Simulated workplaceCAQA Hydra Chemical and Refining is a fictional business created by CAQA for training and assessment. It is not a real company and no person, client or record here is real.About this simulation
PMACAQA HydraSimulated workplace
Simulated workplace
Scenario · Maintenance and Asset Integrity

Prepare and isolate Reactor 1 for the bottom flange gasket replacement

You are an outside operator acting as isolation authority for Reactor 1.

Intermediate4 to 5 hours7 tasks
Start the tasksAll scenarios
Home/Scenarios/Prepare and isolate Reactor 1 for the bottom flange gasket replacement
The situation

What has happened

Reactor 1 has a weeping bottom outlet flange recorded as PSE-26-061 and the batch in it was transferred to T-204 on Monday. Maintenance will replace the gasket on Wednesday under permit PW-26-0784. The reactor still contains a heel of ferric sulfate, the acid charge line, the caustic scrubber return and the transfer line all connect to the vessel, and the agitator and bottom outlet valve are electrically driven. The isolation schedule for R-101 lists the isolation points, but one of the block valves on the transfer line is known to pass. Kylie Bassett's crew will fit their personal locks to the lockbox. Yolanda Ferreira wants the isolation to the spade or double block and bleed standard with the blind list reconciled and zero energy proven.

Your brief. Plan and apply the process and electrical isolations for Reactor 1 to the required standard, drain, flush and purge the vessel and the flange, complete the isolation certificate and blind list, prove zero energy with the permit issuer, and plan the de-isolation and leak test for the return to service.
Read the work request in your inbox
Tasks

Deliverables

  • Isolation plan listing every energy source and the standard applied
  • Completed isolation certificate and blind list
  • Zero energy proof record
  • Permit register update
  • De-isolation and leak test plan

Documents to use

Systems to use

Permit and Isolation Register

Tracks every permit to work, isolation certificate and blind from request to close-out and records permit audits.

Incident and Process Safety Event Register

Logs injuries, near misses, losses of containment, safety system activations, limit excursions and environmental events with tier, investigation and actions.

Control Room Shift Log

Records every operating event, batch, reading, sample result, override and handover from the control room and the field for each shift.

For trainers and assessors

Units of competency

Current on training.gov.au for the Chemical, Hydrocarbons and Refining as at 10 September 2026.

PMASUP244Prepare and isolate plant
PMAOPS347Create and conduct isolations in the workplace
PMASUP245Break and make flanged joints using hand tools
PMAOPS311Operate and troubleshoot reactors and reaction equipment
PMAOPS280Interpret process plant schematics

Qualifications

PMA30120Certificate III in Process Plant Operations
PMA40116Certificate IV in Process Plant Technology
Assessor notes

What to look for

Evidence guide

Every connected energy source must be identified, including the scrubber return and the electrical drives, and the passing valve must be dealt with by a spade or double block and bleed rather than accepted. Look for the flushings routed to a compatible destination, zero energy proven rather than assumed, a certificate that lists every tag and a return to service plan that includes a leak test before hazardous material is reintroduced.

The student's evidence summary lists every record they created or changed in the systems named above, their notes and the tasks they ticked. Verify it against the deliverables and your own assessment tool.