Analysis personnel

Barrick, M. R., Mount, M. K. (1991). The Big Five personality dimensions and job performance A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 44, 1-26. 

An extraction plant should operate at steady state in accordance with the flow-sheet design for the process. However, fluctuation in feed streams can cause changes in product quaUty unless a sophisticated system of feed-forward control is used (103). Upsets of operation caused by flooding in the column always force shutdowns. Therefore, interface control could be of utmost importance. The plant design should be based on (/) process control (qv) decisions made by trained technical personnel, (2) off-line analysis or limited on-line automatic analysis, and (J) control panels equipped with manual and automatic control for motor speed, flow, interface level, pressure, temperature, etc. 

The maintenance of analytical instmmentation requkes trained personnel and is a time-consuming task (39,40). An additional problem is the necessity of frequentiy checking the caUbration of the analysis instmmentation and recahbrating if requked. Stand-alone data gathering instmmentation, once common in pilot plants, has been vktuaHy replaced in all but the simplest pilot plants by a data gathering computer, usually used for process control as well. 

The analytical research and development (R D) unit is often responsible for the preparation and vahdation of test methods. The R D lab is not faced with the same pressures for rapid analysis as the QC unit, where pending results often hold up production. In addition, R D often assigns personnel to specific instmments or techniques, whereas QC generally requires technicians to perform varied analyses. This leads to an expertise on the part of analytical chemists and technicians which is difficult to duphcate in QC. Therefore the R D test method should be mgged enough to withstand the different environment of the QC lab and stiU provide vahd results. 

The Hterature on analytical methods is voluminous and not easily summari2ed (123—130). Often the greatest expertise ia the analysis of complex detergent mixtures resides with ia-house personnel ia iadividual companies who may regard their methods as proprietary iaformatioa. 

Factors that enter into any economic analysis of handhng-warehousing systems are (1) expected mechanical and economic life of the system (2) annual maintenance cost (3) capital requirements and expected return on investment (4) building-construction cost and land v ue (5) detailed analysis of each work position (to determine trade-offs of labor and equipment expected future costs and availability of labor are important) (6) relation of system control and personnel used in system (trade-offs of people versus mechanical control) (7) type of information system (computerized or manual) and (8) expected changed in product, container, unit pallet loads, and customer preferences during the life of the system. 

The purpose of this section is to provide guidehnes for this preparation. General aspects are covered. Preparations for the specific units can be drawn from these. Topics include analyst, model, plant, and laboratory preparation. Since no individual analyst can be responsible for all of these activities, communication with other personnel is paramount for the success of the analysis. 

Even within a single sample analysis, it is hkely that some of the reported concentrations are known with greater accuracy than others. L oratory personnel will know which concentrations can be rehed upon and which should be questioned. The plant-performance analyst should know at this stage which of the concentrations are of greatest importance and direct the discussion to those components. 

It is important to note that vahdation typicahy only brings a measurement under suspicion. It does not verify that the measurement is incorrect. Safety is paramount. Some vahdation analysis could result in concluding that the measurement is invalid when, in fact, the comparison information is invahd. It is not difficult to extrapolate that actions could result from this erroneous conclusion which would place maintenance and operating personnel in jeopardy. Validation merely raises suspicion it does not confirm errors or measurement. 

The second section of the spreadsheet contains the overall flows, the calculated component flows, and the material balance closure of each. The weighted nonclosure can be calculated using the random error calculated above, and a constraint test can be done with each component constraint if desired. Whether the measurement test is done or not, the nonclosure of the material balance for each component gives an indication of the validity of the overall flows and the compositions. If particiilar components are found to have significant constraint error, discussions with laboratory personnel about sampling and analysis and with instrument personnel about flow-measurement errors can take place before any extensive computations begin. 

The book does not focus on occupational safety and health issues, although improved process safety can benefit these areas. Detailed engineering designs are outside the scope of this work. This book intends to identify issues and concerns in batch reaction systems and provide potential solutions to address these concerns. This should be of value to process design engineers, operators, maintenance personnel, as well as members of process hazards analysis teams. While this book offers potential solutions to specific issues/concerns, ultimately the user needs to make the case for the solutions that provide a balance between risk... 

Has an effective safety and health program (for example, safety procedures, training, hazard identification and analysis) been established to protect personnel on the work site, including employees and contractors If no, explain. 

Adequate support from the facility staff is absolutely essential. The facility staff must help the analysis team gather pertinent documents (e.g., PSilDs, procedures, software descriptions, material inventories, meteorological data, population data) and must describe current operating and maintenance practices. The facility staff must then critique the logic model(s) and calculation(s) to ensure that the assumptions are correct and that the results seem reasonable. The facility staff should also be involved in developing any recommendations to reduce risk so they will fully understand the rationale behind all proposed improvements and can help ensure that the proposed improvements are feasible. Table 12 summarizes the types of facility resources and personnel needed for a typical QRA. 

Frequency Phase 3 Use Branch Point Estimates to Develop a Ere-quency Estimate for the Accident Scenarios. The analysis team may choose to assign frequency values for initiating events and probability values for the branch points of the event trees without drawing fault tree models. These estimates are based on discussions with operating personnel, review of industrial equipment failure databases, and review of human reliability studies. This allows the team to provide initial estimates of scenario frequency and avoids the effort of the detailed analysis (Frequency Phase 4). In many cases, characterizing a few dominant accident scenarios in a layer of protection analysis will provide adequate frequency information. 

In the final analysis, pumps should be operated at or near their BEP. These pumps will run for years without giving problems. The pump curve is the pump s control panel, and it should be in the hands of the personnel who operate the pumps and understood by them. 

A very important analytical tool that is overlooked by many sourcetesting personnel is the microscope. Microscopic analysis of a particulate sample can tell a great deal about the type of material collected as well as its size distribution. This analysis is necessary if the sample was collected to aid in the selechon of a piece of control equipment. All of the efficiency curves for particulate control devices are based on fractional sizes. One would not try to remove a submicron-size aerosol with a cyclone collector, but unless a size analysis is made on the sampled material, one is merely guessing at the actual size range. Figure 32-8 is a photomicrograph of material collected during a source test. 

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