OTS Overview: Benefits,

Requirements, Challenges
and Strategies
Most Important Points for a Succesful OTS
Project
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A well trained and skilled operator is one of the key elements in

increasing the plant's safety and productivity. Enabling quality
training for operators is becoming more and more important as
they nowadays need to handle increased load of information and
duties while the lack of operators' training is the major reason for
their inadequate performance.
Conventional training methodologies are not enough to train an
operator for seldom-occurring dangerous situations, therefore
the operator training simulator (OTS) has become inevitable part
of their training where they are able to learn without actually
endangering the plant and personnel (Patle et al).
Why OTS is needed, what are typical applications and
challenges for its application in process industry, and
what strategies to apply?
An increasing number of companies are using OTS to train the
operating staff on handling different malfunctions, startup,
shutdowns and infrequently occurring modes of operation.
The components of OTS by Ayral et al include:
• Same equipment, distributed control system configuration, tags
and logic as the actual plant,
• Training environment nearly identical to the control room,
• High level of realism due to reasonably accurate dynamic
process models,
• Realistic process models to provide the sense for urgency in
reacting to training exercise events,
• Used in teaching operators to recognize and react to plant-
specific events and scenarios, with an instructor console,
• Ability to run exercises without an instructor,
• Maintained to remain consistent with the actual process and
controls.

The main role of an OTS is to replicate process dynamics

behavior over a wide range of operations including startup,
shutdown, and critical situations.
Main functionalities of OTS reported by Dudley et al. include:
• Scenario creation and imparting malfunctions/upsets into the
process model,
• Monitoring and trending of any plant variable,
• Training of operators and evaluation of operators’performance,
• Run/pause/resume and load/save capabilities,
• Snapshots, backtracks, and speed control,
• Storing of data on plant variables, which can be used for
postscenario reviews.
Why Operator Training Simulators
are needed?
Many industrial accidents occur because of improper training on
automation and process equipment, instrumentation, or in safety
procedures for operations and maintenance. Operators must be
trained for emergency situations so that they know how to
respond to process malfunctions and other abnormal events.
Operator training simulators offer one of the best methods to
provide this training.
Reported benefits from OTS include faster startup,
improved operations, reduced upsets, and reduced
operator errors. Skilled operators are essential for safe
plant operation, maximum process performance,
reduced environmental impact, and reduction of
accidental losses in the complex chemical processes.
Hence, there is a need for continuous developing of
their skills as their performance has a direct influence
on the safety, productivity, profitability, stability, and
controllability of the process.
An OTS takes care of this gap by combining the theoretical
training and hands-on practice. Manenti stated that a real plant is
no place for training, and prior experience based on dynamic
simulation may be fundamental in reducing the impact/damage
of accidents or even in preventing them.
Glaser described the need for a systematic approach for
implementing operator training simulation to obtain maximum
training benefits. He discussed a systematic, five-step approach
for implementing operator training simulation over the long term
(viz., identification, normal operation, start-up and shut-down,
troubleshooting, and optimization) along with feedback from OTS
users, and use of operator training simulation to develop applied
skills (viz., cooperation, communication, supervision, and
situational awareness). To ensure that operators retain the
requisite knowledge and the skills, and that they remain
competent to control processes in emergency conditions,
companies should provide them with opportunities to develop
and sustain their capabilities. The plant operators receive plant-
specific and realistic hands-on training ahead of plant start-up
and complete plant operation through proper use of the OTS.
The reliable OTS can also be helpful in other functions such as
troubleshooting, and developing new operating and control
strategies. Thus, the simulator can be a useful tool not only for
training but also for the process and control industry (Dasgupta).
The basic requirements for
application of OTS in process
industry
According to the survey conducted by ARC Strategies among
industry professionals, the most important requirements for OTS
can be summarized in this list:
1 Simulating startup and shutdown, heating up the plant
2 Simulating incidents
3 Describes the dynamics of the process
4 Simulating normal operation
5 Simulating process/product transitions and changes
6 Simulating external disturbances
7 Describes steady state
8 Simulator uses 2D
9 Free choice of simulation speed compared to real-time
10 Model the plant behavior qualitatively
11 Simulating energy consumption
12 Simulating long-term trends (catalyst deactivation, heat
exchanger fouling etc.)
13 Simulator uses 3D visualization
14 Simulator uses 3D immersive
The priorities are changing dependant on the process involved.
However, industry professionals agree that they want to
train their operators for the situations with the most risks and
those are startup’s, shutdown’s and abnormal situations because
major plant accidents are more than five times more likely to
occur during abnormal operations (Yang et al.). After those
priorities, focus comes to the operations related to process
efficiency and optimization.
The challenges in the
development and implementation
of operator training simulators
An adequate dynamic model requires details of equipment size
and shape, process responses, controller tuning etc.
The chemical reactors and distillation columns are the
most complex part of the process to model because of
the large number of variables influencing each other
and many complex equations describing those
interactions.
The chemical reactors are the key elements in many processes
and complicated unit to model as each reactor has a unique
geometry, flow arrangement, and reaction kinetics.
Consequently, detailed knowledge of the reactor is necessary for
developing the model for an OTS. As reactors are usually
proprietary, their developers are often reluctant to share details
about reaction kinetics and reactor design with OTS developers.
Under such circumstances, a simplified model or a black box
models are often used (Cameron et al.). Special consideration
should be given to the degree of accuracy, calculation speed,
convergence, and robustness of a model to be used for operator
training.
The model equations should be structured carefully as
establishing an accurate steady-state solution for the initialization
of the dynamic model is very critical. The process dynamic
model and the emulated/stimulated control system should run on
a compatible platform in order to interface them with minimum
cost and effort (Patle et al)
Accuracy
Both the model and modeling tool should be sufficiently accurate
to ensure fidelity and consistency of results. Stawarz and
Sowerby used standards of <2% and 10% errors for critical and
noncritical parameters, respectively, in a model developed for
OTS. Considering this, surprisingly simple models can yield
sufficient fidelity for operator training needs.
Zhiyun et al. also stated that, when the ultimate goal of the
simulation work is to build OTS, requirements of modeling
accuracy are not so strict. Required accuracy depends on two
important issues: firstly, the modeling, where sufficient details
should be introduced to obtain reasonable accuracy, and
secondly, the solver in the modeling tool (error estimates,
tolerance values, etc.), which determines the accuracy of the
numerical solution of the model (Laganier).
Robustness
The modeler should be able to deal with process issues
efficiently without having limitations of issues like
convergence, tear streams, solver’s incapability,
especially, in case of unavailability of good initial
guesses.
“In some cases, companies had to delay their projects due to
unavailability of good initial guesses”, Cox et al. reported. For a
variety of disturbances (including shut down of a unit), the model
should be able to provide a solution. This is essential especially
when the end user does not have the background to
comprehend what is going on in the simulator and thus cannot fix
any numerical problem that may arise (Laganier).

Strategies for success

Strategies for success need to carefully address all the
challenges stated above through all the phases of the project
and those include (Magarini et al):
• OTS scope-of-work. Definition of appropriate scope of work is
a critical step at which the project can easily take a wrong
 path. The step is entailing definition of the OTS process
models’ scope and size, boundaries and accuracy ,
installed functionalities and simplifications that do not
negatively affect core simulations such as the emergency
shutdown (ESD) sequences. The final OTS scope is a
balanced trade-off between content, performance functions
and cost, and has the consensus of the plant owner’s
operations managers.
• OTS vendors. These are accurately screened for in-house
design expertise, reference projects of similar complexity
and magnitude, reference experience of current design
staff and competitive pricing.
• Functional design specification (FDS). This is developed by
the OTS vendor and details the agreed OTS design basis
comprising custom process models, simulated or emulated
operator stations, instructor facilities and supporting
software. The EPC contractor reviews and approves the
FDS for accuracy and compliance with the OTS purchase
order (PO) and technical specifications.
• OTS engineering in compliance with plant process, equipment
and I /C design. The project deliverables schedule ensures
OTS ready- for-use in line with the operator training
schedule.
• OTS factory and jobsite acceptance testing. End-user
training in correct OTS use, maintenance, and
configuration and OTS as-built updating, along with end-
user training in correct OTS use, maintenance and
configuration, and OTS as-built updating. The OTS ready-
for-use schedule is crucial. The project OTS engineer must
ensure that all design and control system inputs needed to
complete process models and control simulations are
available enough in advance to have the OTS up and
running per the operator training schedule at the plant
jobsite. (Magarini).

To offer an overview, costs estimations according to Ayral et al

for a standard refinery process unit, like a fluid catalytic cracking
unit, including the various software, hardware and service
components, will cost approximately $700,000 or more,
depending on overall complexity of the unit and the type of
control integration that is required.
However, author's opinion is that the prices are still highly
overrated and that future activities in the field will be decreasing
them or give another added value to operators' training.

Simulation software packages

for developing OTS
A suitable process model and its simulation are at the heart of
OTS. The computer-aided process design and the simulation
tools have been successfully implemented in chemical and oil
industries since the early 1960s, aiming for the development and
optimization of integrated systems. The commercial process
simulation software packages enable convenient development of
very complex models with numerous equations.
However, no model is completely accurate. It is
important to note the admonition of Box: “All models are
wrong, but some are useful”.
Komulainen et al. reported that there is an increasing interest in
the use of commercial process simulators in chemical
engineering education. Commercial simulators include Aspen
Plus and Aspen HYSYS (Aspen Technology, Inc.), ChemCAD
(Chemstations, Inc.), UniSim Design(Honeywell International
Inc.), PRO/II, and DYNSIM (Schneider Electric Software),
PetroSim (KBC, Yokogawa).
In making the choice of the most appropriate modeling tool, the
capabilities of the simulation software should be estimated in
accordance with the above-mentioned challenges and
requirements for OTS development.
Among all commercial software packages/tools available for the
simulation of chemical processes, those commonly used for OTS
development are:
• Aspen Dynamics & HYSYS, Aspen Technology
(www.aspentech.com)
• AZprocede, Azprocede (www.azprocede.fr)
• ChemCad Dynamics, Chemstations (www.chemstations.com)
• DYNSIM, Schneider Electric Software (software.schneider-
electric.com)
• INDISS Plus, RSI (www.simulationrsi.com)
• JADE, GSE Systems (www.gses.com/simulators)
• K-Spice, Kongsberg Oil&Gas Technologies
(www.kongsberg.com)
• Mobatec Modeller, Mobatec (www.mobatec.nl)
• Petro-SIM, KBC owned by Yokogawa (www.kbcat.com)
• TSC Sim, TSC Simulation (www.tscsimulation.co.uk)
• UniSim, Honeywell (www.honeywell.com)
• VMGSim, Virtual Material (www.virtualmaterials.com)
• VisSim, Visual Solutions (www.vissim.com)
• Visual Modeler, Omega Simulation (www.omegasim.co.jp)
OTS key benefits
Reduction in planned turnaround time. One of the key
benefits that OTS is a reduction in planned turnaround time. This
benefit includes planned startup and shutdown time before and
after scheduled maintenance. It is not intended to include
benefits for unplanned shutdowns and maintenance (Ayral).
Reduction in abnormal situations. OTS are also useful when
addressing the reduction in abnormal situations or incidents
caused by human error.
Optimization of APC utilization. APC utilization can also be
optimitized. This benefit is estimated as a 1 5% improvement in
total plant APC benefits because operators understand and
utilize the APC better, and therefore have higher utilization
factors.
Future directions
The process simulators are valuable both in engineering studies
and in operator training. However, they are also considered to be
a tool for specialists. It is essential for the simulation tools to be
more general and user friendly. For this, simulation tools need to
be continually developed and improved to meet the increasing
demands. The cooperation between simulator suppliers and
process engineers in performing studies and further developing
the models will play a key role in OTS development.
Some of the future suggestions discussed by Patle et al that we
found very well defined are:
• Realistic and robust model development: For OTS to be
effective, models should represent the process behavior as
accurately as possible. Models should be robust to
measurement and modeling errors. Proper equation-
oriented model formulation is necessary for this.
• Modeling more classes of processes: In addition to the
traditional unit operations/processes, membrane
separations, micro-reactors, biological reactors,
crystallization, etc. must be studied and included in the
simulators as they are increasingly becoming part of the
chemical processes. Enhancing the database of
thermodynamic properties, components, and reaction
kinetic parameters is also vital.
• Flexible modeling: Models should be developed with the aim of
facilitating their interface with other commonly used
software packages/tools as this will lead to the increased
usage for different purposes.
• Robust solvers: Solvers should be robust and capable of
coping with the drawbacks associated with them
OTS is a highly valuable system not only for training purposes
and therefore has the potential for increased usage. So far, OTS
has been used most in oil and gas, hydrocarbon and power and
energy industries, where the associated risk is higher.
Development of cost-effective OTS is essential to increase the
usage of OTS in other fields such as bioprocess engineering. As
well, OTS has the ability to be used more in process
optimization, research and development and operations
planning.