many proposals I’ve had to work on. Usually, they relate to somebody’s pet project, an itch that production wanted to scratch, or a worthwhile concept that proved uneconomic. I’m kept busy for a week or two developing the scope, estimating the cost and laying out the schedule. Then, when eyes pop over the price, the project is entombed in a folder.

However, every so often, a need appears, funding is found, and the fun begins. The situation can become intense where regulators are involved or a project suddenly becomes crucial to the company.

You can read the full column here, which was posted to ChemicalProcessing.com on May 24, 2021