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Simulated workplace
Scenario · Process Operations

Start up the solvent recovery column after the pump repair

You are the panel operator for the solvent recovery unit on day shift, Panel C.

Intermediate4 to 5 hours7 tasks
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The situation

What has happened

The solvent recovery column has been shut down and under nitrogen since the reflux pump seal failure on 2 September. Permit PW-26-0781 is closed, but the blind list still shows two blinds fitted on the reflux line and the pre-start-up checklist has not been started. The emergency shutdown system was function tested in July. Cooling water is available but the steam header is at the low end of its normal pressure because the boiler is on one burner. Wayne Djakovic will authorise each stage and Tahlia Brennan is the outside operator. The laboratory can turn around an overhead sample in 40 minutes. Bruce Kalinowski expects the column on specification by the end of the shift with every step in the shift log.

Your brief. Bring the column on line safely under the start-up procedure: complete the pre-start-up checks and blind reconciliation, inert and leak test, establish feed and heat to the ramp table, bring product to specification and record every stage, holding and escalating if any variable approaches a safe operating limit.
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Tasks

Deliverables

  • Signed pre-start-up checklist with blind reconciliation
  • Inerting and leak test record
  • Shift log entries for every stage of the start-up
  • Shift handover report

Documents to use

Systems to use

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.

Permit and Isolation Register

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

For trainers and assessors

Units of competency

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

PMAOPS310Operate and troubleshoot distillation system
PMAOPS205Operate heat exchangers
PMAOPS315Operate and troubleshoot process control systems
PMAOPS411Manage plant shutdown and restart
PMAOPS348Operate safety, protection and shutdown systems

Qualifications

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

What to look for

Evidence guide

The student must find and resolve the blind list discrepancy before inerting, must complete the leak test for the full period and must not skip ramp steps because of time pressure. Look for the low steam pressure recognised as a constraint, product routed to off-specification until the laboratory confirms, every stage authorised and logged, and a handover report that a night operator could take over from.

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.