Structured Troubleshooting by Plant Operators

To make your Operator Rounds or Inspections meaningful, you need to:

1. Establish criteria for each reading that defines what is acceptable and what is not acceptable.
2. Ensure that each reading is compared to the acceptance criteria (high and low limits) each time it is recorded.
3. Define what should be done if any out of limits conditions are discovered.

FDPMobile is a mobile application that helps Plant Operators collect data and troubleshoot problems they may find during their inspections.

In FDPMobile, for each data collection point you may establish acceptance criteria in the form of high and low limits.

High and Low Limits are displayed to Operator. All data entered is automatically compared to the limits set up for the data point.

For each data collection point you may establish up to four condition based messages that will be displayed to the Operator if data is entered that is outside high or low limits for that data point. These messages are customizable and can include instructions that you would like the Operator to follow when they find things that are not the way they ought to be.

When we work with clients to implement FDPMobile and FDP Plant (the web application that works with the mobile application), we are often asked what should the content of the error messages should be. We respond by telling them to imagine themselves as a Plant Engineer receiving a phone call at 2:00 AM from an Operator who just encountered a problem on a very critical system. What three steps would you ask them to take while they are waiting for you to get dressed and get to the plant.

By putting this information at the Operators fingertips while they are in performing their rounds we are enabling them to solve problems quickly and safely.