Bernhard Horner looks over his computer screens to the six young people sitting across from him. Each one of them is almost hidden behind their own three monitors, their faces reflecting the monitors’ bluish glow. “What would happen if an alarm were set off at this point?” asks the dark-haired and athletic 47-year-old chemistry and physics instructor as he stands in front of the room furnished with tables and chairs. He points his finger at a longish container from a distillation column that can be seen in the projected image on the wall behind him.

The young people, who are just starting their second year of training at WACKER, are looking at complex circuit diagrams. They hesitate for a few seconds until one of them says: “The filling valve would open and feed in the vinyl acetate and acetic acid.” Horner nods with satisfaction. Problem solved.

Recognizing malfunctions, changing pressures, reducing fan speeds: complex everyday operational tasks that WACKER’s trainees can experience, analyze, and handle virtually on their computers. “Our process control simulator, which came into operation in 2008, makes training more vivid and realistic,” explains Horner, as he attentively observes the trainees. “The trainees understand process interrelations better, they gain an impression of our process control systems – which they can work on just as in real-life operations, and, above all, they can carry out all the steps repeatedly and reflect on them in detail.” Each year, 44 chemical technologists start their training at Wacker Chemie AG. In total, there are 176 chemical technologists in training at the 47 WACKER production facilities that take on trainees. They interpret trend curves that show and document the course of production over long periods of time, adjust control unit parameters optimally, use online functional specifications, and can start up or shut down facilities virtually.

Horner reports with great enthusiasm on the latest tool in which he, along with almost a dozen colleagues from WACKER’s in-house Engineering department and the Vocational Training Center, has invested a lot of energy since 2005. The team developed a software solution that links the process control system used in the plants with the simulator. “With the process control simulator, we can depict nearly 100 measuring instruments in a distillation facility and operate them virtually with sensors and hand valves. To do this, the simulator solves 20,000 equations with 47,000 variables,” describes Horner, detailing the operating mode of the simulator, which is part of a practice facility in the training lab.

There, a clear liquid bubbles away in a number of glass distillation columns connected with pipes, tubes, and power cables. This small-scale production setup separates alcohol from water. Bernhard Horner carefully moves his right hand closer to one of the 78 degree Celsius columns in which the processes can be seen; these are usually concealed behind steel. “This is exactly how we introduce the trainees to the production facilities,” he demonstrates. “They have to feel and develop a respect for the heat, while at the same time learning to understand and control the functions.”

This holistic approach to the learning process is being accorded ever greater significance in the training activities at WACKER. “We ran a pilot program from 1996 to 2000, and its result was clear. The trainees must learn with all of their senses, gathering and storing tactile, visual, and acoustic experiences for themselves,” affirms Horner. In the future, sounds, images, and videos originating from the large production facility at the Burghausen site should also be seen and heard in the simulator.

Incidentally, Horner wants to use the virtual facility not only in the initial training program. “Other employees, for example those switching from one production plant to another within the Group, can also use the simulator to adapt themselves to their new work areas,” notes the training supervisor. “Where else can the employees get so close to reality with a safety net and a harness?”