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Upset/Offnormal Workload Analysis
The requirements
for responding to a unit upset establishes the minimum staffing
levels for process units. Different methods are used to determine
the requirements for outside operators and board operators.
Outside operator requirements to handle an emergency are assessed
through procedural walk-throughs. A worst case upset is chosen and
the operators are asked to "walk through" their actions. In the
course of the walk-through, the operators are queried as to
difficult tasks, potential problems due to equipment malfunction or
variations in the upset. The operators’ actions are observed to
determine if equipment is accessible or information is available to
make decisions and/or take action. The walk-though results are then
formatted in a flowchart style for easier viewing.
After being put
into the flowchart format, the tasks are rated along two dimensions:
(1) Risk and (2) Effort. Risk is associated with the consequence of
not performing the task, and effort refers to the physical effort
experienced by the operators while performing the task. This
analysis of the tasks allows Beville to identify both bottleneck
tasks and upset load/utilization.
Determining
the upset requirements for board operators involves "talking
through" a worst-case upset and evaluating the DCS configuration and
alarm system structure, along with other variables. Frequently the
problems in upset response originate with poor DCS configuration,
which limits the board operator's ability to respond effectively to
an upset situation. If it is determined that the majority of
problems originate at the board, it is necessary to ascertain the
causes of the problems and potentially perform an
alarm and display system analysis
to go hand in hand with the upset response management.
If upset staffing
requirements are greater than steady state staffing for a unit, two
sets of options are developed. One option entails increasing the
steady state workload to improve personnel utilization. The other
option involves automating upset tasks to reduce the workload needed
to handle an upset.
For further information, visit the
links below.
Workload/Staffing Analysis
Overview /
Steady State Workload &
Staffing Analysis
/ Steady State Job Samples
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