Opmate

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Plant log

The site's own record. An entry can be corrected: the correction is logged under it, with who made it, and nothing is deleted.

What needs your attention

Go to date

Key learnings

What this site has learned that Opmate didn't know. Nothing is used until the site admin approves it.

Waiting for review

Nothing waiting.

Your site notes

Approved by the site admin. Opmate quotes them as "Your site notes say" when their topic comes up.

No site notes yet.

Plant set-up

The plant, its process, chemicals and source water, as Opmate uses them.

About OpmateHow to use it, what it works from, and its limits

Purpose

Opmate helps operators find faults in a water treatment plant: it checks the readings, puts the site's own control register first when a limit is reached, and works out the likely cause and the quickest checks.

Sign in with your site's passcode, or, where Watercalcs has given your Watercalcs account access to the plant, with "Sign in with Watercalcs". If your account has more than one plant, the plant's name in the left pane has an arrow: tap it to see your plants and tap one to switch. Opmate opens the plant you last used in this browser. Each plant is kept to itself.

A site admin gives other people access to the plant in Plants & access, by their Watercalcs email, as an operator, site admin or viewer, and can change or switch it off there. Your organisation's admin can do the same for each of its plants. Someone in your organisation without access can ask for it; the request shows on Plants & access to approve with a role, or decline. The organisation's admin also has an Organisation page: each plant's use over the last 30 days and whether it shares unanswered questions with Watercalcs, everyone with access, and how long before an approved site note comes up for review.

Asking Opmate

Tell Opmate what you're seeing, the way you'd tell a senior operator on the phone: what's wrong, where in the plant, and since when.

Give readings with their units and where they were taken, for example "FACE 0.25 mg/L at the contact tank outlet for the last 10 minutes". If you don't know how long a reading has been like that, Opmate treats it as having been there long enough to count, and says so.

Opmate checks the numbers first and asks if one looks wrong. When a reading is past a limit in your control register, your register's corrective action comes first, word for word, in a box; under it Opmate says whether it agrees or has something to add, and asks whether the plant did what it is set to do. Your site notes are quoted as your site notes; everything else is Opmate's. Then you get the likely cause, or a short list when it isn't clear yet, with the quickest checks first.

At the start of a conversation Opmate also uses the readings in your plant log from the last few hours (12 unless your site admin changes it on This plant), each marked with its time, unless you give a newer one.

It works from this site's own plant, control register and site notes. It gives guidance, not instructions: your water safety plan and your supervisor come first.

The plant log

Write what happened, the way you'd write it in the logbook: what you saw, measured, changed, received or fixed. Add any readings with their units and where they were taken; Opmate checks them as it does in a conversation, and asks if one looks wrong. Nothing is corrected for you.

A reading past a limit in your control register shows the register's corrective action under the entry, word for word, and you can ask Opmate about it. Entries go in under the name on your passcode.

An entry is never changed or deleted. If one is wrong, use "Correct this": your correction is added under it, and the old entry stays, struck through.

Opmate posts a weekly summary of the log, sorted the same way, at the day and time your site admin sets on This plant (Monday 9:00 am unless changed). It covers from the last one to then.

"Submit as key learning" puts an entry forward as something worth knowing about this plant. Opmate doesn't use it until your site admin approves it as a site note, on the Key learnings page. Under a reply, "Save readings to the plant log" writes the readings you gave in it to the log.

Your status is in the left pane: Duty (responsible for the plant this shift), On site (at the plant, not on duty), On call, or Off. Only one person is on duty at a time; setting yourself to Duty takes over from whoever is. A status you haven't set again in 24 hours shows as Off. Your duty runs until the next person comes on, or until you set yourself On site, On call or Off, which takes you off duty: write your handover first. In the plant log, the right-hand pane shows who is on now, the handover, the latest handovers and weekly summaries, and the site's key learnings.

Your status changes with one press, always. While you're on duty, "This duty" in the plant log's right-hand pane holds your handover as it builds: Opmate's draft of your duty's log, the most important first, your own words and your items, saved as you write. "Add to handover" on a log entry, a completed form or a reply adds it as one line, linked back to it. An item nobody has marked done goes into the next handover by itself, with how long it has been open, until someone marks it done. "Check and post" opens the whole handover to post. When you come on duty, "Since you were last on duty" shows the handovers since your last duty: what is still open first, then limits reached, then events. If your site admin has set shift times on Set-up, forms done each shift follow the clock and you're reminded 30 minutes before your shift ends to check your handover. Signed in with a Watercalcs account, you can choose in your settings to be emailed when a handover is waiting and you're On call: one short email, nothing about the plant, never an alarm. When you go off duty your handover stays open: "Finish your handover" lets you post it, by default within the hour, or Opmate posts it for you with what you've written. Pressing Duty again soon after (by default within 30 minutes) carries the same duty on, with nothing posted. If someone else comes on duty while you still are, you go Off (or On site, if your plant is set that way) and your handover stays open to finish; they can read the draft as it stands. The next person acknowledges the handover; you never acknowledge your own. How strict that is, and these times, are your plant's handover settings, set by your organisation's admin (or your site admin, on This plant): Required shows the handover as you press Duty, with "I've read it, take over"; Asked lets you take over at once and acknowledge it from the log; Not used means nobody acknowledges them.

The list on the left follows the page: your site's conversations, plant log entries or key learnings, one line each. Hover for who and when; the three dots pin one to the top, or delete a conversation of your own. "Mine" shows only yours (conversations and plant log; key learnings are the site's). While Opmate works on a reply it shows what it has done so far.

Set-up

This is what Opmate knows about your plant. It decides which faults and causes Opmate considers (a plant without membranes never gets membrane causes), and it gives the calculations their site values, so Opmate doesn't have to ask for them mid-conversation.

Source water quality is the typical raw water: minimum, average and maximum. Fill in what you have; at least one organic measure (UV absorbance, true colour or DOC) is wanted. Chemical doses are the usual range and average.

The control register: each control's target band, its action and critical limits each way, how long a reading has to stay past a limit before it counts, the corrective action Opmate quotes word for word, and what the plant does by itself. Each control is saved on its own.

Only a site admin can change the set-up. Every save is kept as a new version, with who saved it and when; Opmate uses it from the next message.

Key learnings

Something worth knowing about this plant that Opmate didn't know goes in as a key learning. You put it forward; your site admin reads it, with the conversation or log entry it came from, and approves it as a site note on the Key learnings page. Opmate then quotes it as "Your site notes say" when its topic comes up; it doesn't change which causes come first. Watercalcs links the ones that should change a diagnosis.

Nothing you put forward is used until your site admin approves it.

Your settings and admin

Tap your name at the bottom left. Your settings hold what's yours: showing what Opmate used under each reply, the handover email for a Watercalcs account, and signing out. Your qualifications are there too: you add your own, your site admin verifies them, and one past its renewal date shows as lapsed. A site admin also has This plant (how much of the plant log Opmate reads, the weekly summary, handovers, and the downloads), Qualifications (verifying people's qualifications and adding to the list), Form library and Plants & access; your organisation's admin has Organisation. Help, the "?" at the top right, has the questions people ask, with a search.

Basis

The diagnosis comes from Watercalcs' fault-finding knowledge base, filtered to what this plant has, plus this site's control register and the site notes its site admin has approved. The checks on readings, the control limits and hold times, the choice between one cause and a short list, and the order of checks are worked out in code. A language model reads what you type and words the answer; it doesn't decide the diagnosis.

Calculations run in the Watercalcs calculators. The one calculation in Opmate itself is FACE from FAC and pH, using the formula in the New Zealand drinking-water standards:

FACE = FAC · (1 + K / 10⁻⁸) / (1 + K / 10^−pH)

Limitations

Guidance, not instructions. Your water safety plan and your supervisor come first. A boil water notice is the supplier's and the authority's call.

It knows only the problems in its knowledge base that apply to this plant. When it can't diagnose something, it says so.
It can only be as good as the readings it's given. Check instruments that look wrong.
It is a trial.

The trial

Opmate v0.1

HelpQuestions people ask about Opmate

Search help Shows the questions with every word you type.

Asking Opmate

How do I ask about a fault?

Tell Opmate what you're seeing the way you'd tell a senior operator on the phone: what's wrong, where in the plant, and since when. Give readings with their units and where they were taken, for example "FACE 0.25 mg/L at the contact tank outlet for the last 10 minutes".

Why does my control register come first?

When a reading is past a limit in your control register, the register's corrective action is what you follow. Opmate shows it word for word in a box, says whether it agrees or has something to add, and asks whether the plant did what it is set to do. The diagnosis comes after it.

What if I don't know how long a reading has been like that?

Opmate treats it as having been there long enough to count against the limit, and says so in the reply.

Opmate says a number looks wrong. What now?

Opmate checks every reading before it uses it and never changes one for you. If one looks like a typing slip it suggests what you might have meant; confirm the right value, or confirm the one you gave if it really is that.

None of the causes fit. What do I say?

Say "none of those". Opmate takes those off the list on your word and shows the next ones. When it has nothing left, it says so, with what was ruled out, and you can put the conversation forward as a key learning.

Can Opmate run a calculation for me?

Yes. Ask for it ("what's the C.t at 285 L/s?"). Opmate asks once for anything it's missing, then shows a card with the result, every input and where it came from. You can change your own readings on the card and run it again. Longer sums link to the Watercalcs calculator.

Does Opmate use the plant log?

At the start of a conversation it uses the readings logged in the last few hours (12 unless your site admin changes it), each marked with its time, unless you give a newer one.

Plant log and handovers

How do I add something to the plant log?

Open Plant log and write what happened, the way you'd write it in the logbook. Add readings with their units and where they were taken; Opmate checks them as it does in a conversation. A reading on its own needs no note.

I made a mistake in an entry. Can I change it?

No entry is changed or deleted. Use "Correct this": your correction goes under it and the old entry stays, struck through.

How does the handover work?

While you're on duty, Opmate drafts your handover from the duty's log as you go. Add your own words and "Add to handover" on an entry, a form or a reply. Going off duty opens it to check and post; if you don't, Opmate posts it with what you've written. The next person on duty acknowledges it.

What do Duty, On site, On call and Off mean?

Duty is the person responsible for the plant this shift; only one person is on duty at a time. On site is at the plant but not on duty. A status you haven't set again in 24 hours shows as Off.

A form shows as due. What do I do?

Fill it in from the plant log. A form is done or it isn't: one not done in its shift, day or week shows as missed, and as not done in the handover.

Key learnings and site notes

What is a key learning?

Something worth knowing about this plant that Opmate didn't know. You put it forward from a log entry or a conversation; your site admin reads it with where it came from and approves it as a site note. Nothing is used until it's approved.

Where do site notes show up?

When their topic comes up, Opmate quotes them as "Your site notes say". They don't change which causes come first.

Your account and settings

Where are my settings?

Tap your name at the bottom left. Your settings are there, and for a site admin the plant's own settings, Plants & access and, for your organisation's admin, Organisation. Help and Sign out are there too.

How do I add a qualification?

Tap your name at the bottom left, then Your settings, then "+ Add a qualification". Pick it from the list, and add who issued it, when you gained it and when it renews. Your site admin verifies it. Once the renewal date has passed it shows as lapsed. Not on the list? Your site admin can add it.

How do I switch plants?

If your account has more than one plant, the plant's name at the top left has an arrow: tap it and tap the plant you want. Opmate opens the plant you last used in this browser.

How does someone get access to the plant?

Your site admin gives access in Plants & access, by Watercalcs email, as an operator, site admin or viewer. Someone in your organisation without access can ask for it, and the request waits there to approve or decline.

Can I get an email when a handover is waiting?

Yes, signed in with a Watercalcs account: switch it on in your settings. It is one short email when a handover is waiting and you're On call. It says nothing about the plant and it isn't an alarm.

Who sees what I type?

Your plant's conversations, log and settings are seen only at your plant. Watercalcs checks conversations to improve the answers; your site admin can see when. Questions Opmate couldn't answer are shared with Watercalcs without your plant's name. Records are kept for two years.

Limits

Can I rely on what Opmate says?

Opmate gives guidance, not instructions: your water safety plan and your supervisor come first. It knows only what's in its knowledge base for this plant and is only as good as the readings it's given. When it can't diagnose something, it says so.

Where does more detail live?

About Opmate (the "i" at the top right) has how Opmate works, what it works from, and its limits in full.

New conversation

Your requests

Plant log

What needs your attention

Key learnings

Plant set-up