13.6 Training Needs Analysis, Training Delivery & Competency for Automated Systems
Key Takeaways
A training needs analysis works at three levels—organization, task and individual—to find gaps between required and current competence.
OSHA PSM requires initial operator training and refresher training at least every three years, documented with how understanding was verified.
A measurable training objective states the condition, the observable behavior and the performance standard.
ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate) is the common instructional design model for automation training programs.
Kirkpatrick's four evaluation levels are reaction, learning, behavior and results.
Training Needs Analysis, Training Delivery & Competency for Automated Systems
Two Operation and Maintenance tasks in the CAP outline concern people rather than equipment: work with training professionals to perform training needs analysis and establish training goals and measurable outcomes, and participate in the delivery of the training for customers and personnel on the safe and secure operation of automated systems. The listed knowledge includes the applicable standards and regulations, assessing training requirements, instructional techniques, training program development, and the safety, security and automation systems themselves. Section 12.4 covered training at turnover; this section covers the continuing training program.
Why Training Is an Engineering Responsibility
An automation system is only as safe and productive as the people who run and maintain it. Regulations make this explicit:
- OSHA PSM (29 CFR 1910.119(g)) requires initial training for employees operating a covered process and refresher training at least every three years (more often if necessary), with records showing how understanding was verified.
- OSHA PSM 1910.119(j) requires maintenance employees to be trained in the process hazards and the procedures for their job, and 1910.119(l)(3) requires affected employees to be informed of and trained in a change before start-up.
- IEC 61511 requires everyone with SIS lifecycle responsibilities to be competent for their tasks, and ISA-18.2 expects operators to be trained on the alarm system and alarm responses.
- ISA/IEC 62443 security programs include security awareness and role-based security training.
Training Needs Analysis (TNA)
A training needs analysis works at three levels:
| Level | Question | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Organizational | What do the business, regulations and standards require? | PSM rules, permits, company standards, MOC records, incident lessons |
| Task (job) | What must each role actually do with the system? | Job and task analysis: start-up, shutdown, alarm response, module replacement, loop tuning |
| Individual | Who lacks which competence today? | Assessments, observations, interviews, performance data such as alarm-response errors or repeat work orders |
The output is a training matrix: roles against required competencies, with the current status of each person, the priority of each gap and the planned method of closing it.
Writing Measurable Training Objectives
Training goals must be measurable, or no one can tell whether training worked. A good objective states three things:
- Condition: the situation or tools provided ("given a simulated loss of cooling water on the operator training simulator").
- Behavior: the observable action ("the board operator places the reactor in its safe hold state").
- Standard: how well or how fast ("within 5 minutes, with no procedure deviations").
Verbs such as understand, know or be familiar with cannot be observed and should be replaced with verbs such as identify, calculate, demonstrate or restore. Bloom's taxonomy (remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create) helps set the depth each role needs: an operator must apply the alarm-response procedure, while a control engineer must analyze a tuning problem.
Designing and Delivering the Program
The common instructional design model is ADDIE: Analyze (the TNA), Design (objectives, assessments and methods), Develop (materials), Implement (deliver) and Evaluate (measure results and improve).
| Method | Best For |
|---|---|
| Classroom or virtual instruction | Concepts: process chemistry, control strategies, safety-system philosophy |
| Hands-on training rack or lab | Module replacement, configuration, loop calibration, diagnostics |
| Operator training simulator (Section 10.2) | Start-ups, shutdowns and abnormal situations that cannot be practiced on the live plant |
| E-learning | Awareness topics, refreshers and security hygiene |
| Structured on-the-job training | Applying skills on the real unit under a qualified mentor, with sign-off |
| Job aids | Quick-reference cards for rare or critical tasks |
Adults learn best when the content is relevant to their job, when they practice and receive feedback, and when practice is repeated over time rather than crammed. Training on safe and secure operation should explain what each safety function and interlock protects against, the bypass and MOC rules, alarm responses, and everyday security practices: removable-media rules, password and account rules, recognizing phishing and following the remote-access procedure.
Evaluating Training and Maintaining Competence
Kirkpatrick's four levels describe how deeply training is evaluated:
- Reaction: did trainees find the training useful?
- Learning: did they gain the knowledge or skill, as shown by tests or demonstrations?
- Behavior: do they apply it on the job, as shown by observation and audits?
- Results: did plant outcomes improve—fewer upsets, faster recovery, less rework?
Competence is confirmed by written tests, practical demonstrations and simulator scenarios scored against the objectives and signed off by a qualified assessor. Records show who is qualified for what and when refreshers are due. Requalification is triggered by system changes through MOC, incidents, long absences and the regulatory refresher interval.
Example
After a DCS migration, a chemical plant's TNA showed that board operators could navigate the new high-performance graphics but were slow to recognize a developing loss of cooling. The team wrote simulator objectives with time limits, ran each crew through three abnormal-situation scenarios, and audited alarm responses on shift for three months. The audits (Kirkpatrick Level 3) showed operators using the new alarm-response guidance correctly, and the number of cooling-related upsets fell over the following year (Level 4).
Under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119(g), how often must refresher training be provided to employees who operate a covered process?
Every five years, matching the PHA revalidation cycle
At least every three years, and more often if necessary
Once every year, on the anniversary of initial training
Only after an incident or reportable near miss
Which training objective is written in a measurable form?
Operators will understand and feel comfortable with the new high-performance DCS graphics
Technicians will become familiar with the safety instrumented system and its bypass rules
Trainees will appreciate the importance of alarm management in preventing incidents
On the simulator, after a loss of instrument air, the operator reaches safe hold within 10 minutes
After DCS training, a plant audits whether operators apply the new alarm-response procedure correctly during real shifts. Which Kirkpatrick evaluation level does this audit measure?
Level 1, reaction
Level 2, learning
Level 3, behavior
Level 4, results
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.