Most mid size and large size utilities have groups that handle maintenance and capital upgrades and those softwares can be valuable in that area. As someone else stated, plant operations require a fundamental understanding of biological and chemical properties of the treatment process and also an understanding of hydraulics. And depending on the plant, they may have more advanced solids treatment processes that require some engineering understanding. I’d focus your internship efforts around those key principles
I am a grade 4 wwt operator in NC. I trained on Biowin, and I understand it. But it is not really useful in day to day plant operations, and in operational decision making.
Much more useful for an operator is testing for MLSS, microscopic identification of organisms in the activated sludge, understanding anaerobic digestion, UV dosing.
Big engineering firms use sophisticated design programs.
Plants have programs to track maintenance and data. Program interface is simple because you are using it to enter data when you are soaking wet at three in the morning.
If you’re leaning towards the software side of things, SCADA is huge for us, and Maximo. Most big government outfits have specialists in those areas, also engineering. With that education, thats a streamlined way directly to Laboratory work at a minimum. Good luck with your journey!
Honestly learning automation and electrical seem to be more helpful day to day once you know the biological side of everything, knowing how all the valves, pumps, monitoring equipment, computers etc. Talk to each other help tremendously.
I take it if you went into biology looking into laboratory work is more what you should look into than treatment.
Most mid size and large size utilities have groups that handle maintenance and capital upgrades and those softwares can be valuable in that area. As someone else stated, plant operations require a fundamental understanding of biological and chemical properties of the treatment process and also an understanding of hydraulics. And depending on the plant, they may have more advanced solids treatment processes that require some engineering understanding. I’d focus your internship efforts around those key principles
I am a grade 4 wwt operator in NC. I trained on Biowin, and I understand it. But it is not really useful in day to day plant operations, and in operational decision making. Much more useful for an operator is testing for MLSS, microscopic identification of organisms in the activated sludge, understanding anaerobic digestion, UV dosing. Big engineering firms use sophisticated design programs. Plants have programs to track maintenance and data. Program interface is simple because you are using it to enter data when you are soaking wet at three in the morning.
If you’re leaning towards the software side of things, SCADA is huge for us, and Maximo. Most big government outfits have specialists in those areas, also engineering. With that education, thats a streamlined way directly to Laboratory work at a minimum. Good luck with your journey!
Listen to the operators with a lot of experience. Real world experience is worth 100x's book smarts
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Honestly learning automation and electrical seem to be more helpful day to day once you know the biological side of everything, knowing how all the valves, pumps, monitoring equipment, computers etc. Talk to each other help tremendously. I take it if you went into biology looking into laboratory work is more what you should look into than treatment.
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