Operator Guide for Wastewater Treatment PLC
Industry: Industrial
Service: Procedural Development
Project Manager:
Bathilde Gautier
Contact: bgautier@aursi.ca
Aureus was contracted by an industrial client to develop a simple to use guide to help their operators understand and use a new wastewater treatment plant PLC. The plant had recently gone through a full replacement of their PLC to a Rockwell system after years of using a different platform. The operations staff found the change challenging - they had difficulty identifying, understanding, and responding to the new screen information. Alarms were of particular concern as the operators historically relied on local, untrained field staff to support alarm troubleshooting during off-hours and weekends, but the change in interface made this more challenging.
Client Challenges:
Both the operators and field staff had limited understanding of how to:
Navigate new interface;
Properly operate the equipment from the PLC; and
Identify, troubleshoot and respond to alarms remotely.
While the PLC service provider did provide some training and support, it was expensive and was not in a format conducive for the operators.
Very little user guidance was provided by the PLC service provider that was specifically related to the plant.
Due to limited training and documented tools provided with the new PLC, the operations staff were regularly working with the system designer, which was very expensive and frustrating for the client.
The operators did not feel comfortable responding to alarms remotely and working with local field staff due to their limited understanding of the PLC. As a result, they would come in during off-hours, resulting in higher overtime costs and unhappy staff.
Aureus’ Solution:
Aureus developed a visual and simple to use document to help the operations and field staff:
Access the PLC (locally and remotely);
Navigate the PLC (locally and remotely);
Understand, interpret and respond to alarms (on-site and remotely);
A key part of this document was the creation of flowcharts specific to each alarm type. These flow charts were developed with the intention that they could help both the operators (remotely) and the field staff (locally) identify, understand and respond to each alarm and work through the corresponding response steps together efficiently and effectively.
The Outcome:
Aureus’ comprehensive, but simple to use document (including flow charts) helped the client through:
Capacity building - the WWTP management, operational team and field staff felt Aureus’ tool provided better understanding of how to navigate the PLC, how to operate the plant from it and how to address alarms from it, all on-site and remotely.
Budget savings - Aureus’ solution allowed the operations staff to quickly determine whether an on-site presence was needed to address alarms received during off-hours, weekends and holidays or whether the alarms could be addressed remotely.
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