A console operator is the center of:
- Process Control
- Safety
- Communication
Process Control
The console operator must proactively monitor the process to maintain product specifications, prevent incidents, and optimize the process to improve energy efficiency and prevent loss of opportunity for product upgrade or throughput.
Specifically the console operator must:
- Monitor levels in all vessels and columns (to avoid overfilling or running dry)
- Monitor controller outputs (to avoid winding up or winding down)
- Handle feed rate changes by making appropriate adjustments to unit
- Handle feed composition changes by making appropriate adjustments to unit
- Handle product specification changes by making appropriate adjustments to unit
- Monitor furnace operations and make adjustments as needed to handle
- excess oxygen
- stack combustibles
- draft
- fuel gas composition changes
- ambient conditions
- furnace burner performance
- skin temperature aberrations
- pass balancing
- Monitor distillation column performance and make adjustments as needed to handle
- vapor or liquid flooding
- draw off rates
- pump-arounds
- condenser limitations
- overall heat balance
- Monitor Reactor performance and make adjustments as needed to handle
- reactor hot spots
- runaway reactions
- quench operations
- inlet temperatures or heat input
- catalyst circulation (for FCC’s)
- catalyst carryover (for FCC’s)
- catalyst regeneration (for FCC’s)
- Monitor and understand DMC performance and make adustments as needed for
- DMC limits
- turning DMC ON or OFF under various circumstances
- DMC troubleshooting
- Perform process data reconciliation to become aware of
- Instrumentation deficiencies
- equipment performance (such as heat exchangers, pumps, etc.)
- process leaks
- potential hazards
- Use process trends to quickly identify process changes
Safety
The console operator is responsible for the safety
of all personnel and equipment in the process
unit.
This involves the following:
- Respond to alarms (acknowledge and take appropriate immediate action)
- Troubleshoot cause of failures
- Follow emergency procedures
- Direct the Field Operator appropriately for emergency response
- Safely shutdown the unit when appropriate
- Safely start up the unit
- Recognize and respond to loss of instrument air
- Follow up on the safety of all personnel during serious incidents such as fires or H2S releases
Communication
The console operator is the center of communication. All communication that may affect the operation of the unit must come through the console operator. This includes the following:
- Radio communication with the outside operator
- Communication with operations management and planning
- Communications with maintenance
- Writing precise maintenance work orders
- Reading turnover reports from previous shifts
- Writing accurate and complete turnover reports for next shift
- Communication with upstream and downstream units
- Communication with utilities
- Communication with blending and shipping
- Communications with the lab
©Cheryl Morrow March 2011