Frequently Asked Questions

The questions people actually ask

Including the awkward one, answered first rather than last.

Are you accredited? What do I get at the end?

No, we are not accredited, and we do not issue certifications. TARGET ZERO is a software company, not an educational institution. We hold no accreditation and claim none.

What you receive is a practice record: a factual log of hours practised, scenarios completed and scores achieved — like a pilot's logbook. It records what happened. It does not assert that you are competent, and it does not qualify anyone to operate equipment unsupervised.

This is a deliberate position, not a gap. Certification bodies own certification, and they should. What they cannot produce is an auditable record of what a person actually did, scenario by scenario. A certificate says someone passed. A record shows what they did — and that is the thing an auditor can read.

The practice record
1What exactly is in a practice record?chevron_right
  • Scenarios completed, and the conditions they ran under
  • Upsets handled — and how they were handled
  • Response times against target
  • Assessment scores by competency area
  • Hours practised, per module and cumulative
  • A verification code an employer can check with us directly

It is generated automatically from your sessions, not compiled by hand afterwards, and it updates every time you practise.

2Can I put it on my CV?chevron_right

Yes. It is designed for exactly that — an A4 document you can print or attach.

Describe it accurately when you do: it is a record of simulation practice, not a qualification. Overstating it is the one thing that would damage you with a technical interviewer, who will recognise the difference immediately.

3How does an employer verify it?chevron_right

Every record carries a verification code. The employer registers with a work email address and enters that code, and we show them the record directly.

They see what we hold, not what was typed into a document. A record cannot be edited or forged, because the employer reads it from our system rather than from a file you sent them.

4Do my hours disappear if I stop paying?chevron_right

No. Your practice record and scores survive expiry. The hours you put in are yours, and a lapsed subscription does not erase your history.

Access to the modules ends; the record of what you did does not.

The simulation
5How do you know the models are right?chevron_right

The models carry real design constants — heat-exchanger approach temperatures, controller tuning, trip logic — rather than approximations chosen to look plausible.

The honest test is not our word for it. Induce an upset and watch the plant respond. An engineer who has seen the real thing recognises a wrong response immediately, and that recognition is the only evidence worth offering.

6Is this a replacement for our full-scope OTS?chevron_right

No, and we would not claim it is. A full-scope operator training simulator is built against a specific plant, commissioned with it, and maintained alongside it. Nothing generic replaces that.

TARGET ZERO sits beneath that tier: process fidelity without the cost and deployment burden, for operators and engineers who would otherwise get classroom training, shadowing, or nothing at all.

If you have a full-scope OTS, this is practice between sessions on it. If you do not, this is the alternative to doing nothing.

7What modules are available?chevron_right

Three families:

  • DCS Simulation — pressure, level and flow control loops; console operation under transient conditions
  • Lock Out & Tag Out — isolation points, stored-energy verification, permit-to-work hand-over scored against procedure
  • Process ESD — cause-and-effect matrix under live trip conditions, trip logic and shutdown sequences

Bespoke modules can be built against your own P&IDs and operating procedures.

8Do I need to install anything?chevron_right

No. It runs in a browser. There is nothing to install, no licence server, and nothing for your IT department to deploy.

Practising
9Is there an instructor, or a class to join?chevron_right

No. Practice is self-directed — no cohort to wait for, no schedule, no instructor to book, no travel.

That is the point. You cannot practise an emergency on a live plant, and you should not have to wait for a course date to practise one in simulation.

10How long does a module take?chevron_right

As long as you need. There is no fixed duration and no completion deadline — repeat a scenario until the response is automatic, which is the only measure that matters.

Hours accumulate in your record either way.

11Is it free to start?chevron_right

Yes. Registration is free and no card is required. You can practise and build a record without paying.

Paid access opens the full module set. Nothing is time-limited into a trial that expires.

For companies
12How does this work for a team?chevron_right

Site licences with unlimited seats, so practice is never rationed by headcount.

Trainer dashboards show hours and scores per engineer, and every record exports as evidence for your competency framework — not ours.

13Can we use this for competency assessment?chevron_right

You can use the records as evidence within your assessment process. We do not perform the assessment and we do not certify the outcome.

The determination of whether someone is competent to operate your plant is yours to make, under your framework and your regulator. We give you the data it rests on.

14Can modules be built for our plant?chevron_right

Yes. Bespoke modules are authored against your P&IDs and operating procedures, so operators practise your plant rather than a generic one.

Tell us the plant, the modules and the number of operators, and we will come back with a quote and a demonstration you can put in front of your technical evaluators.

Data and privacy
15Who can see my practice record?chevron_right

You can. Your employer can, if you are on a company licence. An external company can see it only if you give them your verification code — and then only that one record.

Nobody can browse or search engineers. There is no list to enumerate, by design.

Still have a question?

Ask us directly — we answer within one business day.

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