Process plant design and the operator's task

Abstract

Process plant is designed to contribute to the meeting of certain management goals. To meet these goals, plants must be operated in a suitable manner. This requires a match to be made between what is required of operating staff and what operating staff are capable of doing and indeed actually do. There is frequently some kind of mismatch between man and machine, sometimes resulting in low yields or minor accidents, and, occasionally, major accidents. Process plant design typically resolves around the disciplines of physics, chemistry, instrumentation and control. This may be the correct emphasis for the engineers' skills, but some knowledge of relevant human factors should also be added to the process plant designers repertoire.