Plant operations and normal procedures
Plant operations and normal procedures
This domain tests procedure use and adherence during startup, power ascension, steady-state operation, shutdown, and lineup changes. Questions often ask what prerequisite or verification is missing, not just what control to operate.
Core rules
- Use the current approved procedure at the correct revision. Review prerequisites, limits, and acceptance criteria before the first step.
- Perform valve lineups with independent verification where required. A lineup is not complete until component position, power supply, and support system are confirmed.
- Maintain operating bands for pressure, temperature, level, flow, chemistry, and electrical load. Trend the parameters; a value inside the band but moving rapidly is not normal.
- Control room logs and turnover must reflect actual plant state, not intended state. Document the time and the verification method.
Worked example
During a feedwater pump swap, the running pump is at 70 percent capacity and the standby pump is aligned. Start the standby pump, confirm discharge pressure and flow, then slowly unload the running pump. If steam generator level deviates, stop the transfer and restore the original pump. Do not stop the running pump first: that creates a transient with no proven replacement.
Traps
Skipping prerequisites because the plant is already running; treating an automatic signal as a completed action; changing two variables at once; and documenting the intended lineup instead of the verified lineup.