Tenure and seniority seem to make sense; those with the most time in grade, those with the most battle scars, will naturally make the best leaders, right? Maybe they will, but maybe not.
They may know the equipment, know the plant, processes, and procedures, but do they know how to lead? Do they have the respect of those who will report to them? At one site that IEM visited, a newly minted operations supervisor, who had been promoted from within, was struggling with his new direct reports. After spending time with those who reported to him, a definite trust issue was identified that had been around for years.
This made for a highly dysfunctional organization. This made for a difficult transition for both the supervisor as well as his direct reports. I would like to suggest that while sand will irritate the eye, and eventually lead to an infection, that same grain of sand in an oyster will produce a pearl. The point is that it is the irritant—difficult times at a plant—that brings out the true character of individuals.
I would challenge you to watch your personnel the next time the alarm bells are going off in the control room. Oftentimes, what I have seen is that one member of the crew, and perhaps not even one who is assigned to the control room, will be the person everyone looks to for direction.
The ones who have the capacity to remain calm when the bullets start flying, while simultaneously processing multiple inputs and outputs, are the ones who will gain the respect of those they work with. Those individuals have an inherent ability to lead. As plant managers, the whole aspect of personnel management can consume a lot of time—even more if we get it wrong. Understanding a few basic concepts for hiring, training, motivating, and honing your platoon into a well-oiled fighting force that can rely on each other during the heat of battle can pay huge dividends.
He has also been active in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and served on the education committee of the International Gas Turbine Institute. Studies and surveys have predicted a future shortage of skilled workers in the power industry for many years.
With so many career options to choose from, what can the power generation industry do to draw young…. Developing a resilient organization pays benefits daily, but during outages and other maintenance tasks, it can account for….
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HR Jun 1, Coal Jun 1, Wind Jun 1, Commentary Jun 1, Solar Jun 1, Also introduces how to start-up, run, and shut down AC generators. Covers basic AC circuits with resistive, inductive, and capacitive loads. Provides instruction in the calculation and measurement of real power, apparent power, and reactive power.
Introduces single phase transformations and motors. Studies Wye and Delta transformer connections with current, voltage, and power calculations for resistive, capacitive, and inductive loads. Also introduces high voltage power transmission, station service systems, and switchyard and substation components. Offers lab study of motors and generators. Students develop and troubleshoot process control operating screens that interact with PLCs.
Lab exercises make extensive use of fault insertion and troubleshooting techniques and include a design project. Examines solid state devices in-depth. Students write, program, and troubleshoot control circuits containing timers, counters, comparison circuits, bit shift operations, and sequencer functions. Thoroughly covers the Power Plant Student Manual. PRPL Basic Power Plant Theory 2 credits Introduces basic utility boilers, including natural circulation, controlled circulation, and once-through designs.
Discusses startup, shutdown, and normal operation, and covers air and flue gas flow paths and steam and water flow paths. Students learn about the properties of water and about the changes that certain substances in the plant go through when exposed to water. Specific attention is directed to the structure of elements and compounds, chemical reactions, the basics of raw water treatment, and the application of water chemistry to plant systems.
This program provides students an understanding of the equipment and the principle of operation involved. Graduates will know the responsibilities of plant operators, the necessary mechanical and chemical technology and the work and safety environment in this shift-oriented position. Students learn the technical and safety aspects of plant operations, the responsibilities of plant operators, and the mechanical and chemical technology needed for working in related industrial operations.
This designation recognizes BSC as the premier national center of education and training for operators and technicians in the energy industry. A limited number of students will be enrolled in both August and January for courses on campus. Courses offered online begin every weeks and are not limited to the number of students choosing to enroll.
This program has minimum entrance requirements. Skill levels generally differ between plant operator shifts. Further, these differences often cause divides among the shifts that result in unequal divisions of responsibility. Comprehensive, performance-based training and qualification programs can close the skill gaps, ensuring high-level performance across every shift. There is frequently a shift at a power plant that has fewer problems than the others and is trusted to perform the most-complex operational sequences.
Conversely, there is typically a shift that must be closely monitored due to its inability to properly respond to abnormal conditions or operations. A great article on the go2hr. The power industry is no exception, which is why managers in the power industry must ensure that they have well-developed training and qualification programs.
Effective programs typically consist of system operations manuals; simplified flow diagrams; study guides; progression testing; job performance measures JPMs , sometimes referred to as task qualification evaluations; and trainee progress cards.
The most-effective programs also use a simulator to assist in training and evaluating employees. These assessments will determine what is necessary to improve job performance. Once an assessment is complete, a facility can begin developing the appropriate training and qualification programs. Figure 1 illustrates a portion of the results from a typical training needs assessment performed for a joint power agency. Control room operators from several power plants were asked about their mastery of skills and knowledge in various areas, and whether or not they believed more training was needed in each area.
As can be seen in the figure, the majority of control room operators in this particular survey felt they could use training in the area of electrical distribution. By performing a similar training needs assessment, any plant can uncover areas where operators may be deficient. Management can then develop training focused on areas to close knowledge gaps.
When developing a training and qualification program, it is important to use up-to-date existing plant documentation and operating knowledge obtained from the most-experienced experts on the team. Up-to-date plant documentation ensures only accurate equipment details are used. Including new features, which may have been previously overlooked, will be helpful to new operators learning their positions. Their insight must, of course, be vetted appropriately. Development of training and qualification programs can be done in-house, but it is often more-effectively accomplished by hiring outside training consultants Figure 2.
Where power producers once had large training departments, the competitive nature of the power industry has led to often-extreme workforce reductions, including the elimination of some in-house training assets. Training consultants with experience in the industry have a wide array of solutions that can be used to create custom or generic training programs. It is possible to train operators using existing plant documentation as a basic framework, but facility libraries tend to become depleted or poorly maintained over time.
For example, at many locations the original plant training materials do not reflect updated control and operation of plant systems using a distributed control system.
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