Introduction to OTS

We can start with the fact that, for the last 40 years, flight simulators have been providing the aviation industry with training simulators for all their pilots at all stages of their careers. These simulators have evolved over the years, but they have always had the ability to train pilots before they take their first flight.

Providing this training over the years has reduced air traffic accidents and provided pilots with a huge amount of experience in normal and abnormal flight conditions. Flight simulation has also provided the mechanism to practice evolving safety practices and maintain a very high degree of competence.

I have always asked myself why, if aviation pilots always train on simulators (please refer to Figure 1.1, taken from https://www.cae.com/civil-aviation/aviation-simulation-equipment/training-equipment/full-flight-simulators/), the process industry has not fully adopted this practice for their personnel who take responsibility for the control of major assets; the process industry equivalent of pilots being Control Room Operators/Technicians (CROs/CRTs):

Figure 1.1 – A CAE flight simulator

You could say pilots have, in their hands, the lives of tens, maybe hundreds, of people if they are flying an Airbus 350 or a Jumbo Jet. Similarly, CRTs are running assets with tens of personnel in the plant while they are maintaining the running parameters, which can go into the hundreds, of atmospheric pressure and very high temperatures, along with fuel vessels that carry a heat capacity of far more than what a nuclear bomb would deliver! So, the risks and responsibilities are equally high and can be compared with flying an aircraft. The industry has changed over the last 20 years, and it has evolved with new projects coming that provide training simulators.

This is the evolution that we need in the industry. In Chapter 4, Going Forward Toward Digital Twins I will describe my vision for the 21st century.

Similarly, the nuclear industry has been actively using simulators, and no nuclear reactor operator will work in the control room before getting their training on a simulator first.

Again, you could ask why all nuclear plant operators train on simulators but thermal plant power plants don't get the same treatment. I think the time has come to change this concept. In every project I have delivered, there was a huge benefit to the users, and the companies that invested in these systems got their Return on Investment (ROI) in no time at all. We will look at some of the examples of these benefits in upcoming chapters.

For now, let's explore what an OTS is.