What a Process Plant Operator Does

An oil, gas or petrochemical plant runs day and night. Crude oil, natural gas or chemicals flow through vessels, pumps, compressors, heat exchangers and pipes. Instruments measure the pressure, temperature, flow and level at many points. Control systems open and close valves to keep these values where they should be.

But a plant does not run itself. Process operators are the people who run it. They watch the process, adjust it, start and stop equipment, prepare equipment for maintenance, take samples, and respond when something goes wrong. On most plants they are the first people to notice a problem and the first people to act on it.

The main duties

Job titles change from company to company: process operator, production operator, plant operator, panel operator, outside operator, process technician. The core duties are very similar everywhere:

• Monitor the process and keep it inside its operating limits.
• Carry out operator rounds: walk the plant, take readings, look for leaks and faults.
• Follow operating procedures for start-up, shutdown and routine tasks.
• Respond to alarms and abnormal situations.
• Prepare equipment for maintenance and take it back afterwards.
• Take process samples for the laboratory.
• Keep accurate records and hand over clearly to the next shift.

Why the role matters so much

Most of a plant’s safety equipment is automatic: relief valves, trips and shutdown systems. These are the last lines of defence. The first line is a competent operator who keeps the process steady and notices small changes early. A slowly rising temperature, a small drip at a flange, or a pump that sounds different are all early signs. An operator who notices them can act while the problem is still small.

The operator also holds the plant’s practical knowledge. Engineers design the plant, but operators know how it behaves on a cold morning, at full rate, or after a pump change.