Process Operator Skill Exploration by a Data Analysis Software

Abstract Experienced process operators have a key role in ensuring a smooth and high quality operation of process plants in many fields of industry. Consequently, there is a need to identify the skills and knowhow of the operators which leads to high performance, and educate new operators of this knowledge. To this end, an analysis software for comparing the performance of operators in a mineral processing plant has been developed for the plant management. The software implements methods that have been developed earlier for data-based analysis of the performance, and automatizes and streamlines the analysis procedure. The software, which is installed at the process plant for generating the analyses, enables the plant management to monitor the performance of the operator groups at the plant. The analysis results can serve as a starting point for identifying the most efficient operating principles. In addition, an efficient manner for sharing the operating knowhow between the operators is provided. An example case study of using the software is also given.