(57s) Considerations When Justifying the Purchase of an Operator Training Simulator

Highly skilled plant operators ensure higher levels of plant safety, reliability and profitability. An Operator Training Simulator accelerates both the time to competence and raises the competency level of an operator. The ARC Advisory Group recently surveyed companies who have invested in Operator Training Simulators (OTS). Two critical results from the survey are that over sixty five percent of those companies report fewer abnormal situations, fewer trips, and incidence avoidance attributable to the use of OTS. Over sixty percent of these companies report improved safety and reduced risk and lower liability attributable to the use of the OTS.

Many leading companies have embraced the use of Operator Training Simulators across their Enterprise however many facilities and companies have yet to embrace the idea. The most common reason given for not investing in such a solution is that the cost of an OTS cannot be justified. The nuclear industry mandates that a nuclear power plant must have an OTS whereas the American Petroleum Institute only recommends the use of Training Simulators. The Process industries overall will benefit by the greater adoption of training simulators and this paper discusses the different ways that can be used to justify the investment in an OTS.