In this podcast we discuss the changing landscape of operator training. Three key factors are driving change: a new generation of workers comfortable with mobile technology, emerging technologies like virtual reality and evolving job expectations.
Transcript
Welcome to the Operator Training Edition of Chemical Processing's Distilled podcast. This podcast and its transcript can be found at chemicalprocessing.com. You can also download this podcast on your favorite player. I'm Traci Purdum, editor in chief of CP. And joining me is Dave Strohbar, founder and chief human factors engineer at Beville Engineering. Dave is also the founder of the Center for Operator Performance.
Hey, Dave.
Dave: Good morning, Traci.
Traci: Well, today we are going to talk about a pretty big subject, training the next generation of operators. Obviously, training is crucial for maintaining safety, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency. And it also prepares this new crew for emergencies and helps preserve valuable industry knowledge as experienced staff retire.
Next Generation Needs Different Job Training
My question to you, out of the gate, is why do we need to do anything differently with this next generation?
Dave: Well, we've got a lot of changes going on and I think people can really start appreciating a lot of this. We have a convergence of three different factors that are coming together.
The first is the labor pool is different. The next generation coming in are, and I never can get the Gen Z and Gen X straight, but you've got people, individuals who are used to using mobile devices. Yeah, they've lived their life on TikTok and YouTube, and so they are very comfortable with having a mobile device to access information. So we've got a different breed, if you will, of individuals who are coming into plant operations.
The second facet that's coming into play is we have new technologies that are out there. So we've got virtual reality and augmented reality, and new ways to distill information, and ways to present information because of the technological changes.
And then this combines with the third element of it, which is expectations. At one point the operator was a valve turner. That's kind of what you thought of a field operator. Well no more. Now they're a technician. And so there's new expectations associated with that position. All of those are coming together, labor pool, technology expectations, and most of the major oil and chemical companies are saying, "Hey, we need to do things differently. And this new generation of operators that are coming in, we don't want to train them the way we've trained operators in the past because the job's different, the people are different, the technology is different. And so now we need the training to be different as well."
Training With Technology
Traci: What are some of the best ways to incorporate all of the emerging technologies for this operator training?
Dave: Well, one of the things, and some companies are using it, is tablets. And as I said, the new generation is comfortable with mobile technology. I know some major oil companies are issuing iPads to all their operators so that they can take basically training with them. Well now, certainly the younger generation, if they have a question on how to do something, well, they go to YouTube and look for a video, and, "Well, how do I do this?". Well, now they're being given tablets in the unit, intrinsically safe tablets in the unit, "How do I start up this compressor or how do I realign this manifold?". The technology is allowing us to take that information to them when they need it. And so that's a whole area of as needed training. I remember three years ago when they showed me how to start up this compressor. I haven't had to do it since then. I don't want to miss anything. And so the tablets are probably the first part of being able to make that happen.
And you can use augmented reality where you can hold the tablet up and have it present information to the operator. One refinery, they've put basically barcodes on all their equipment, so you can scan it and on the tablet you can get information. Are there any work permits out on this? Are there any open orders? Are there any procedures that I need to review? Are there any training exercises associated with this? So the use of tablets is probably that first step training technologies available to the operators at their job site so that they're getting the training when they need it, not at some time in the past and try to recall it.
Traci: Now, technology is obviously a blessing, but also a burden. And I think of my GPS; if I'm traveling someplace, I just rely on my GPS, and if I get lost or the GPS blinks out, I panic because I don't have those; I have to think about it now. And the problem-solving and the critical thinking of, "Do I go north? Do I go west? Where am I? How do I get my bearings?". How do you develop that type of problem-solving and critical thinking skills with this newer generation who is somewhat relying on technology?
How To Foster Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Dave: Well, and that is a problem. Most plants have seen that, there's a skill degradation as you increase automation. So the more automation you have, the less the person is doing any skill. If you don't practice, it will begin to degrade, including problem-solving and critical thinking skills. So you usually get the practice from real life. It happened enough that I was staying proficient just by daily things happening. I do these compressor trips every day. So I'm used to starting it up because we do it every day. Well, now it's like, well, this compressor hasn't tripped in a year and I've lost a skill as to how to restart it.
So, the key is practice, and there are a couple of different ways to make this practice happen. There are decision-making exercises. The Center for Operator Performance has created a guide for how to create these, which take operators through various decision steps and allow them to practice their problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
On the other hand, on the higher-priced end, you now have virtual reality simulations of fired heaters. So I want to teach an operator and have them practice starting a fired heater and putting the flame in. And so now I can do that in a virtual world, where if I do it incorrectly, I'll blow up the simulator heater but not the real thing. So practice is critical in maintaining skills, whatever that skill is.
And you're right, skill degradation will be a major problem. And it's going to be a shift for a lot of companies because the management's going to say, "Well, we've never done this before. You always just learn and do it." It's like, "Yeah, but your plant has never run this well before. You're not used to having so long between events that the operator's skill will degrade." And plans have seen this with their console operators when they put on advanced process control, the operators intervene with the process less. That's what it's supposed to do. The advanced control will make the moves, but now the operator's skill at interacting with the process has gone down. And the only way they're, well, I can turn off the APC and have the operator take control again. Many companies do that at costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue, or I create ways to practice those skills either in, there's tabletop versions all the way up to virtual reality ways to make it happen.
Traci: And those hands-on training and the simulation of the real world scenarios are very important. Are there any quick hit ways to design or any resources, other resources to help design those types of experiences?
Dave: Well, so in terms of trying to create these, one of the key things is trying to make sure that there's stress involved. Because there was an operator we were interviewing after a power trip had occurred at a plant. And there was a new operator, and he said, "Oh, we had just walked through the power failure procedure that day." And I said, "Well, did that help?". And he said, "Well, it helped a little, but I wasn't scared during the practice."
So you need to make sure there's some stress associated with these in terms of the tabletop problem-solving decision-making exercises, you put time constraints on it. In terms of virtual reality, you can just create environmental distractors in terms of noise and other things that will make it difficult for the individual to do, to make that happen. But having some stress in those practice scenarios is important because that's what you're going to have in the real world.
Tips To Hone Soft Skills
Traci: That's interesting. It's something you really don't think about until you to walk through it yourself.
What other types of skills, soft skills, there's communication and teamwork? Are these crucial for operators in today's work environment? Obviously probably. So how do you foster those?
Dave: Yes. So becoming more and more important, there is a whole field of study called crew resource management that deals with those soft skills. And there are training programs to impart those skills onto the individuals. Some of them you may not even think of. So we think of leadership and you do talk about leadership training, crew resource management, followership is actually a skill. In other words, there are requirements to be a good leader. There's also requirements to be a good follower. And people don't appreciate that. In other words, when to speak up. In other words, don't let the crew chief take an action that you're like, "I think this is really going to backfire on us." And speak up, bring up your objections. And so there are things that are required not just to the leader of the crew, but the people who are members of it.
So the crew resource management started in the aviation industry. It's being used in the military. Some companies in the Center for Operator Performance have started to implement some of these ideas in terms of making it more structured. So the communication, making sure that you're getting feedback. When I send out an order, are they giving me the feedback on, yes, I received that order correctly. So there's some basic behaviors that you want to impart, and there's ways to check and see, okay, have they been done?
Traci: What about mentorship? What role does that play in developing new operators?
Dave: Crucial and you talked earlier about practice, but one of the things that is extremely important is to understand and practice, you want to practice correctly, and you need mentors to do that. And so the mentors should be your experts that you want to impart a new way of viewing problems to the novice operators.
Dr. Gary Klein, he's talked about expertise and he's often said, "It's not that the expert just knows more, but they see things differently." So these mentors need to help the operators look at the problem differently. A novice may be focusing on a small aspect of it, and hopefully, the mentor can bring them out and say, "No, no, no, you're not seeing the big picture here, and you need to look at that, not just this little problem that we are dealing with." So mentors are crucial in terms of getting a novice up to their level. But again, it's not just teaching facts, but it's teaching. How do you approach the problem? What are you looking for in making that happen?
One of the problems that the industry has is that most of their trainers, the Center for Operator Performance did a survey and they were looking at how many of the trainers have attended professional training classes, how to be a trainer. And only a minority of the companies that were polled send their trainers to a train the trainers session. And there are requirements on being a good mentor. So the mentor is important, but they have to be able to mentor. You can't just take somebody and say, "Ah, you're the mentor now." You need to have them understand what's required of them in order to impart the skill and knowledge. It can't just be, "Hey, watch me do this, and then you do it like I did it." It's imparting that different way of looking at things that is really critical to the learning process for the new operator.
Cross-Functional Knowledge Needs
Traci: Absolutely not everybody is a good leader, for sure, a good mentor. So that's important to think about as well. Interesting.
What about cross-functional knowledge? Should that be included in operator training?
Dave: This goes with the expanding expectations. So this has going to be become even more important as the operator role continues to shift. So now that the operator is no longer just a valve turner, then we need to, so well, what are they going to be doing? Well, there's a lot of things they can do, and with the right knowledge imparted upon them.
So instead of just taking samples and sending them off to the lab and just, well, it passed, it didn't pass. More training potentially on chemistry so they understand what the lab is testing is for, and what they are looking for so that they can react to it. Rotating equipment, "Well this pump sounds funny," well more understanding of the mechanics that are going on so that they can better troubleshoot in presenting the information to maintenance instead of just writing on the work order, "Pump sounds funny," you know, "Pump sounds like it's cavitating," or, "Pump seems to have a bearing issue or something to help guide maintenance in doing their aspect of the job. Knowledge on instrumentation. Why might this instrument lie to me? Gee, I've got a side gauge here that says we're at 10% level, but the level transmitter says we're at 50%, how to reconcile that.
So this cross-functional knowledge is something that the operator of the future is going to need because it's going to be part of the job. There's going to be an expectation. You're not there to turn valves. We've got machines that will do that. We want you there for your mind. We want you there for your ability to detect problems, your ability to troubleshoot the problems, and your ability to communicate that to other people who need to know that. So as part of this new training for the next generation, it's going to be training on things that often operators, you didn't have to know that in the past. "All I have to know is how to turn that valve," well, not anymore.
And so with the tablets and the ability to bring training at any point in time, you can create modules along these different things. So it used to be, training was always done on overtime. So if you wanted to train an operator, well, you better schedule some overtime to train them on it. Well, with the tablets, they're taking the training to wherever they are. So if it's a weekend, if it's a slow afternoon, early evening, you can go through and have them on their tablets go through these training exercises related to expanding their knowledge in these different areas. So you're no longer constrained by the need for a classroom and an instructor. It can go directly to them and can be made interactive and engaging. Some of the current videos that they use for training, or rather, they don't convey a lot of information, but hopefully as more and more people are putting some effort into these areas, the online type of training experiences can be made much better.
Traci: And Dave, as always, you help us to focus in on improving operator performance, and I appreciate that. You're here for your mind too. That's what I like to tap.
And folks, if you want to stay on top of operator training and performance, subscribe to this free podcast via your favorite podcast platform to learn best practices and keen insight. You can also visit us at chemicalprocessing.com for more tools and resources aimed at helping you achieve success.
On behalf of Dave I'm Traci, and this is Chemical Processing's Distilled podcast, Operator Training Edition. Thanks for listening. Thanks again, Dave.
Dave: Thanks Traci!
