Tolmount Extension and Rough Injection Project.

Multiple major plant changes

The project ran approximately March–November 2020 and encompassed substantial Easington modifications, the Tolmount extension and Rough injection functionality. It was broader than a single additional simulator section.

I worked on the hot-flash system and new heater, interpreting an incomplete third-party P&ID and defining workable control loops against the stated specification. I also implemented distillation modifications and carried out significant whole-plant testing against operating procedures.

An accepted representation of intended operation

The physical plant configuration and controls were still developing. We made engineering decisions to produce a usable training representation, including DCS screens, before commissioning. The customer subsequently used some of our simulator screens for its actual control system.

Acceptance established an agreed representation of intended operation, not an as-built replica of the plant ultimately installed. Later maintenance and the As-Built project aligned the simulator with that installation.

Testing and acceptance

I led acceptance and the commercial work. I tested the PlantPAx emulation and the separately implemented Tolmount normally unmanned installation simulator, controlled from shore. I did not implement those systems.

Control-system and process scope

Tolmount used a different DCS: Rockwell PlantPAx. An entirely new control-system emulation was created for that part of the simulator, alongside the DeltaV environment already represented for Easington.

The extension brought another process scope and another control-system interface into the same training programme. It illustrates the importance of understanding both the engineering behaviour and the control environment when developing a useful operator simulator.