In Exmouth, planning is underway for a new seawater desalination plant to secure the town’s drinking water supply through to around 2060, reducing reliance on groundwater sources that are vulnerable to climate variability. The project is currently in the planning and investigation stage, with studies underway to determine the most appropriate site and infrastructure configuration before a preferred location is confirmed.

During the concept design phase, Coretex Consulting’s Human Factors Engineering (HFE) work focuses on ensuring the plant can be safely and efficiently operated and maintained once built. Desalination facilities involve complex treatment processes, including intake systems, pre-treatment filtration, high-pressure reverse-osmosis systems and post-treatment processes. The concept design stage is therefore critical for embedding human-centred design principles into the layout of control rooms, process areas and maintenance access points. By considering operator workflows, visibility of key process equipment and the ergonomics of frequently used workstations, the design team can reduce operational risk and support effective plant monitoring and control.

A key component of this work is the plant human–machine interface (HMI) and operator control environment. Modern desalination plants rely heavily on integrated digital control systems that allow operators to monitor pressures, flows and water quality parameters across multiple treatment stages. From an HFE perspective, this means ensuring displays, alarms and control interfaces are intuitive, prioritised and aligned with how operators actually respond to process conditions in real time. By incorporating human factors early in the concept design, the project aims to create a facility where the technology, physical workspace and digital interfaces work together to support safe, reliable operation of Exmouth’s future water infrastructure.