Christian Herrmann

Testimonial published in 2020. Roles and career details reflect the account at the time it was written.

I graduated from ATEP in February 1978 and began work as a duty engineer at Boxberg Power Plant. Its lignite-fired units then had a combined installed capacity of 2,520 MW: twelve units of 210 MW each. The main equipment included Taganrog boilers, LMZ turbine generators and MZTA instrumentation and control equipment. New 500 MW units were also planned; the first was in test operation and the second was still being built.

I had to focus on the new 500 MW section’s equipment. I worked as part of the operating staff, not as an automation engineer. The main equipment included East German boilers—two per turbine—an LMZ turbine generator and GDR instrumentation and control equipment from GRW.

From August 1978 to September 1980, I worked in Ukraine. On the GDR section of the international Orenburg–Uzhhorod gas-pipeline project, I commissioned gas-compressor stations at Talne, Bar, Haisyn and Oleksandrivka. I later worked on telemechanics for the Oleksandrivka line section and helped launch the pipeline’s second control centre in Cherkasy. I also worked as a translator. Commissioning work with specialists from the USSR, GDR, West Germany, the United States, Austria and the United Kingdom was constructive and collegial.

After returning home, I completed the qualification for shift supervisor of a 500 MW unit. Once the 500 MW line was in full operation, Boxberg’s installed capacity reached 3,520 MW. At the time, Boxberg was considered Europe’s largest lignite-fired power plant.

In 1985 I moved to another important role at the plant. After further training, I became head of the Safety, Fire Safety and Occupational Health Department in 1987, a position I held until retiring at the end of 2012.

Operating conditions and the legal framework for thermal power plants changed significantly in the early 1990s. With my colleagues, I oversaw the modernisation and reconstruction of the 500 MW equipment, including completion of flue-gas desulphurisation equipment and the phased decommissioning of all 210 MW units. The workforce fell from about 4,000 to about 700, and substantial effort went into improving working conditions. Units of 906 MW and 675 MW were built during 1994–2000 and 2006–2012, respectively.

The thermal-engineering foundation I gained at the Thermal Power Engineering Faculty, together with ATEP’s specialisation in automating thermal-power processes, became the basis of my working life. The experience I received can be summed up this way: An automation engineer must understand the process! Investigate, analyse, clarify, look for a solution, focus on what matters and act decisively.

My advice to applicants is to focus on theoretical foundations so you can understand systems regardless of the equipment manufacturer—MZTA, GRW, GE, Serck Controls, Siemens and others. Learn a foreign language and develop social skills. Stay open to progress and ready to reach an honest compromise.

My wish for the ATEP curriculum is to develop students’ social competence for working in international teams with people from different cultures.