Virtual Reality for Accelerated Field Operator Learning and More

Imagine, practicing manual field tasks in the safety of a classroom using Virtual Reality (VR). Can it be sufficiently realistic to be of value? Is it the new best practice? Here are my personal thoughts:

Where production and safety rely on manual operator actions to run and to prevent accidents, there has to be increased emphasis on training and monitoring of personnel performance. It is not possible to practice in the actual plant. VR based on Digital Twin concept is a new digital way in which some plants already conduct field operator learning and assessment to elevate competency and operational readiness.

Field Operator Learning

Operator Training Simulator (OTS) software for control room operators to learn to do their job better by practicing scenarios like response to upset conditions similar to what pilots do in a flight simulator has existed for many years. But what about manual tasks carried out by field operators? How do field operators practice how to do their job better?

Manual Task Challenge

In spite of lots of automation, plants still have many manual tasks. Particularly batch process plants. Manual field operator tasks include for instance startup and shutdown of units, loading and offloading, reactor charging, and grade change etc. In the past the only way to learn was to follow alongside a more experienced field operator until you get all the steps right every time. Attempting it on your own in a real plant is out of the question. Moreover, with many plants running 5-7 years between shutdowns/turnarounds/outages people don’t get a chance to get hands-on experience with critical procedures like startup.

Digital Transformation of Learning

Virtual Reality (VR) is a new digital technology used for digital transformation of learning. Field operators can safely practice and learn manual tasks in an indoor classroom environment. Because the environment and process are virtual, not real, you can commit errors without consequence so you can practice over and over as much as it takes.

Make mistakes without making headlines

Realistic environment

The virtual three-dimensional (3D) environment is very realistic mimicking your plant with high fidelity. It is like being in the real plant. It is your plant, not a generic plant. Piping, vessels, structures, process equipment like pumps and heat exchangers, instrumentation like multi-channel transmitters, and valves are rendered with great detail and high-fidelity texture for a realistic experience including shadows.

Principle of Operation:

The view in the VR goggles is rendered separately for your left and right eye in 3D for a very immersive perception of depth. The VR system uses fixed position sensors in the room to track your movements; turning your head looking left or right, up or down, or leaning your head on the side, and moving your body sideways, squatting down, standing up, or stepping back or forth. As you move, the field of vision and perspective in the googles is updated instantly just like the way it changes in real life, so the experience becomes very realistic.

Look up to see everything above you, like several levels of structure, vessels, catwalks, and pipe racks if that’s what your plant has.

As you look down through the grated flooring you can see the levels below just like in real life. As you squat down your perspective changes.

Interactive

As you move about the plant you can step over a minor obstacle like a small pipe at ankle height, just like in real life. Major obstacles like a large pipe at chest height is impossible to cross over, just like in real life. If an obstacle is at shoulder height you can pass under it. You can walk up and down stairs and climb up and down monkey ladders.

You climb multiple stories in the virtual environment in seconds, but in reality you are standing still in the classroom, and you do it as many times as it takes to learn it with little or no fatigue so you can do it over and over to learn faster. In the virtual plant you can move much faster than in reality without getting tired so it possible to practice more times and learn much faster than what you could in reality for accelerated learning and better retention.

You can start and stop pumps and other motors or engines, open and close valves or louvers etc.

You can also practice carrying out tasks at night, which is important for plants that run 24/7. Even though in reality it is daylight outside it can be night in the virtual plant. When it is night in the virtual plant the lights are on just like they would be in real life so you can still see what you are doing.

Dynamic process simulation

Optionally the VR system can be integrated with the dynamic process simulator used in conjunction with the DCS, such that when you make changes like closing a valve or stopping a pump the pressure as indicated by gauge needles or on transmitter LCD drops and the flow slows, just like in reality. Depending on the fidelity of the process simulator it will be just like the real process. Your process, not a generic process. You can see the level rising and falling in mechanical level gauge.

Procedural steps

In the practice mode you see a list of the steps to be taken for the task – just like in real life you may have this procedure printed on paper or digitally on a tablet. These are the tasks and steps specific to your operations, not generic tasks. Procedural steps may include simply locating a specific piece of equipment where you would take a reading or inspect, running a pump, set a valve in a specific position etc. Successfully completed steps are flagged green, for mistakes you get a second chance before failure is flagged red.

You can also get a hint whereby you are magically whisked to where you are supposed to be and it shows you the correct piece equipment you are supposed to locate or work on. This way you can learn much quicker than in reality. You can rehearse over and over until you get it right. And you don’t have to restart from the beginning each time. If you are struggling with a particular step in the work instruction you can resume from the beginning of that step. This again allows for accelerated learning. It is also possible to go through the exercise without the guidance from the procedure task list which can be used for assessment of skill, to prove to yourself and others you can perform this task. Incorrect task actions are uncovered and the operator can continue to practice getting competent before going to the field for hands-on training and actual operation. The VR system supports multiple persons working as a team just like they would for certain tasks in the real plant. The VR system can be integrated with the OTS such that field operators and control room operators work together for some procedures just like in real life.

Engineered Solution

The VR system 3D simulation software runs on a gaming-grade computer with powerful 3D graphics. Thanks to the immense computing power of gaming graphic processing cards, the plant environment is rendered with a high degree of realism including depth perception, shadows, and a first-person perspective that changes as you move, creating a very immersive experience. A gaming controller pad with joystick and buttons is used for moving about and interacting with equipment. The VR system is inependent of the historian, control system and underlying fieldbus and wireless devices etc. and does not require wireless infrastructure (although that’s good to have for other reasons), and does not require internet connection or cloud so altough VR is about digital transformation, it is not IIoT. That is, it can be deployed anywhere regardless of what automation is used at site. Yet it can be integrated with process simulators and OTS used in plants today.

This is not a generic plant, generic process, or generic procedures. It is totally engineered for your plant, your process, and your procedures to be totally relevant to your plant personnel. This is made possible by creating a Digital Twin of your plant; a high-fidelity digital replica of your plant; the physical structure of the plant and optionally the dynamic process model. The virtual environment is created by importing the 3D CAD model used when the plant was originally designed to check for piping clashes etc. or can be built from scratch. The 3D CAD model is enhanced with textures and actual plant equipment shapes rather than symbolic representations. The virtual environments for an offshore installation or an indoor pharmaceutical plant look very different from the examples shown here.

You need not digitally replicate the entire plant, just the units which have critical manual tasks for which field operators need this new digital way of learning.

Accelerated Learning

That is, complementing onsite learning with VR enables field operators to learn to do their job better which improves production and safety. They also learn faster, reducing training costs. As part of the on-site training is replaced with VR simulation, training can start when plant design is complete, well before commissioning. Maintenance procedures can be verified before startup and best practices can be designed and communicated to all personnel. Training can be conducted onshore before even sending personnel offshore. Risk is reduced as students are not exposed to the hazards of real plants and there is no plant damage in case of mistakes. Lastly, if your company is having trouble recruiting young engineers, VR learning along with other digital technology like Augmented Reality (AR), wearable cameras, digital instead of 4-20 mA and on-off signals, and tablets instead of clipboards etc. has the added benefit of also making working in a plant more exciting to the young graduating digital generation of engineers that grew up with the Internet and 3D video games.

Emergency Evacuation Learning

In the case of emergency, do personnel know the correct escape path from the various parts of the plant? Particularly in the tight space of an offshore platform or vessels like Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) and Floating Liquified Natural Gas (FLNG)?

Evacuation Route Challenge

Today you typically get to watch a video as part of the safety induction course when you get to site. But how much will you remember of the escape path from the various plant units?

VR can also be used for personnel to learn the escape route from various parts of the plant, including alternate routes in case the primary route is obstructed. VR enables practice in a very realistic environment without even going out on deck and even before going offshore.

VR enables better plant familiarization, even before going on site, which is particularly important for offshore installations.

Design Validation

The plant must be user-friendly. There must be sufficient space for field operators to move around in the plant units and safely do their work, like being able to pull equipment like valves for overhaul as needed. Again, particularly on offshore platforms and vessels with very compact modules.

Design Validation Challenge

The traditional way to validate the design of a skid or module is to poor over the drawings or even look at 3D models on a small two-dimensional screen before fabrication. However, this still makes the final result very hard to envision. Too cramped conditions, inaccessible equipment, or instruments facing the wrong way still result and by the time the skid or module is built it is too hard or very costly and time consuming to change causing budget overruns and delays.

Digital Transformation of Design Validation

VR is now used in the project phase to validate design aspects like accessibility for the new plant. You can try out field operator rounds and maintenance inspection before the skid or module is fabricated. VR enables you to walk into the digital twin of the skid or module to get a far more realistic feel for what it will be like once it has been fabricated. Will personnel be able easily move about inside, will they be able to drop a valve, will they be able to see the instrumentation and operate manual valves etc.? For instance, an experienced field operator could try out the new design and in this case feedback that the transmitter is in an inconvenient location so it can be moved or an innovative solution like a remote indicator can be installed at eye level to make work easier.

Simulate twice, weld once

Project Excellence

As a result, the plant becomes easier to run and maintain; sufficient space to move around for personnel and equipment; better operability and maintainability. Changes late in the project are avoided, as are the high costs and delays. Another important aspect is improved ergonomics; reduced risk of bumping into obstacles.

Ready Player One

The experience is a bit like a first-person video game. Using industrial VR based on Digital Twin technology you can enhance and accelerate learning of critical manual tasks in the plant, as well as emergency evacuation, thus improving safety and many aspects of production. Therefore, make VR part of your overall digital transformation for the plant as part of the operational excellence programme. VR may not be part of phase 1 of the digitalization, but may in come in phase 2 or phase 3 of the digitization project. Using VR on a greenfield project helps ensure operability and ergonomics of the plant, again benefitting safety and production.

It is not shooting, it is troubleshooting

How would you use VR to benefit your plant? Please share your thoughts in the comment box below.

The future is digital. Well, that’s my personal opinion. If you are interested in digital transformation in the process industries click “Follow” by my photo to not miss future updates. Click “Like” if you found this useful to you and “Share” it with others if you think it would be useful to them.