POWER June 2015 - 38

WORKFORCE
have a clean sheet of paper, so to speak, to
train them to perform tasks the way the plant
wants them to and not the way they did it at
their last plant. Just as in the infantry, it is
easier to take people who have a basic familiarity
with guns and teach them to shoot the
" military way, " rather than take people who
think they know everything there is to know
about guns who have to " unlearn " years of
bad habits before they can be taught the military
way (Figure 2).
As positions were filled, the matrix was
reevaluated, so that we could ensure that all
identified skill sets were subsequently filled.
This approach worked well, and the staffing
process for both facilities went very smoothly.
At least through commissioning and initial
operations, the staff was well adjusted and
well trained.
Training
Once you have your recruits, what is the
best way to teach them to march in formation,
how to drill, and most importantly,
how not to fall to pieces when in " combat
situations, " such as when steam vents
are lifting and it sounds like the world is
coming to an end? I will never forget my
first experience in a combat situation, so to
speak. I failed miserably because I never
received the basic training.
I had been given " my gun, my fatigues, a
compass and a map, and was told to go out
and conquer the enemy, " but I was still unprepared.
I was fresh out of college, and there
I was standing on top of the boiler building
of a brand new 490-MW lignite-fired plant,
studying the " enemy positions. " Plant plot
plan in hand, I was trying to get the lay of
the land.
All of a sudden a clinker let loose, somewhere
around 75 feet beneath me. It fell the
remaining 200+ feet to the ash hopper and
broke the water seal, causing the furnace to
lose pressure and the 2,500 psig boiler drum
safety directly behind me to lift. I had never
heard incoming enemy rounds hit so close,
and I had never been so scared in my entire
life. I thought my life was coming to an end.
Well, when I recovered and realized that I
was going to live through it after all, I vowed
to tell this story to all those whom I have
since hired and trained, so that when enemy
rounds come close, they will at least know
what to expect. I try to get them to expect the
unexpected.
I have seen training programs that run
from literally nothing more than glorified onthe-job
training with little formality, to long,
drawn-out affairs that rival what some of the
best schools offer. At one facility, running a
single simple cycle combustion turbine, the
operations training program consisted of fol38
3.
When the bullets start flying, remember your training. Preparation and
practice are critical to success in any endeavor. Courtesy: U.S. Marine Corps/ Sgt. Benjamin E.
Woodle
lowing the electrical technician around as he
operated the unit.
At another plant, involving a 1 x 1 combined
cycle project, the initial new plant
training involved seven weeks of both classroom
and hands-on training, coupled with
running and coordinating every aspect of
startup and commissioning under the supervision
and coordination of an experienced
operations lead and startup manager. In both
the hands-on setting as well as the classroom
setting, the instructors developed and
utilized multiple what-if scenarios, based
upon real-life O&M incidents, to test trainees'
comprehension of concepts and understanding
of emergency situations.
At still another project, currently under
construction, the site will run three separate
training courses, so that it can rotate its
personnel through, without tying them all
up at once. That program will stretch out to
seven months.
In discussions with a plant manager at a
large utility coal plant, he indicated that when
his plant brings in new entry-level recruits,
they all go through a " Power Plant 101 "
course to learn the fundamentals. After that,
depending upon the nature of the position
that they have been hired into, the training
can stretch for up to 15 weeks, including a
combination of both classroom and hands-on
training. Control room qualified personnel
must requalify every three years.
As previously noted, in new plants, if the
opportunity presents itself, the O&M staff
should participate to the greatest extent possible
in all commissioning activities. This
stipulation should be written into contracts
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up front to ensure engineering, procurement,
and construction, and O&M contractors allow
this level of participation. However, this
may require some level of temporary additional
staffing, which can and should be
budgeted for. There are two options for this.
Extra workers can either be contract labor,
in which case they can be released as soon
as they are no longer needed, or they can be
direct labor, in which case attrition can take
the numbers back down to approved budget
levels. The latter is often preferred, as there is
a normal level of attrition that will take place
during these times.
But as with exercise, continual refinement
is necessary, or else skills, like muscles, will
atrophy. Just as the military continually
trains and drills to hone skills (Figure 3),
plant personnel must be allowed to train and
hone their skills too. Not only will this keep
them fresh and prepared, but it will also prevent
the staff from becoming bored with the
routine of day-to-day operations.
Different facilities have their own unique
ways of qualifying staff to move up and
train for the next position. A good program
should include a series of written and oral
exams (administered by supervisors as well
as peers), proficiency demonstrations, and
time in grade. By the time an operator, for
example, is qualified to run the control room
alone, he or she should have mastered concepts,
such as:
■ Plant safety procedures and practices.
■ Plant administrative processes and procedures.
■
Plant work order entry and processing.
POWER | June 2015

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POWER June 2015

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