Ron's Response:

Curiosity is the cornerstone of a problem-solving mindset. It’s about asking “why” at every opportunity—not just when something goes wrong but to understand the deeper principles at play. Simulation training nu

Ron's Response:

To answer this question let us approach this from three different perspectives. There are three powerful perspectives that form the foundation of this mindset:

1. Curiosity and Openness to Possibil
...

Greg's Response:

Temperature RTD sensors should use 4 wires and TC sensors should use extension wires of same material as sensor with length as short as possible to minim

Greg's Response:

Temperature is often the most important of the common measurements because it is an indicator of process stream composition and product quality. Temperature

Ron's Response:

Let us first look at a definition from Kumar Dey “Centrifugal compressor surge is a characteristic behavior of the compressor t

Greg's Response:

Lime feeders have a transportation delay that is proportional to the length of the feeder divided by its speed. This transportation delay may be several min

Ron's Response:

Whenever an incident occurs the investigators freeze time and slowly break down the sequence of events—viewing it from all perspectives. If only we co

Greg's Response:

A common misconception is that the slope of the titration curve and, therefore, the system sensitivity can be decreased by reagent dilution. Reagent di

Greg's Response:

If the reagent pipeline is partially filled or empty or a dip tube is backfilled with process fluid, the regent delivery delay becomes the biggest sour

Greg's Response:

For a reagent dose to be precise enough, the reagent’s logarithmic acid dissociation constant (pKa) should be close to the pH set point so that it tends to f

Ron's Response:

In the last pod we discussed how stress can impact performance and what are some of the physiological responses to stress. 

In her book, The Unthinka...

Greg's Response:

Stick and slip generally occur together and have a common cause of friction in the actuator design, stem packing, and seating surfaces. Rotary valves with

Ron's Response:

Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger was quoted as saying that the moments before the emergency water landing of US Airways Flight 1549 were "the worst sickening, pit-o

Greg's Response:

Static mixer have noisy pH measurements. Signal filtering can help but a downstream volume is needed to provide smoothing of pH oscillations that can be large

Ron's Response:

Developing a simulator program involves a financial commitment and resources to be successful. This continues after the initial installation of the facility. One

Greg's Response:

pH systems are extremely sensitive to the vessel design. A poor design can make good pH control impossible in nearly all systems despite the use of the most adva

Aaron's Response:

When we talk about

Ron's Response:

Several years ago, Gary Klein and Joseph Borders completed a study of operators’ mental models that involved watching how they navigated through proces

Greg's Response:

The titration curve is the most important piece of information for designing, commissioning, and troubleshooting pH control systems. Lab titrati

Aaron's Response:

Fundamentally, I think this is a two-way street. The way that simulation has changed the way I approach system modernization projects has shifted almost hand-in-hand with the wa

Ron's Response:

Unfortunately, far too many simulators have become dust collectors after their initial installation. They may have been developed for the initial startup of a facility and then

Aaron's Response:

In control system modernization projects – that is, brownfield projects designed to replace and improve the automation systems in plants – the focus is on risk.  Risks come from changes

Greg's Response:

Because of the pressure to minimize capital costs, a project may sell itself short on the number of stages required. The basic rule from the 1970s was that a w

Ron's Response:

There are a few areas to focus on when developing simulator scenarios.

1. The development of process knowledge, i.e. Distillation, heat exchange, chemical reactions. Scenario
...