GSE White PaperEntry2Expert Innovation
A Comprehensive Human Performance
Improvement Program for Developing
a Highly Skilled Workforce
2
To address the primary staffi ng challenges facing the process
industries, such as the mass retirement of the baby boom
generation, increasing workforce nationalization, and a general
lack of available talent, GSE Systems, Inc. has developed
Entry2Expert (E2E) Human Performance Improvement Solutions.
GSE’s E2E approach enables an organization to transform
employees from inexperienced entry-level workers to problem-
solving experts quickly and effectively.
This paper discusses GSE’s comprehensive solutions to enable
process manufacturers to train new employees, dramatically
improve the competency of mid-career employees, and to
develop employees as the vital human assets at the heart of any
successful operation.
Filling the Boots
Imagine a pair of worn out work boots. Now imagine John, a
62-year-old man, wearing those work boots. John was a fi eld
operator, board operator, and shift supervisor at the Acme
plant for the past 35 years. He knows the process technologies
inside out. In his career, John operated multiple process units,
maintained plant equipment, and ensured safe and continuous
production of on-spec products. John supported seven
turnarounds and safely handled scores of unplanned shutdowns
and process incidents. He mentored dozens of entry-level
operators and turned them into experts. Now John is gone.
He left his boots and retired to Scottsdale just as he’d always
dreamed.
Who will fi ll John’s boots? Once Acme fi nds a new operator,
how will they make that new operator an expert? How long
will that take? Who will handle the big problems until then?
Can the company quickly replace the vast knowledge and
experience that walked away in John’s boots? How?
Retirement and Nationalization
John is not the only Baby Boomer retiring in 2015. In North
America, Europe, and Australia unprecedented numbers will
walk away from the energy industry this year. According to
a recent survey published by Mercer’s Energy, the majority of
employers may lose 50 to 80 percent of their retirement-eligible
staff over the next fi ve years.1
Another cause of rapidly diminishing expertise is nationalization
in the Middle East. According to DLA Piper, the global law fi rm,
in order to dramatically reduce high youth unemployment rates,
the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries, such as Saudi
Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait intend to replace large numbers of
expatriates with homegrown talent.2
In a recent article in the Middle East Policy Journal, “The GCC’s
‘Demographic Imbalance’: Perceptions, Realities and Policy
Options,” Dr. Ingo Forstenlechner and Dr. Emilie Rutledge
claim that the percentage of foreign employees working in
Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries ranges from 49.5
percent in Saudi Arabia to 95.8 percent in UAE. Based on these
numbers, the Middle East is clearly the region most dependent
on foreign labor in the world.
The authors write, “While we will contend that this relationship
has, for the most part, been mutually benefi cial, it is currently,
perhaps more than ever before, also giving rise to an array
of genuinely felt concerns.” A serious concern is that expats
in this region are primarily considered migrant workers and
not immigrants, since GCC countries do not offer a process
for naturalization.3 This diminishes the willingness of foreign
workers to remain in these GCC countries, and for this and
other reasons, expats often develop their skills in GCC countries
and then return home to fi nd work.
Retiring workers and expats cannot be replaced fast enough.
To make matters worse, increasing energy demand in the
developed world is driving up the need for skilled workers,
just as the available workforce is shrinking. Furthermore, other
industries (e.g., Start-ups, Tech Companies, etc.) are competing
with the energy industry for trained and talented people, and
the number of college graduates entering the fi eld is falling.
Who is going to fi ll these boots?
33
Signifi cant Shortage of Talent
The shortage of skilled workers has been a consistent problem
for several years and is only getting worse. According to the
recent White Paper published by Manpower Group, “The Talent
Shortage Continues: How the Ever Changing Role of HR Can
Bridge the Gap,” global employers have identifi ed skilled trade
workers as the largest talent shortage, followed by engineers,
and then by technicians in production, operations, and
maintenance. Further, over half the employers reporting a talent
shortage claim the shortage has directly affected their ability to
meet business objectives.4
The process industry faces an uncertain future. Will the
workforce of millennials and nationals taking over in the next
few years possess the necessary operations and technical skills
and experience required to run omplex process operations.
As global energy demand rises another 35 percent by 2040,
as expected, a skilled workforce is imperative,5 but many
companies are unable to suffi ciently recruit, train, and maintain
adequate talent.
According to a Harvard Business Review study, most
boards of directors are giving their companies an F in talent
management.6 Some corporate directors are identifying talent
management as their single greatest strategic challenge. In fact,
70 percent of US CEOs are concerned with the availability of
key skills necessary for achieving their business goals.7
In 2014, to help tackle the workforce development challenge,
the American Petroleum Institute launched
www.oilandgasworkforce.com, a website providing information
to anyone interested in careers, training, and certifi cations in
the oil and gas industry.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Air Energi, in
partnership with Queensland University of Technology,
researched workforce risks as they relate to oil and gas projects.
According to their extensive report, “There are concerns that
not being able to get the right people at the right time for
the right cost could inevitably threaten the overall delivery
of projects on time and within budget. Ultimately, this could
prevent the industry from living up to high expectations and
predictions of growth.”8
Traditional Control System Vendor
Approach
Another challenge is that digital control system (DCS) vendors
typically deemphasize workforce development as they
implement their systems. From concept through commissioning
to operation, there is insuffi cient emphasis on operator
development. DCS companies prefer to enter the lifecycle
early to infl uence and control the account, and in the process,
they ignore the training required for successful startup and
commissioning, focusing instead on the engineering, design,
and control system. They fail to understand the importance of
operator involvement through the lifecycle of the plant.
Improved Equipment Reliability and Process
Controls
There have been signifi cant technological advances in the
process industry. Plant equipment and instrumentation have
never been more reliable. And while advances in reliability and
automation lead to fewer process incidents, environmental
hazards, and fatalities, it can be also argued that the technology
has actually built a barrier between operators and a basic
understanding of what is happening in the plant and why.
As John’s story illustrates, technology is no substitute for a
person who knows how to use it. The most important person
in your plant at 2 a.m. is your Board Operator. When “it hits
4
the fan” at 2 a.m., your Board Operator must make decisions
quickly and alone. Intuitively understanding the relationship
between plant behavior and its likely underlying causes during
abnormal situations is crucial.
As challenging situations become less common, operators
with the expertise and experience to meet them also become
less common. When it comes to infrequent operations such
as startup, shutdown, and abnormal situations, operators
no longer have enough real-world practice to respond with
fl awless confi dence. Without practice and practical experience,
operators lack the intuitive understanding of how their actions
affect overall plant performance.
Industry Turning Point - BP Texas City
Refi nery Explosion
In March, 2005, the BP Texas City Refi nery made headlines
across the world, as an onsite explosion caused 15 deaths,
180 injuries to plant personnel, fi nancial losses exceeding
$1.5 billion, and disarray in the community. One of the worst
disasters in American industrial history, it continues to provide a
key learning scenario for refi neries throughout the globe.
According to the investigation by the U.S. Chemical Safety and
Hazard Investigation Board, inadequate operator training, poor
communication, and process instrumentation failures were all
key factors in the incident.9 The investigation concluded that
a raffi nate splitter tower had been overfi lled for several hours,
activating pressure relief valves on the side of the tower.
The valves released large quantities of fl ammable liquid to a
blowdown system with a vent stack open to atmosphere. The
blowdown drum and stack overfi lled with the fl ammable liquid
and released to atmosphere, since it had never been connected
to a fl are system. The released liquid eventually found an
ignition source, believed to be from the backfi re of an idling
diesel pickup truck parked several feet from the drum.10
Key technical fi ndings from the investigation included:
• Tower level indicator failure
• Tower high level alarm failure
• Lack of data displayed in the DCS refl ecting imbalance of
tower fl ows
• Lack of technically trained personnel during startup
• Outdated and ineffective operating procedures
• Inadequate operator training program
The report also noted that the central training team had recently
been reduced from 28 to eight members and that operator
training provided no hands-on practice with abnormal situations
and other infrequent operations, such as startups.11
Competency Development and Abnormal
Situation Management
As Dr. David Embrey wrote in his article, “A Human Factors
Approach to Managing Competency in Handling Process Control
Disturbances,” there are two common strategies for developing
training programs to teach operators to handle process upsets.
The fi rst trains operators to recognize a set of indicators directly
linked to a predetermined diagnosis. As long as the particular
scenario is built into the training program and the proper
diagnostic parameters are effectively recognized by the operator,
the training can kick in and the operator can successfully resolve
the issue.12
But what happens when a predetermined diagnosis does not fi t
the parameters identifi ed by the operator? What happens when
the parameters line up with more than one diagnosis? What
should the operator do?
The second approach teaches operators to diagnose and resolve
issues on their own. While this approach is more arduous and
time consuming in both training-development and operator
effort, if done properly, low probability scenarios that could
not have been predicted during training development can be
recognized.
But how do you quickly and effectively teach highly complex,
highly technical chemical engineering principles? How expensive
and time-consuming will this process be? Even with a thorough
analysis of the processes and talent in place and the variety of
disturbances that can occur, these questions are diffi cult, if not
impossible, to answer. While each approach has its advantages
and drawbacks, the most practical, cost-effective, and
manageable approach from both a design and implementation
standpoint, combines both approaches.13
5
Entry2Expert Human Performance Improvement Solution
GSE’s Entry2Expert solutions apply simulation and training technologies to workforce development, plant operations, engineering
and process controls, effectively enabling plants to bring on and train new operators and improve the skills of existing operators.
The E2E human-performance-improvement program provides a strong technical foundation to help operators, engineers, and
maintenance personnel learn not only how the plant works, but why it works the way it does.
Self-paced, thorough, and fl exible training, with minimal instructor involvement, enables employees to accelerate their time to
autonomy, as they learn to operate the plant effectively and effi ciently.
The E2E lifecycle begins with employee recruiting, screening, and selection. These critical fi rst steps ensure that organizations
fi nd the right people with the right personal makeup and technical aptitude to persist and thrive under all plant conditions. Next,
during the instructional systems design stage, training programs structured to specifi c client needs are developed using the ADDIE
(Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate) model.
Once the program is established, trainees use self-paced,
web-based tutorials, based on extensive research on
effective learning methods, to study the fundamentals of
unit operations and controls. Through the tutorials, trainees
grasp the application and function of process units, the
associated equipment, and how it is operated and controlled.
Web-based tutorials are literally interactive textbooks that
can be accessed within seconds with a click of a mouse.
Tutorials explain complex chemical engineering theory, as well
process operations, in terms understandable to non-technical
personnel.
After mastering the fundamentals through tutorials, trainees
learn by doing with the universal simulators. On the universal
simulator, trainees practice infrequent conditions, such as
startup and shutdown, and possibly the specifi c process
upsets operators have faced at their particular plant. By
encountering scenarios within the simulator, operators
develop the knowhow to not only prevent the upset, but also
recover from it quickly.
With GSE’s universal simulator, training managers can
actually teach operators about the BP Texas City Refi nery
incident, and operators can experience it themselves. On the
simulator, instructors can recreate a tower overfi ll scenario
by failing the instrumentation and alarms associated with
the tower, as happened with the BP refi nery explosion.
Once comfortable with the generic DCS interface on the
universal simulator, trainees can progress to a custom
operator training simulator (OTS). A custom OTS is a plant-
specifi c simulator closely replicating an organization’s plant
control room. An OTS enables practice with plant-specifi c
operating procedures and provides effective hands-on
experience using a process specifi c, realistic, and non-
intrusive environment.
Anecdotal evidence provided by GSE customers and partners
indicates that combining web-based tutorials with universal
and custom simulators and an emphasis on why things
happen, reduces the typical operator’s time to compliance
by as much as 50 percent and reduces incidents by as
much as 80 percent.
EnVision™ Web-Based Process Overview Tutorial
EnVision™ Depropanizer Simulation
6
Summary
In the industrialized West, the Baby Boom generation is retiring. In the Gulf Region, countries are nationalizing their
workforces. Across the globe, competition for talent is increasing, while equipment reliability and advanced process
controls minimize plant events and reduce operator exposure to real-world anomalies and infrequent occurrences.
Talent is scarce. Experience is vanishing. New operators are essential, and existing operators are insuffi ciently seasoned.
Training is vital. By combining web-based tutorials, high-fi delity universal and custom simulators, and the appropriate level
of instructor-led training, Entry2Expert provides effective, accelerated, and economical training well-suited to transforming
raw trainees into the next generation of experts.
GSE’s Entry2Expert training and technologies effectively address the talent crisis by rapidly preparing new and existing
operators and engineers to avoid hazardous situations, minimize wear and tear on plant equipment, maintain on-spec
products, minimize utility costs, and recover from abnormal conditions.
Most importantly, Entry2Expert attempts to instill the deep understanding, dedication, and pride that transforms people
into enduring assets of immeasurable long-term value.
For more information on GSE’s E2E approach to workforce performance improvement, visit www.gses.com/e2e.
7
References
1. Khallash, Sally. Skills Gaps Threatening Oil and Gas Sector. Retrieved December 18, 2014, from http:// globaltalentstrategy.com/en/article/skills-gaps-threatening-oil-
and-gas-sector-525
2. Lawrence, S., & Krudewagen, U. (2014, August 12). Top employment issues in the Middle East in 2014 and beyond. Retrieved April 2, 2015, from https://www.
dlapiper.com/en/us/insights/publications/2014/08/top-employment-issues-in-the-middle-east/
3. Forstenlechner, I. and Rutledge, E. J. (2011), THE GCC’S “DEMOGRAPHIC IMBALANCE”: PERCEPTIONS, REALITIES AND POLICY OPTIONS. Middle East Policy, 18:
25–43. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4967.2011.00508.x
4. The Talent Shortage Continues: How the Ever Changing Role of HR Can Bridge the Gap. (2014). Retrieved April 9, 2015, from http://www.manpowergroup.com/wps/
wcm/connect/0b882c15-38bf-41f3-8882-44c33d0e2952/2014_Talent_Shortage_WP_US2.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&ContentCache=NONE
5. The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040. (2015). Retrieved April 15, 2015, from http://cdn.exxonmobil.com/~/media/global/Reports/Outlook%20For%20
Energy/2015/2015-Outlook-for-Energy_print-resolution
6. Groysberg, B., & Bell, D. (2013, May 28). Talent Management: Boards Give Their Companies an “F”. Retrieved April 2, 2015, from https://hbr.org/2013/05/talent-
management-boards-give/
7. 2014 US CEO Survey - Good to grow. (2014). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://www.pwc.com/us/en/ceo-survey-us/2014/assets/2014-us-ceo-survey.pdf
8. Becker, K., & Smidt, M. (2014, January 31). Workforce Related Project Risks Findings Report. Retrieved April 10, 2015, from http://www.airenergi.com/sites/default/
fi les/brochures/prep.pdf
9. Investigation Report: Refi nery Explosion and Fire. (2007, March). Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.csb.gov/assets/1/19/csbfi nalreportbp.pdf
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. Embrey, D. (2009, November 10-12). A Human Factors Approach to Managing Competency in Handling Process Control Disturbances. Paper presented at Hazards
XXI: Process Safety and Environmental Protection in a Changing World, University of Manchester, UK. Abstract retrieved April 14, 2015, from https://www.icheme.
org/~/media/Documents/Subject%20Groups/Safety_Loss_Prevention/Hazards%20Archive/XXI/XXI-Paper-064.pdf
13. Ibid.
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REV 8/15
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