Headworks Operation
Protect the plant before treatment begins: preliminary treatment principles, equipment, field observation and troubleshooting.
Who it is for
Plant operators and operators in training, and maintenance staff who work at the plant inlet.
Format
Online, self-paced: 9 timed modules with the manual reading, worked examples and a short check after each module, plus the student manual to download.
Length and price
2 hours, $60.
What you will learn
Taught by Brad Musick. 9 modules. Worked examples use a fictional 8.0 MGD design plant.
- The headworks is the first control point (10 min)Receive flow safely, remove damaging materials, and observe and escalate abnormal conditions.
- Flow path and a worked design example (10 min)The path from the trunk sewer to primary treatment, hydraulic elevation, and an 8.0 MGD design example.
- The equipment chain (15 min)Influent channel and gates, bar screens and rakes, washer-compactor, grit units and the flume, with what to observe and what a failure looks like at each stage.
- Screening (15 min)Coarse, fine and bypass screens, and how screenings are handled.
- Grit removal (15 min)Why minerals and organics settle differently, and why channel velocity matters.
- Flow measurement (10 min)How a Parshall flume works, why free discharge matters, and checking the ultrasonic level against the staff gauge.
- Hazards and field protocol (15 min)Gas, rotating equipment, biological and splash hazards, the H2S alarm, lockout and tagout, and sharps awareness.
- Troubleshooting (10 min)The response sequence when a screen loads up, a screen blinding tree, and grit quality and removal problems.
- Workshop and field logs (10 min)Diagram the flow path, identify failure points and draft a shift log entry, then review the key points.
What operators take away
- A clear view of the headworks as a chain, where one weak link affects everything downstream.
- What to watch on screens, grit units and the flume, and the early warning signs.
- The four basic safety controls for the headworks.
- A response sequence and troubleshooting trees for screens and grit.
- Timed online modules with a short check after each one, a final quiz that opens when every check is passed and the study time is logged, and a certificate of completion from Wastewater Academy™ when you pass it.
- A student manual to download (comes with the class).
Look inside
A few sample pages from the student manual. Tap a page to open it full size.
These are sample pages only. The full student manual comes with the class.
Register
2 hours, $60.
CEU approval for this class is pending with Indiana IDEM, and CEUs are not approved yet. If you need CEU credit, please wait to buy until we announce approval here.
Registration is open. Register online and start right away.
After you pay, you are taken to a page where you start the online course and download the student manual. Work through the 9 modules in order; each ends with a 4-question check, and you need 3 of 4 to open the next module. The study timer counts time only while a module page is open and in front, and you have been active in the last 5 minutes. The final quiz opens after every check is passed and 1 hour 50 minutes of study are logged. It has 15 questions; you need 80 percent, with up to 3 attempts. After you pass and fill in a short course evaluation, you get a certificate of completion from Wastewater Academy™ in the name you enroll with. Online access, including the course, manual, quiz, and certificate, lasts 90 days from purchase. To see the style of questions first, try a free practice quiz.
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