S I M U L AT I O N A N D M O D E L I N G

Training simulators
smooth operations
Simulators pay for themselves
with fewer trips and incidents,
wrinkle-free transitions, knowledge
capture and process improvements.
by Janice Abel and Rick Rys

ne of the earliest applications for

simulator-based training was airplane pilots. Today, simulators
train people across many professions,
including surgery and health care, aviation, military, aerospace, shipping, nuclear, oil and gas, chemical and other
industries where workers have high levels of responsibility and the potential
for mistakes that could harm people,
equipment or the environment.
Though a well-rounded program
including classroom, online and onthe-job training is important, research
indicates that operator training simulators (OTS) are particularly beneficial

After two weeks, we tend to remember:

Reading

10% of what we read

Hearing words

20% of what we hear

Seeing

30% of what we see

50% of what we
see and hear

Preparing for a discussion

Giving a talk

70% of what
we say

Doing a dramatic presentation

Simulating the real experience
Doing the real thing

90% of what
we say and do

"DUJWF

Watching a movie
Looking at an exhibit
Watching a demonstration
Seeing it done on location

1BTTJWF

I see and I forget.

I hear and I remember.
I do and I understand.
Confucius

for operators and other personnel in

many industrial plants and facilities.
This is because simulators enable operators to practice operations in a situational context. Unlike training on live
control systems, OTSs can be used to
practice real-life scenarios, both normal and abnormal, without the risk
of adverse consequences. Beyond providing an understanding about how
a plant functions, simulators enable
workers to learn how to solve problems
and make better and faster decisions.
Research shows that companies that
use simulation in training have workers that learn faster, retain information

THE CONE OF LEARNING

Figure 1: Research shows simulator training helps operators learn faster, retain information longer, and perform better than workers who only receive traditional on-the-job,
online or classroom training. (Source: Edgar Dale, 1969)

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longer, and perform better than workers trained only with traditional methods such as classroom, online or onthe-job (Figure 1).
ARC Advisory Group (www.arcweb.
com) recently conducted a survey in
conjunction with www.ControlGlobal.
com to develop a better understanding of how industrial organizations today utilize OTSs and the benefits they
generate. The survey examined various
types of OTS solutions, current implementation practices, reasons for implementing, training methods and specific benefits. This article highlights
findings from the survey, focusing on
the responses received from end users with actual OTS experience. The
majority of participants were from the
oil, gas, chemical and petrochemical
industries. The energy and nuclear industries were also represented.

Top benefits of OTS

Participants were asked about the top
benefits received from implementing
OTS, and allowed to choose up to five
answers. The top benefits include:
Smoother startups, shutdowns and
transitions;
Fewer abnormal situations, trips,
as well as incident avoidance and
troubleshooting skills;
Improved process knowledge capture and transfer;
Improved process safety, reduced
risk and liability; and
Testing operational modifications
and process control before implementation.

The number one reason for implementing OTS was obtaining smoother
startups, shutdowns and transitions
(Figure 2). Todays operations teams
dont always get the hands-on training needed for starting up and shutting
down a plant, and though technology
makes it easier to capture procedures,
critical plant information isnt always
easy to obtain when it counts the most.
For plants that startup and shutdown
frequently, just the cost savings from
avoiding equipment damage can help
justify an OTS purchase. One person
ARC interviewed estimated that the
savings could be as high as $10,000 to
$50,000 per day in a coal-fired power
plant. Another estimate was that
plants can save as much as $300,000 to
$400,000 per startup.
Respondents also indicated that improving process safety and reducing
risk and liability were other major OTS
benefits. Lower risk can mean reduced
liability and lower insurance costs in
some cases.
Another OTS benefit was testing
operational modifications and process controls before implementation.
Companies benefit from using OTS
for factory acceptance testing (FAT)
and checkout, and optimizing the process control system prior to and following startup. One end user told ARC
that by using the OTS for testing, they
achieved ROI before startup.

ators before startup (Figure 3), which

aligns with the result for top benefits.
The number two reason is to respond
to abnormal situations. The third most
popular reason is troubleshooting. In
fact, some companies have achieved
ROI by identifying potential issues before startup.
Many industrial accidents occur because of insufficient training on automation equipment, instrumentation, or
due to lacking safety procedures for operations and maintenance. Operators must
be trained for emergencies, of course,
so they know how to respond to process
malfunctions or other abnormal events.
OTS offers one of the best methods for
providing this training.

For instance, the tragic BP Texas City

refinery explosion killed 15 workers and
injured more than 170 others in 2005.
The company had to pay more than $1
billion dollars in fines to compensate
victims, suffered millions of dollars in
equipment damage and lost production,
and took a major hit to its reputation.
This is no doubt why ARCs research indicates training for startups is the number one benefit of OTS training.
The Texas City disaster occurred
while starting up an isomerization unit,
where instrumentation issues and inadequate safeguards combined with inadequate supervision, procedural and human factor issues, miscommunication
and inappropriate operator actions to

What are the TOP benefits you received from implementing an OTS?
Smoother startups,
shutdowns and transitions

73%

Fewer abnormal situations, trips,

incidence avoidance and
troubleshooting skills

69%

Improved process knowledge

capture and transfer
Improve process safety,
reduce risk and liability
Test operational modifications and
process control before implementation

64%

62%

53%

TOP BENEFITS FROM IMPLEMENTING AN OTS

Figure 2: Users say the number one reason for implementing operator training

How OTS is used

simulators (OTS) was achieving smoother startups, shutdowns and transitions, and cite

The respondents add their primary

reason for using OTS is to train oper-

savings as high as $10,000 to $50,000 per day in a coal-fired power plant, and as much
as $300,000 to $400,000 per startup.
A U G U S T / 2 0 1 6 www.controlglobal.com

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S I M U L AT I O N A N D M O D E L I N G
OPERATOR TRAINING SIMULATOR OPENS MINDS AT ENTERPRISE
Starting up a new unit, facility or control system can be the thrill of a lifetime, even when
everything goes according to plan. An operator training simulator (OTS) can contribute to that success by allowing operators to be trained before startup, and provide
a way to test and improve the controls. You can shave off enough startup time
to pay for the system it doesnt take many days to pay for it, says Greg Rogers, director of control engineering, Enterprise Products (www.enterpriseproducts.com) at Honeywell Users Group (HUG) 2016. It also can help achieve best
practices in operations, improve productivity and prevent upsets.
Rogers recently completed an OTS project on a new system, and reported
that, depending on how its specified and executed, the combination of operator
training and process simulation can help:
Better train operations staff on the process;
Train prior to startup;
Give better response to upsets at startup and shutdown;
Reduce startup time;
Increase facility uptime with safer operations and improved reliability;
Allow refresher training;
Provide evaluation tools;
Standardize best practices among operators;
Improve operating procedures;
Pevent lost production, equipment damage and environmental upsets;
Avoid costs of poor quality, material loss and reprocessing;
Validate control and logic systems; and
Debottleneck and test operating ranges without upsetting the running plant.
OTS can help retrain the overcautious control operator who is not making you
money and the one whos running the plant on the jagged edge, says Rogers. Welltrained operators make fewer mistakes, and avoiding a mistake that costs two days
of downtime can save a lot of money.
Paul Studebaker

How do you use your OTS?

Training operators before startup
Responding to abnormal situations
(emergency response, etc.)
For troubleshooting
For one-time use for startup and testing
DCS acceptance testing
For process optimization and continuous
improvement operational excellence measures
(plant optimization, plant modification, advanced process control, etc.)

Training operators after startup

5 = heavy usage

4 = more than average usage

3 = average usage

HOW DO YOU USE YOUR OTS?

Figure 3: Survey respondents say their number one use of an operator training simulator is to
train operators before startup, number two is responding to abnormal situations, and number
three is during startup and testing.

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produce the fatal explosion. The investigation, documented in a U.S. Chemical Safety Board (www.csb.gov) video
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuJtdQOU_Z4), shows operator training
was insufficient and that the company
hadnt invested in simulators. Ironically,
the CSB accident investigation team
made extensive use of simulators to understand how the accident occurred.
Lack of adequate training was also cited
in other CSB accident investigations.
Training with high-fidelity simulations that incorporate the control system
user interface and control strategies in a
virtual environment would have been effective in preventing this and similar accidents. In addition to training operators,
such simulations would have challenged
the written startup procedures, as well as
the suitability of the field instrumentation and the control, alarming and shutdown strategies. OTS users report that
training activities often help test DCS
displays, controls, alarming and shutdown strategies, and lead to improvements in both safety and ease of use.

Make training multi-faceted

Interactive OTSs that simulate
real-world environments can improve training and ensure workers
retain and gain confidence from
what they learn. Process and control engineers should be closely involved in developing and using their OTS, while its
platform can also test controls, alarms,
displays and shutdown strategies.
However, ARC also believes that
companies should continue using a
multi-faceted strategy that includes traditional classroom-, computer- and simulator-based training. Emerging training
approaches that incorporate gaming and
3D visualization technologies should
also be evaluated. ARC has published
numerous reports on operator training
simulators, operations training, training
technologies and training strategies, and
will continue to research and report on
these important topics.
Janice Abel is a principal analyst and Rick Rys,
P.E., is a senior consultant in the analyst group
at ARC Advisor y Group (w w w.arcweb.com).