We ask Ron:
How do focus and stress management enhance problem-solving?
Ron's Response:
In high-pressure situations, even the best technical knowledge is of little use without focus and the ability to manage stress effectively. Simulation training helps operators develop these essential sk
...We ask Julie:
What strategies have you found effective for starting small, low-risk simulation projects to build credibility and trust?
Julie's Response:
Back in 2019, the new DuPont was formed after the merger and split with Dow. Many sites were struggling to continue their migration proje
...We ask Greg:
What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best vessel temperature control?
Greg's Response:
A vessel is defined here as storage, recycle, blend, or surge volume where there is no heat of reaction and no agitator. Fortunately, most vessel volumes are so la
...We ask Ron:
What role does experience play in effective problem-solving?
Ron's Response:
Pattern recognition and tacit knowledge—the instincts gained through experience—are indispensable for problem-solving. But how do you cultivate these skills in a controlled environment? Simulation trai
...We ask Greg:
What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best heat exchanger temperature control?
Greg's Response:
Flows much lower than design causes a high process gain and high process deadtime that can lead to temperature oscillations and possible instability. Low v
...We ask Russ:
What are some of the benefits of dynamic simulation over steady state simulation?
Russ' Response:
Traditionally, process design uses steady state (SS) simulation, and it serves its purpose well. Â Most analysis of processes and textbook instruction on how processes work use SS r
...We ask Ron:
How does curiosity drive a problem-solving mindset?
Ron's Response:
Curiosity is the cornerstone of a problem-solving mindset. It’s about asking “why” at every opportunity—not just when something goes wrong but to understand the deeper principles at play. Simulation training nu
...We ask Ron:
How can simulation training cultivate a problem-solving mindset?
Ron's Response:
To answer this question let us approach this from three different perspectives. There are three powerful perspectives that form the foundation of this mindset:
- Curiosity and Openness to Possibil ...
We ask Greg:
What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best temperature measurement installation?
Greg's Response:
Temperature RTD sensors should use 4 wires and TC sensors should use extension wires of same material as sensor with length as short as possible to minim
...We ask Greg:
What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best temperature measurement selection?
Greg's Response:
Temperature is often the most important of the common measurements because it is an indicator of process stream composition and product quality. Temperature
...We ask Ron:
How can simulators be used to train operations and test Anti-Surge controllers to prevent surge conditions in centrifugal compressors?
Ron's Response:
Let us first look at a definition from Kumar Dey “Centrifugal compressor surge is a characteristic behavior of the compressor t
...We ask Greg:
What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best lime system design for pH control?
Greg's Response:
Lime feeders have a transportation delay that is proportional to the length of the feeder divided by its speed. This transportation delay may be several min
...We ask Ron:
How can simulation training improve operations' responsiveness to changing conditions in a dynamic environment?
Ron's Response:
Whenever an incident occurs the investigators freeze time and slowly break down the sequence of events—viewing it from all perspectives. If only we co
...We ask Greg:
What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best liquid reagent dilution for pH control?
Greg's Response:
A common misconception is that the slope of the titration curve and, therefore, the system sensitivity can be decreased by reagent dilution. Reagent di
...We ask Greg:
What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best liquid reagent delivery for pH control?
Greg's Response:
If the reagent pipeline is partially filled or empty or a dip tube is backfilled with process fluid, the regent delivery delay becomes the biggest sour
...We ask Greg:
What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best reagent selection for pH control?
Greg's Response:
For a reagent dose to be precise enough, the reagent’s logarithmic acid dissociation constant (pKa) should be close to the pH set point so that it tends to f
...We ask Ron:
How does stress impact decision-making, and how can training help mitigate the physiological effects of stress?
Ron's Response:
In the last pod we discussed how stress can impact performance and what are some of the physiological responses to stress.Â
In her book, The Unthinka...
We ask Greg:
What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best control valve deign for pH control?
Greg's Response:
Stick and slip generally occur together and have a common cause of friction in the actuator design, stem packing, and seating surfaces. Rotary valves with
...We ask Ron:
How can stress affect decision making and how training will reduce the physiological responses?
Ron's Response:
Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger was quoted as saying that the moments before the emergency water landing of US Airways Flight 1549 were "the worst sickening, pit-o
...We ask Greg:
What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best static mixer use for pH control?
Greg's Response:
Static mixer have noisy pH measurements. Signal filtering can help but a downstream volume is needed to provide smoothing of pH oscillations that can be large
...We ask Ron:
Why do we need to justify the investment in developing and maintaining successful training programs?
Ron's Response:
Developing a simulator program involves a financial commitment and resources to be successful. This continues after the initial installation of the facility. One
...We ask Greg:
What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best vessel design for pH control?
Greg's Response:
pH systems are extremely sensitive to the vessel design. A poor design can make good pH control impossible in nearly all systems despite the use of the most adva
...We ask Aaron:
You’ve mentioned the desire to avoid “replacement in kind” and to deliver ROI a couple of times.  It’s not intuitive where that return would come from on a DCS replacement project – where is the value? What’s the role for simulation there?
Aaron's Response:
When we talk about
...We ask Ron:
Why is it important to understand the relationship and interaction between the human and machine for training?
Ron's Response:
Several years ago, Gary Klein and Joseph Borders completed a study of operators’ mental models that involved watching how they navigated through proces
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