Process Safety with Trish & Traci

Understanding the two kinds of change, deliberate and creeping, will aid you in keeping your facility a safe place to work. As we look back 50 years, we can see both deliberate and creeping change played significant roles in the catastrophic explosion and fire that tore through the Nypro plant in Flixborough, U.K., resulting in the tragic loss of 28 lives and leaving 89 others injured.

The Flixborough disaster in 1974 resulted in 28 fatalities and significant damage, leading to the introduction of management of change processes, improved asset integrity practices, emphasis on competency management, and enhanced control room safety measures. This landmark incident highlighted the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration and continues to serve as a lesson in process safety.

Time is critical when tracking down hazardous substances. Whether it’s trying to mitigate safety incidents before they happen or being able to tap all the pertinent information during an emergency involving a chemical spill, fire or natural disaster, having an efficient way to trace every ingredient is paramount. This crossover episode first appeared in our Distilled podcast series.  

In this episode, Trish & Traci interview Stephen J. Wallace, a former investigator with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board and author of the book "Hazardous Lies." Wallace offers insights into the world of process safety investigations and the motivation behind his fictional thriller. Wallace draws from his real-life experiences to craft a realistic portrayal of the challenges faced by investigato...

The incident at Formosa Plastics in 2004 highlighted critical lessons in process safety. Human factors, communication gaps and inadequate equipment played significant roles in the death of five workers.

This In Case You Missed It episode of Process Safety with Trish & Traci brings the written word to life. Today, I will be reading an excerpt from a column written a few years ago by John Bresland, president of Process Safety Risk Assessment LLC and former chair of the United States Chemical Safety Board. The column  “10 Rules To Succeed at Process Safety Management." Written by: John Bresland...

It's crucial to operate within our professional boundaries and effectively mitigate risks when operating beyond them. In this In Case You Missed It episode, Trish Kerin, director of the IChemE Safety Centre, reads her most recent column: Embrace Challenges, Recognize Limits, Manage Risks

In this episode, we offer 7 steps for better cybersecurity. If you are a process control engineer, an IT professional in a company with an automation division, or a business manager responsible for safety or security, you may be wondering how your organization can get moving on more robust cybersecurity practices. View the transcript for links to all the materials mentioned in this podcast. https:...

Boeing was known for its engineering excellence until a focus on profitability took over. Properly documenting management of change and recognizing weak signals could have prevented tragedy. In this episode of Process Safety with Trish & Traci, we discuss the aviation industry's Boeing 737 MAX crisis and how it revealed critical management failures, emphasizing the importance of rigorous manag...

A hazard and operability study (HAZOP) mostly is a safety design check, not a design development review. Making and finalizing major design choices should occur long before a HAZOP. In this In Case You Missed It Episode, Traci Purdum reads a column from Plant InSites columnist Andrew Sloley.   Written By: Andrew Sloley Read By: Traci Purdum  Read Article: https://www.chemicalprocessing.com/voices/...

In today's episode, Trish and Traci discuss inherently safer design principles, emphasizing proactive safety measures. Trish shares examples, such as separating hazardous substances from work areas and minimizing potential risks through thoughtful design choices. They highlight challenges like maintaining design integrity throughout project phases and stress the importance of documenting safety ra...

Daily experiences vary, but key events hold lessons. Reflection is vital for learning and shaping success.   Written By: Trish Kerin Read By: Trish Kerin  Read Article HERE https://www.chemicalprocessing.com/voices/stay-safe/article/33018718/the-difference-between-experiences-and-learning-in-process-safety

In their podcast, Trish and Traci discuss the importance of commemorating anniversaries of incidents, emphasizing the need to learn from the past. Trish highlights two reasons for reflection: learning from past events to prevent recurrence and honoring those who lost their lives. They delve into various historical incidents, such as the IChemE Safety Centre's 10th anniversary, the LNG explosion in...

Welcome to the crossover edition of Process Safety with Trish and Traci -- the podcast that aims to share insights from past incidents to help avoid future events. I’m Traci Purdum, EIC of Chemical Processing. Today’s crossover is from our Chemical Processing Distilled podcast series. I recently spoke with Dave Strobhar, founder and principal human factors engineer for Beville Engineering. We disc...

In this episode, Trish and Traci, along with guest Melissa Humphries, discuss the challenges of intuitively understanding uncertainty and likelihoods in risk assessments. They highlight the common pitfalls of dismissing low-likelihood events and the impact of human nature on risk perception. Melissa explains statistical concepts like risk and uncertainty, emphasizing the importance of communicatin...

This In Case You Missed It episode brings the written word to life. Today, Trish Kerin, the director of IChemE Safety Centre, and Stay Safe columnist for Chemical Processing, will read her column “Reflecting On Tragedy Can Improve Process Safety,” which appeared in the December 2023 edition of our magazine. Written By: Trish Kerin Read By: Trish Kerin  Read Article HERE 

In the podcast episode, Traci and Trish discuss the 31st anniversary of the La Mède Refinery explosion in France, detailing the events and the consequences, including six fatalities and significant financial loss. Trish emphasizes the importance of rigorous corrosion inspection programs and the need for comprehensive risk assessments in facility design. They explore legal implications, questioning...

This episode discusses the 1989 Pasadena chemical plant explosion that claimed 23 lives. The incident led to the modernization of process safety measures in the U.S. Trish and Traci emphasize the importance of dedicated firewater systems, meticulous maintenance procedures, and strategies to combat complacency. They also explore the use of case studies and emphasize the positive legacy of Mary Kay...

A deep understanding of risks empowers us to make informed decisions

Plants with good safety performance can become complacent over time, and lessons learned from incidents are often forgotten. It's crucial to instill and maintain a culture of constant unease to ensure ongoing safety. According to the article, Former chair of the UK’s Health and Safety Executive Judith Hackitt bluntly warns: “Be clear that your role is to create unease, not to provide false (re)ass...

In any facility, we always need to consider the risks and ensure we are managing them with appropriate controls to ensure process safety. Especially when we make changes, we need to ensure that different circumstances are considered.

In this episode, we discuss risk assessment. The chemical industry is a high-hazard industry. That does not mean it has to be high-risk. We have to effectively manage risk to prevent an incident, and then if prevention fails, mitigate the consequences. If we get this wrong, people die. 

In our latest episode, we sit down with Dr. Cheryl Bodnar, one of the brilliant minds behind "Contents Under Pressure," an immersive game designed to teach process safety. Discover the story behind the game and its impact on education and industry. https://contentsunderpressure.engineering.uconn.edu/ Transcript: https://chemicalprocessing.com/33010965

By following these tips, chemical facilities can enhance the effectiveness of their process-hazard reviews in the Management of Change (MoC) process, minimizing the risk of missing critical safety considerations and ensuring a robust safety management system.

In Case You Missed It edition of Process Safety with Trish and Traci. In Case You Missed It brings the written word to life. In today’s episode, Trish Kerin, the director of IChemE Safety Centre, and Stay Safe columnist for Chemical Processing, will read her column “Prepare For The Worst”, which appeared in the August 2023 edition of Chemical Processing magazine. She explains how safety training s...