Becht Engineering Blog

Good training is something that we know is necessary. In light of Industry’s aging demographics and retiring experience, we need good training to carry us successfully into the future. As technology evolves more quickly and changes almost daily, we need good training to help us to wring the last dollar out of our constant upgrades and investments. And as reliability improves and minimizes our employees’ opportunities to observe “a blip”, we need good training to substitute for on-the-job learning.But the best-designed training program in the world will fail miserably in its delivery if conditions at your site are not supportive of the effort. If a seed is planted, receives no sunshine, no water, and is allowed to be choked off by weeds – do you REALLY think it has a chance to root and bear fruit? You’re right – training isn’t farming – but let’s look at the five things most...

Training is a burgeoning field and an important tool for any workforce. This is not only true in the oil and gas industry, but in every industry. Companies want their workforces to be safer, more efficient, and more prepared than ever before, and they realize the need for effective training in order to achieve these goals. Whenever the workforce grows, the company implements a new initiative, or disaster strikes, people point to the need for training. New employees need to be trained. Current employees should be retrained. Former employees leave because of a lack of training.But isn’t training just another word for education? And aren’t employees already educated before they are hired?To answer these questions, we simply need to refer to the definitions of these terms. Education is defined by Merriam-Webster as the process of gaining knowledge, skill, and development from study or training. Training, on the other hand, is defined...

Today’s young process engineers have tools available to them that we “old timers” only dreamed about.  Although smaller and some medium sized companies will not have the items listed below, most large refining and or petrochemical operations have the following:Real-time and historical plant operating data available on his/her desk top computers;Real-time and historical plant laboratory data available on his/her desk top computer;Access to the plant DCS control schematics showing current operating details (though no ability to change set points, etc.);Access to powerful process simulation software;Up-to-date (mostly) P&ID’s and unit piping/structural drawings available with the click of a mouse.The list of available resources to today’s younger process engineer without leaving his or her office goes on and on.  Couple this with the trend to large centralized control rooms for safety and efficiency reasons and you easily end up with one large negative to all this progress. There is very little apparent reason...