PLANT COMMAND AND CONTROL
PLANT WATCH™
Control Room Operator Emergency Response. A simulator assessment for Control Room Operators on onshore assets.
Poseidon Training in-house programme. It is not an OPITO product, it is not OPITO-approved and it carries no external accreditation.
Overview
Plant Watch™ assesses how a Control Room Operator responds to a major emergency on an onshore asset: 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 the operator's foundation in the workplace through a Duty Holder Declaration, and the simulator then tests how it performs under realistic pressure.
How it works
- 1.Duty Holder Declaration, in the workplace. The employer supervises at least four hours of preparation and submits the declaration at least five working days before the assessment. Workplace criteria are confirmed there and not re-tested in the simulator.
- 2.Knowledge test, briefing and practice. The candidate takes the knowledge test, pass mark 75%, then receives the assessment briefing. They may go straight to assessment or take one or two practice scenarios.
- 3.Formal assessment. At least two assessed scenarios, chosen using the candidate's declaration profile, including at least one Type A and one Type B. The assessor observes and does not instruct. A structured debrief follows each scenario.
What is assessed
- 1.Maintaining readiness: knowledge foundation (Duty Holder Declaration and knowledge test)
- 2.Maintaining readiness: workplace performance (Duty Holder Declaration)
- 3.Controlling critical situations: knowledge (knowledge test)
- 4.Controlling critical situations: performance (simulator)
- 5.Coordinating the emergency response: knowledge (knowledge test)
- 6.Emergency response coordination: performance (simulator)
Across the scenarios, the candidate deals with threats to life, to the environment and to plant. At least one scenario presents conditions where a Time Out is the right action, and the candidate must choose to use it.
Result: the certificate is issued when the knowledge test is passed and Outcomes 3 to 6 are demonstrated. If any outcome is not yet demonstrated, the candidate receives written feedback against the specific criteria and re-sits the outstanding outcomes only.
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 Control Room Operator on an onshore asset during a live major emergency, or at least two years delivering or assessing CRO emergency management programmes, who holds a recognised assessor award.
Readiness is built and proven in the workplace. The Duty Holder Declaration confirms it before the candidate reaches the simulator, so the assessment day concentrates on performance under pressure.
A candidate can instead take a Poseidon Training technical interview on the readiness outcomes, with evidence of Control Room Operator experience.
