CAP Glacier Fabricant study plan

Define automation fundamentals terminology (control loop, PLC, SCADA, MES, batch vs. continuous) in your own words and map each term to a Glacier Fabricant production scenario

Explain the economic justification chain for an automation project: capex, opex, payback period, ROI, and intangible benefits such as quality and traceability

Describe the Glacier Fabricant application context at a system level, including typical process stages from raw material intake through freezing, forming, and packaging

Identify which stakeholder roles (operations, quality, maintenance, engineering, IT/OT) influence project approval decisions in a frozen-dessert manufacturing environment

Construct a business case for a sample automation upgrade, quantifying labor savings, yield improvement, and downtime reduction with stated assumptions

Translate stakeholder needs into verifiable functional requirements using shall-statement syntax with acceptance criteria

Draft a requirements traceability matrix linking each requirement to its source and planned verification method

Distinguish functional, non-functional, and constraint requirements and classify 20 sample requirements accordingly

Produce a design specification covering control architecture, I/O list structure, network topology, and HMI screen hierarchy

Select sensors, actuators, and controllers for a freezing-line application and justify each selection against process conditions such as temperature, hygiene, and washdown

Write pseudocode or structured text for a batch sequence with start, hold, and abort states

Define integration interfaces between PLC, SCADA, and MES layers including data tags and handshake signals

Build and execute a factory acceptance test (FAT) script with at least 15 test cases covering normal, boundary, and fault conditions

Apply a structured commissioning sequence: loop check, dry commissioning, wet commissioning, and performance verification

Diagnose three representative integration faults (network timeout, tag mismatch, interlock trip) and document root cause and corrective action

Configure version control and change documentation for control code and configuration files

Define a preventive maintenance schedule for instrumentation and control assets using criticality ranking

Establish KPIs for continuous improvement (OEE, MTBF, MTTR, first-pass yield) and describe how each is calculated from plant data

Conduct a hazard analysis using a recognized method (HAZOP or LOPA) on a freezing or refrigeration subsystem and assign risk rankings

Map safety instrumented functions to required safety integrity levels and identify the difference between process control and safety control

Apply defense-in-depth concepts to an OT network, including zone and conduit segmentation aligned with IEC 62443 principles

Identify common OT threat vectors (unauthorized remote access, removable media, flat networks, unpatched legacy systems) and prescribe mitigations

Describe reliability engineering techniques: redundancy, fail-safe design, watchdog timers, and graceful degradation

Outline an incident response and recovery procedure for a control system compromise or failure

Analyze Glacier Fabricant-specific constraints: hygienic design, CIP/SIP cycles, allergen changeover, cold-chain traceability, and regulatory record retention

Evaluate an ethical dilemma in automation practice (data ownership, safety override pressure, scope creep) using a structured decision framework

Explain professional obligations around competence boundaries, documentation integrity, and escalation of safety concerns

Compare applicable standards and codes and describe how they shape design and validation decisions

Synthesize all domains into an end-to-end project narrative from justification through continuous improvement

Complete timed practice sets weighted by domain percentage and score each domain separately

Remediate the two weakest domains by rewriting notes and re-testing on missed concepts

Build a one-page exam-day reference sheet of formulas, standard references, and decision checklists