PLANT COMMAND AND CONTROL
PLANT COMMAND™
Plant Manager/Incident Commander Emergency Command. A simulator assessment of senior emergency command on an onshore asset.
Poseidon Training in-house programme. It is not an OPITO product, it is not OPITO-approved and it carries no external accreditation.
Overview
Plant Command™ assesses emergency command at Plant Manager/Incident Commander level. It is for personnel confirmed by their employer as ready for formal assessment as Plant Manager/Incident Commander, Deputy Plant Manager/Incident Commander, Deputy Incident Commander or equivalent senior emergency commander on a chemical or petrochemical plant, refinery, gas processing or gas bottling plant, terminal or tanker loading facility, storage depot, power station, industrial estate or other high-consequence onshore facility.
There is no theory course. The employer confirms command readiness in the workplace through a Duty Holder Declaration. The simulator then tests how that readiness performs in a major emergency, with a Discipline Expert present throughout.
How it works
- 1.Duty Holder Declaration, in the workplace. The employer supervises at least six hours of preparation, submits the declaration at least five working days before the assessment and names the Discipline Expert.
- 2.Knowledge test, briefing and practice. The candidate takes the knowledge test, pass mark 75%, then receives the briefing, including the Discipline Expert's role. They may go straight to assessment or take one or two practice scenarios.
- 3.Formal assessment. Three assessed scenarios as Emergency Manager: one each of Type A, Type B and Type C, so command is observed across the full range, including ordering evacuation of the site when control is lost. A structured debrief follows each scenario.
What is assessed
- 1.Maintaining a state of readiness (Duty Holder Declaration and knowledge test)
- 2.Assessing the situation and taking effective action
- 3.Maintaining communications
- 4.Delegating authority to act
- 5.Managing individual and team performance
- 6.Managing stress in yourself and others
Across the three scenarios, the candidate deals with evacuation of the site, injured or deceased personnel, missing personnel, loss of communications, multiple simultaneous demands, stressed or ineffective team members and the loss of a key resource. At least one scenario presents conditions where a Time Out is the right command action; the candidate must choose to use it and complete all three steps.
The Discipline Expert is nominated by the employer and has served as Plant Manager/Incident Commander on the relevant type of asset. They are present throughout the assessment, in person or by live remote connection, and give specialist context to the Lead Assessor. They do not make assessment decisions.
Result: the certificate is issued when the knowledge test is passed and every criterion for Outcomes 2 to 6 is demonstrated across the three scenarios. If any outcome is not yet demonstrated, the candidate receives written feedback against the specific criteria and re-sits three scenarios, up to four attempts in total.
How Poseidon runs these programmes
Build strong fundamentals, find each person's gaps, target them, then test performance under realistic pressure.
Every programme uses the Poseidon Emergency Simulator. Emergencies are classed as Type A (readily controllable if managed appropriately), Type B (could escalate if not brought under control) and Type C (leads to full evacuation, beyond control).
Time Out is taught and used throughout: a structured pause to brief the team, make the PA announcement and call the duty manager. The memory aid is the Three T's: Time Out, Tannoy, Town.
Human performance is not a separate subject. It is the lens applied to everything in the simulator: what good and poor practice looks and sounds like, used in every debrief.
How it is delivered
The standard and criteria are the same in every mode.
- Face to face: at the Poseidon Training Centre, at your site or on your asset.
- Remote, on your asset: your team is on the asset and the assessor is remote. Scenarios are injected through the Poseidon Emergency Simulator, and cameras are positioned so the assessor can fully observe the team, the information boards and the equipment in use. If full observation is not possible, the session does not go ahead.
- Fully remote: every participant joins on a PC through the Poseidon Emergency Simulator.
For remote delivery, identity is checked on camera before the session starts, and Poseidon Training confirms the technical requirements at booking and tests them before the session.
Who assesses it
A Lead Assessor with direct experience as a Plant Manager/Incident Commander during a live major emergency, or at least three years delivering or assessing onshore emergency management programmes, who holds a recognised assessor award.
No. Plant Command assesses readiness that has been built and confirmed in the workplace. The candidate may take one or two practice scenarios after the briefing before the formal assessment begins.
A candidate can instead take a Poseidon Training technical interview on Outcome 1, with at least three years of verified onshore emergency management experience in a senior role.
