If you fancy working at offshore oil rigs, chances of experiencing a challenging and financially rewarding job is there. It's definitely going to be a fun, tough, exciting job. I've experience it before and I know how it feels like. However, before you can work there, you need to have an offshore passport and one of the important requirement to obtain the offshore passport is to undergo Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET).
In United States, HUET is known as Helicopter Underwater Egress Training. In other parts of the world, it is famously known as Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET). HUET is training provided to offshore oil and gas industry staff who are regularly transported to and from facilities by helicopters over water. As the name implies, the purpose is to prepare them for emergency exit in the case of a crash landing over water.
Imagine this situation. The helicopter crash land on the sea and it submerge. The passenger are trained to escape from the helicopter and there are several techniques to escape from the heli (image source).
Helicopter passengers escaping from the simulated helicopter underwater (image source)
A guy escaping from an over-turned helicopter underwater during the HUET training (image source)
The training involves simulated sinking in a pool while rotating the training module upside down and
focuses students on bracing for impact, identifying primary and
secondary exit points, avoiding smoke inhalation, surfacing for air, and head count.
The conventional simulators simulate an immersed cabin rotating around
single axis, usually lengthwise. Most trainees find that the repetition
of predictable submerging and controlled rotation does not offer any
additional improvement to their survival skills. While the traditional
simulators can only be turned left or right in the horizontal plane, the
new generation simulators can turn 360° in both the horizontal and
vertical planes.
I did my first HUET in Trengganu Safety Training Center (TSTC) in 2004. It was a 3 days course which include the activities described above as well as some theories and fire fighting practical. That time the cost was RM1400 if I am not mistaken. I am not aware of the present cost.
For better comprehension on what is going on during HUET, I have included a video below. Check it out.
Instead of reading, why not share your writing of chemical engineering knowledge and experiences here, in Chemical Engineering World blog? It will be interesting. It doesn't matter if you are still a chemical engineering students or you just work as an engineer or you are a very experience engineer. Sharing your story would be great. I am also still learning and would like to learn something from you. Just email me to share something in this blog. You can share stories, articles, photos, infographics, podcast, videos etc.
Most of us know what is a heat exchanger. If you are not that familiar, no problem, just read some of my past articles: Heat Exchanger : Introduction & Basic, or search other of my articles related to heat exchanger here. It is basically an equipment to allow heat transfer from one medium to the other medium. There are several types of heat exchanger such as (1) plate and frame heat exchanger (2) shell and tube heat exchanger and (3) spiral heat exchanger. Those 3 are the most common used in chemical plant.
When a heat exchanger is continuously used, it will gradually lose the ability to transfer heat as the fouling and scaling develops on the surface of the heating material. When this occur, any heat exchanger will become inefficient and needs cleaning. When a heat exchanger is clean, it needs to be stopped. Hence, that's why there is a need to have a back up heat exchanger in a particular section of the plant. Otherwise, the plant will either run with a non-economic process or the plant have to shut down for a while to allow heat exchanger cleaning.
Here, I would like to share a video on cleaning a plate and frame heat exchanger. It will be very useful exposure in case you have not seen how a plate heat exchanger is classified as dirty, dismantled from its frame by loosening the bolt and nuts, individual plates cleaning and arrangement, tightening of bolt and nuts to sandwich the plates between frames. This system uses 60 degree well-water as a medium to transfer heat via
cooling plates in a heat exchanger. The other half of the heat exchanger
system is condensing loop water, where heat pumps use it to transfer
heat when cooling or heating.Check out the overall process of how it is cleaned.
Instead of reading, why not share your writing of chemical
engineering knowledge and experiences here, in Chemical Engineering
World blog? It will be interesting. It doesn't matter if you are still a
chemical engineering students or you just work as an engineer or you
are a very experience engineer. Sharing your story would be great. I am
also still learning and would like to learn something from you. Just
email me to share something in this blog. You can share stories,
articles, photos, infographics, podcast, videos etc.
Are you a chemical engineer? or perhaps a chemical engineering student?
Chemical Engineering is a universal engineering discipline
compared to electrical, mechanical, civil, mechatronic, robotic engineering. When I studied
my first degree 18 years ago, I do not know that much about chemical
engineering related work and discipline. Most of my friends also were
not sure what this field is all about. Interestingly, that time, and
probably still this time, students decided to choose chemical
engineering because they love chemistry. Well, that is sadly not the
case because this type of engineering is not merely about chemistry. In
fact, there are more physics and mathematics involve with chemical
engineering. I learn this fact not only from my own experience, but also
when I asked new first year students who enrolled in my faculty. More
than 75% admitted they choose this field mainly because of they loved
chemistry!!! What a pity. As a result, we have to adjust their thinking
and make them believe that they can excel in this course. They are also
some chemistry that they can learn and enjoy.
Now, in the new
borderless era, students and people new to chemical engineering can
learn this discipline far better than those few years ago. With internet
dominating the world, we have websites, blogs, Facebook, twitter,
LinkedIn and others to explain and elaborate about it. All information
is just seconds away from us. This, I can say is a new version or
strategy of learning the so call online chemical engineering. With such
tools, information and discussion related to this subject is easily and
swiftly discussed, exposed and distributed. More and more lecturers are
using web 2.0 in e-learning as a medium to enhance and stimulate
chemical engineering teaching among the students. Perhaps not all
universities has employed online education but my university has started
adopting online engineering education few years ago.
An engineer in action on an offshore rig (image source)
A group of engineers visiting a boiler manufacturing plant (source). Can you identify me?
I have
earlier created this blog related to my work in 2006 when I was working as a
process engineer in an edible oil refinery. That time, I created my
blog mainly because I have no medium to write and share my adventures
experiences. I love writing and I have always been an editor of any
newsletter or magazine in wherever I studied. That is the reason, when I
discovered about blog, I immediately use it as a way to share my
previous and present engineering experiences for the sake of young
engineers and students. I never expected to receive numerous questions,
feed backs and comments from engineering students and practicing
engineers from all over the world. They can easily and comfortably ask
question to real engineers like me. They can read stories and chemical
engineers experiences. It is really a new way of learning this course or
subject. Then, in 2008, I started Chemical Engineering Rocks Facebook Group and in 2011 Facebook Chemical Engineering World Page. Both platforms received phenomenal response and I am so glad. I strongly believe, online chemical engineering will be a
major part of engineering learning curve. Early education can be
catalyzed with web 2.0 and whether you believe it or not, you can not
stop it. Do you think so?
For further technical knowledge, I have prepared a note in my Chemical Engineering World Page, that is a compilation of top 7 free resources (that you can register). Get it here.
Instead of reading, why not share your writing of chemical engineering knowledge and experiences here, in Chemical Engineering World blog? It will be interesting. It doesn't matter if you are still a chemical engineering students or you just work as an engineer or you are a very experience engineer. Sharing your story would be great. I am also still learning and would like to learn something from you. Just email me to share something in this blog. You can share stories, articles, photos, infographics, podcast, videos etc.
I’m Zaki. I used to be a project, process and chemical engineer. Few years ago I successfully became a Chartered Engineer (IChemE) and Professional Engineer (BEM). I'm now employed as a chemical engineering educator/researcher/consultant. Hope you like reading my blog. I welcome any feedback from you. My email: zaki.yz[alias]gmail.com. TQ!
Get this powerful 80-page ebook on various alternative energy that can save our environment and save your money. On top of that, you'll get a FREE eCourse on alternative energy from me.
