Simulated workplaceCAQA Riverside Pulp and Paper is a fictional business created by CAQA for training and assessment. It is not a real company and no person, client or record here is real.About this simulation
PPMCAQA RiversideSimulated workplace
Simulated workplace
Scenario · Pulping, Stock Preparation and Paper Machine

Run stock preparation and rectify a refiner freeness drift

You are a Process Operator on stock preparation, C panel night shift.

Intermediate3 to 4 hours7 tasks
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The situation

What has happened

Day shift logged refiner 2 running at high plate load with freeness drifting low, and a work order has been raised for a plate inspection at the next machine stop. The paper machine is running 140 gsm fluting and needs machine chest consistency held at 3.2 per cent and freeness within the setpoint band for the grade. Part way through your shift the freeness drifts below the band, the machine chest agitator has been isolated because a coupling guard was found missing after maintenance, and the wet end reports a break at the couch. You have the distributed control system, the setpoint sheet, the shift log and the maintenance work orders.

Your brief. Operate the stock preparation system to the grade setpoints for the shift, identify and rectify the freeness drift within your authority using the site problem method, manage the agitator isolation safely, and record production, adjustments, problems and handover in the Production Shift Log and the Maintenance Work Orders.
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Tasks

Deliverables

  • Start of shift monitoring plan
  • Hourly readings table
  • Operational problem analysis with cause and adjustment
  • Updated Maintenance Work Orders
  • Production Shift Log record with handover

Documents to use

Systems to use

Production Shift Log

The shift record for each production area covering tonnes made, downtime, quality results, plant status and handover notes.

Maintenance Work Orders

The record of preventative and breakdown maintenance requests, their priority, planning and completion across the mill.

Permit to Work Register

The register of every permit raised for hot work, confined space entry, heights, containment breaks and electrical work, with isolations and status.

For trainers and assessors

Units of competency

Current on training.gov.au for the Pulp and Paper Manufacturing Industry Training Package as at 10 September 2026.

PPMSPR301Perform stock preparation operations
PPMPRS301Identify and rectify operational problems
PPMCSK301Operate process control equipment
PPMWHS301Contribute to work health and safety processes
PPMQAS201Apply basic quality practices

Qualifications

PPM30121Certificate III in Pulp and Paper Operations
Assessor notes

What to look for

Evidence guide

Look for readings that are plausible for the grade, a problem method that tests causes against data rather than guessing, adjustments that stay within an operator's authority with escalation where needed, and a clear understanding that the isolated agitator stays isolated until the guard is refitted and the permit is closed. The handover must be specific enough for the next operator to act on.

The student's evidence summary lists every record they created or changed in the systems named above, their notes and the tasks they ticked. Verify it against the deliverables and your own assessment tool.