| Weldon, you are definitely right about plant engineers knowing the machinery better than the designers. My power plant was built in the 1970's and although it operates at the same steam temperature and pressure, how it does so is very different from the 1970's. And lots of equipment operates in ways that designers may not have anticipated.
The creative aspect of being a plant engineer is figuring out how to accomplish tasks within a very strict time schedule and budget limit. My plant operates at full capacity 24/7. Any host of problems can affect generation and you need to know how to use the various resources to make sure the unit stays at maximum generation. Part of this is technical knowledge but a major part is dealing with other people. Dealing with people can be hard, especially when certain departments don't work well together and if the management and union relations are not good. |