Complete the field operator round and operational checks

What is going on

It is 6:00 am on a weekday at Newport West. Both gas turbines are at 200 megawatts and the steam turbine at 130 megawatts. The unit controller has asked you to complete the morning round: operational checks on in-service mechanical and electrical plant, lubrication checks on the feed pumps and cooling tower fans, and a walk of the chemical store and water treatment plant. Last week's round found a noisy gearbox on cooling tower fan CT-3, which is now isolated, and the ammonia day tank overfilled on 6 September. The controller wants every reading recorded in the Operations Log and any defect raised as a work order before the 8:00 am meeting.

Your brief

Carry out the round using the operational check lists, record readings and observations in the Operations Log, raise a work order for any defect you find, and report to the unit controller in the form a controller needs.

Work through it

You do not need to do it all. Doing a few of these will show you what the work is like. Your ticks and notes stay on this device.

• Read the Control Room Operations responsibilities and the Work Health and Safety Policy key controls, and list the plant areas and the checks that make up the morning round.
• Check the Permit and Isolation Register for open permits and note which plant you must not operate or approach during the round.
• Record at least four Operational check entries in the Operations Log with readings for feed pump bearing temperatures, cooling tower fan condition, water treatment plant and the chemical store bund.
• Describe how you would perform plant lubrication on a feed pump and what you would look for in the oil sight glass and sample.
• Raise a work order in Maintenance Work Orders and Defects for one defect you find on the round, with the plant tag, priority and a clear description.
• Review the Hazardous Chemicals Register section on batching and dosing and note what must be recorded when the ammonia day tank is refilled.
• Write a short round report for the unit controller summarising plant status, readings outside normal and the work order you raised.

What someone in this role would produce

• Operations Log entries for the round
• New work order for the defect
• Round report to the unit controller