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How a plant simulator can improve industrial safety
Author(s) -
Nazir Salman,
Manca Davide
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
process safety progress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.378
H-Index - 40
eISSN - 1547-5913
pISSN - 1066-8527
DOI - 10.1002/prs.11714
Subject(s) - process (computing) , chemical plant , process safety , virtual reality , work in process , simulation , computer science , work (physics) , engineering , systems engineering , industrial engineering , human–computer interaction , mechanical engineering , operations management , operating system , environmental engineering
Keeping the systems and processes safe is of paramount importance for all industries around the world. Process industry is a socio‐complex system constituted of dynamic chemical processes, sophisticated computer algorithms, modern human machine interfaces, and teams of operators working at different locations. The decisions of the operators directly or indirectly influence the safety and production of chemical processes. The article presents and discusses a solution for immersive training of industrial operators that allows experiencing the multifaceted scenarios of (real) plant operations. This tool, called Plant Simulator (PS), combines a process simulator and an accident simulator to simulate dynamically both normal and abnormal/accident scenarios. These simulators are the engines that work behind the curtains of an Immersive Virtual Environment and make possible the realism of the simulated operations in the plant. The article explains the features of PS and discusses two case studies that show the potential improvements achievable in processes safety. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 34: 237–243, 2015