Training of Process Plant Malfunction Analysts

A computer programme and plant manual containing a process flow sheet, details of all plant items and specific causes of process malfunction are the main tools of a programme for training process engineers or supervisors in the detection of process malfunctions and identifying the cause. The programme simulates all parts of the process, responds to encoded faults introduced by an instructor and measures a trainee's performance in terms of notional dollars representing the number and cost of measurements called for and time lost in resolving the malfunction. It lacks the ability to provide visual, audible or olifactory observations of a real process, and requires the analyst to depend only on reported temperature, pressure, flow rate and composition measurements which include simulated measurement errors. Experience in using the programme for teaching chemical engineering students is reported.