Control Room Operator - Westminster, MA

Sprague • Westminster, MA

37d • Onsite

About The Position

NE Renewable Power is made up of 5 Biomass electric generating power stations located in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. These stations play a crucial role in supplying locally sourced renewable energy to the people of New England. Sprague brings over 150 years of energy operating experience to the operations of these facilities, and we’re hiring a Control Room Operator for the Westminster, MA location. Our Control Room Operator (CRO) is the shift lead and is responsible for the safe and efficient, day-to-day operation of our 18 MW wood-fired, turbine-generator biomass power plant in Westminster, MA. This includes the daily operation, monitoring and documentation of the various plant process components, instrumentation and other feedback to control interfaces of the control room in order to access proper operational function. The CRO must be able to operate the PLC-based control system as well as some of the control room’s older analog systems. This position works a modified Dupont Schedule 3/12's one week, 4/12's the next, with guaranteed 8 hours of overtime every other week. The CRO monitors and documents all process variables that pertain to plant performance and system/component reliability and capacity and therefore must be qualified and capable of understanding the correct operation of plant system’s mechanical, electrical and instrumentation/controls components and process flow, and be able to perform corrective action when appropriate. A heightened level of safety awareness and process awareness is required to be able to determine when to call in appropriate support from the plant maintenance and management team as needed. The CRO must be proficient in clear communication with plant personnel, including the shift team and other onsite personnel during process upset situations, and be comfortable with making decisions that will affect the plant process.

Requirements

• Must possess a Massachusetts 2nd Class Engineer License
• Must possess a Valid driver's license
• Power Plant operations and/or maintenance experience is required
• 1 or 2 years related experience and training in similar position.
• Knowledge of combustion conditions, gas burner and boiler and turbine generator operations, and water treatment.
• Must have basic computer skills, including data entry
• Must possess basic math skills
• Good verbal communications skills are essential
• Must be cooperative with those he/she contacts in this work and can work without direct supervision.
• Must know the hazards involved and the safety precautions to be practiced in the operation and maintenance of power plant equipment and machinery.
• Must work within and ensure strict adherence to all safety practices and procedures.
• Must be a committed team member and be able to pool our knowledge and energy to work in tandem to completely understand and productively respond to all business challenges.

Responsibilities

• Start-up, operate, shut down and secure equipment under normal and emergency conditions from the control room or in the field.
• Troubleshoot and perform basic mechanical skills to assist the facility team with preventative and reactive maintenance activities.
• Understand the process and process components in order to be able to properly access and carry out equipment and system’s proper lock out-tagout (LOTO), de-energization, zero energy verification, etc.
• Ensure all plant rounds are completed for the inspections of all facility machinery for malfunctions and / or potential failures.
• Maintain all logs and records as required to record complete operating conditions for the facility and report any irregularities.
• Ability to understand, perform and ensure the completion of facility water chemistry testing and the active dosing and adjustment of control treatment chemicals within recommended limits.
• Repair and calibrate equipment as required.
• Identify hazardous and/or unsafe conditions or work practices, notify supervisor and take action to correct as required.
• Must have the ability to understand process controls, monitor equipment and evaluate the plant production equipment and output, including efficiency and related variables.
• Monitor process variable feedback from controls (temperature, pressure, flow, etc.) for long term variances from normal trends and responds to the variances and issues instructions to ensure continued safe, reliable, and cost-effective power generation from the facility, while maintaining environmental standards.
• Be able to perform and ensure the routine preventive maintenance of components associated with ash removal, boiler and fuel systems, valves, pumps and other system components.
• Develop and maintain operating procedures to ensure consistent and safe operation.
• Conduct or assist in scheduled and forced outage maintenance work.
• Supervise, coordinate or assist contractors performing work at the facility.

Benefits

• Medical benefits
• retirement contributions start on your first day
• 401(k) Traditional and Roth plans with employer match of 100% of the first 6% of the employee’s contribution
• Defined Contribution Plan with an automatic 2.6% contribution from Sprague
• Paid Volunteer Time
• Tuition reimbursement
• Choice of high deductible and PPO Health Plans to fit your individual needs
• Wellness Program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed