Nigel Horan, University of Leeds and Aqua Enviro


The complexity of wastewater treatment plants has increased enormously over the past two decades with the introduction of technologies such as sequencing batch reactors (SBR), membrane bioreactors (MBR) and biological aerated filters (BAF).  Many larger works now have many parts of the treatment process covered, in accordance with site Odour Management Plans, and thus installation and maintenance of odour control units becomes necessary.  For simple flows schemes that incorporate screenings, primary settlement and trickling filters, the odour control unit can be the most complex and maintenance intensive unit on site.  Where the treatment plant also posses sludge treatment facilities such as two-stage anaerobic digestion, thermal drying and incineration then the necessary operating skills increase yet further.  As a result on all but the smallest sites, successful plant operation involves an operator in much more than simply following a routine maintenance protocol, but instead requires a more detailed process understanding.

In addition to the increased complexity of treatment processes, there is also a continuing increase in legislatory burden on operators in particular related to Health and Safety and risk assessment,  For instance there is a recent requirement introduced in October 2006, for all treatment plants to have individual Fire Risk Assessments,.  The importance of good operator training is never more apparent than when a company is involved in litigation, whether as a plaintiff or defendant.  Whether the issue is compliance failure, Health and Safety  or equipment fit-for-purpose, the quality of plant maintenance, the skills and training of the operators and the quality of training records, will be scrutinised.

Thus operator pressures are substantial as not only are they required to operate plants within compliance at all times but they must do this at lowest cost and against an industry ethos that strives for the unmanned works.  Owning and operating a wastewater treatment facility represents a significant investment for a utility and in order to protect this investment it is important that wastewater treatment plant operators be fully trained to undertake their job correctly.  There are a wide range of in-house and ad  hoc training available across the spectrum of treatment processes, but it is perhaps surprising that no formal certification scheme is either necessary or available in the UK.  This is in contrast to, for instance, the US where State laws require all operators who are in charge of a treatment plant to be licensed and to be accountable for all plant operational duties, record keeping, and reporting. In addition all treatment plants must have a designated and certified a backup operator who is available to assume charge. 

It is widely acknowledged now that companies who value and add skills to their workforce prove to be the most successful and consequently the need for training is recognised with a general consensus on the importance of increasing operator skill levels.  For instance Energy and Utility Skills, the Skills Council that serves the water industry has recently completed an extensive exercise to identify and quantify the skills need in the industry.  They have recognised in principle that a nationally recognised occupational standards and qualification programme is required and that this should be employer led.  Of course good training requires good trainers and a successful scheme also requires a skilled base of trainers with both people and communications skills.  Traditional methods of training such as external seminars or in-house training with external trainers are still important, but ideally companies should culture an environment that encourages their workforce to learn continually on the job, gaining expertise from within by the establishment of suitable mentoring programs. And once that expertise is developed training is still continuously required in today’s rapidly moving industry in order to keep technically up-to date.

Providing the right mix of training requires an awareness of industry needs that often only comes with experience.  Delivering the right balance of theoretical, practical and hands-on information is a particular challenge and requires flexibility on the part of the trainer to adapt the material to the group needs, based on an individual perception of how the delivery is being received.   A particular problem with in-house training is that time constraints often mean that 2 and 3- day training courses are impractical and it can be difficult to assemble all the appropriate workforce even for a single day, a situation that makes continuity of training very difficult.



Computer-based training (or what is increasingly referred to as virtual learning) based around bespoke training packages, usually hosted from a company’s server, would seem to offer solutions to many of the above issues.  If a six-hour training session is too arduous, impractical or simply just an unattractive option then a trainee can work at their own pace and in their own time.  If the theoretical concepts prove difficult then links are available within a module to provide supporting background information.  Trainers are also able to monitor the progress of trainees who are using the training packages and so are able to identify problem areas and ensure future versions simplify or amplify as necessary.  Perhaps one of the greatest weaknesses of conventional training is that it rarely offers the opportunity to assess how much an individual has learnt from the training activity.  Attendance is often all that is required to gain the necessary certificate/CPD days, or at best a simple multiple choice questionnaire is used that is limited in its scope for evaluating a trainees understanding. 

Virtual learning offers immense potential for monitoring and ensuring all trainees have fully understood the important objectives of the session.  Detailed evaluation can be undertaken at each level of training, with a pass required to proceed to the next level (in a similar way to the present two-stage theory and practical driving test).  Perhaps more importantly, it allows trainees to identify their own weaknesses and areas of poor understanding so these can be revised before the test is repeated.   Of course once a training module has been prepared it is available to train future employees at any time, without the need for either external or internal trainers.  And as future modules are developed they can be inter-linked with existing units, so a company develops a comprehensive knowledge and training base in a virtual learning environment that can be used for staff development and lifelong learning throughout the organisation. 

Virtual learning is unlikely to replace conventional face-to-face training, but the two combined provide a powerful weapon in the training arsenal and should be a first choice for companies wishing to provide long-term solutions to their training needs. 

The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and Aqua Enviro are currently developing a range of accredited training options for the wastewater sector and these can be viewed on the Aqua Enviro website.