Process Safety Management Best Practices Training Summit

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April 10–11, 2024

Join safety and health leaders representing the best of their industries for the only process safety management education and networking event created for top-performing companies and VPP sites. Across nine sessions led by experienced PSM professionals representing multiple industries, we’ll take a deep dive into the latest trends, challenges, and innovations to help you take your program to the next level.

The PSM Summit is a one-of-a-kind event, designed to maximize learning and networking for attendees, while minimizing time away from the site. Attendees can expect a collaborative learning environment, where their questions and real-world experiences drive the conversation in each presentation. Between sessions, connect with your peers and share your own best practices, pain points, and insights into PSM application.

PSM Summit attendees will walk away with the ability to:

  • Identify strengths and weaknesses in their site’s PSM program, and benchmark their program against others in similar industries
  • Illustrate similarities and differences between PSM elements and VPP sub-elements
  • Understand and prepare for emerging issues in PSM, including knowledge management, RAGAGEP changes, and AI.

The Process Safety Management Summit will be held April 10-11 on the campus of the Health and Safety Council outside of Houston, TX. All registered attendees are invited to attend the Health and Safety Council’s Safety Day, featuring HOP panel discussion and their annual Crawfish Boil immediately following the event!


Location

The PSM Training Summit will be held at the Health and Safety Council – Pasadena Campus. The address is 5213 Center St, Pasadena, TX 77505.

For the hotel, we recommend the Hampton Inn & Suites Houston/Pasadena located at 4741 East Sam Houston Parkway South, Pasadena, Texas, 77505.

There is no cost to park at either the hotel or the HASC facility.


Schedule

Wednesday, April 10

7:00am – 3:00pm Registration
7:30am – 8:30am Breakfast & Networking
8:30am – 8:45am Opening Remarks

8:45am – 9:45am Session: MI Management System – Our Journey

In this workshop, attendees will join Rob Walker on a journey through the development of Honeywell’s Mechanical Integrity (MI) Management System. Rob will discuss the vital role the Root Cause Analysis tool played in pinpointing not only why various equipment experienced failures, but also in revealing intrinsic issues within the MI Management system. The workshop will provide an overview of MI adherence to Recognized and Generally Acceptable Good Engineering Practices at Honeywell’s PSM and other hazardous sites.

Learning Objectives:

  • Discuss Enhanced MI Assessments through site reviews
  • Identify most common systemic failures
  • Strategize MI Management System deployment

Speaker: Rob Walker, HSE Manager, Honeywell

Rob has been with Honeywell for nearly 11 years. During his time at the company, he has been a Process Engineering Manager, Relief System Revalidation and Acceptable Discharge Location Assessment Program Manager, worked on designing PSM Top Risk Projects, and he currently works out of the corporate office specializing in PSM and Mechanical Integrity. Rob has spent most of his career focused on PSM, Process Engineering, Production Engineering, and HSE Management. Rob is an active member of the American Institute for Chemical Engineers and the Design Institute for Emergency Relief Systems. He holds B.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering & Microbiology from Virginia Tech.

9:45am – 10:00am Break

10:00am – 11:00am Session: A 20-year MOC Odyssey – Reflections on Successes and Failures

This session will review the twenty-year evolution of Management of Change at within a large industrial company. With a focus on process changes and the resulting successes and failures, this session will provide the attendees with insights and possible process improvements to incorporate into their own Management of Change program.

Learning Objectives:

  • Build a better understanding of Management Change improvement path.
  • Learn some new ideas and approaches to Management of Change.
  • Deepen appreciation of employee involvement.

Speaker: Jim Phillips, Process Safety Leader, Honeywell

Jim has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Bucknell University and an MBA from Drexel University. He has over 25 years of chemical industry experience and has been supporting PSM (Process Safety Management) efforts at Honeywell for more than a decade.

11:00am – 11:15am Break

11:15am – 12:15pm Session: Process Safety Knowledge Management

How do we retain and manage Process Safety Knowledge?

An effective Process Safety Knowledge Management (PSKM) system allows an organization to capture, organize, maintain, and deliver its technical, engineering, safety, and administrative information for maintaining a healthy workforce, for protecting the environment, and for sustaining the business. Thus, an effective PSKM system will help an organization successfully manage its risks. Initially, PSKM was based on word of mouth such as limited passing of anecdotal stories handed down from one to another almost like apprentices in trades. With the extension of Process Safety Information to Process Safety Knowledge, there is an intentional and systematic processing of facts, records, and information management. It is important to understand the reasoning behind the action and not simply to replicate it. Similarly, an organization intentionally moves from data to information to knowledge and finally to wisdom. Knowledge in an organization can be classified as explicit and tacit knowledge. Explicit knowledge consists of facts, rules, and policies codified in paper or electronic form. Tacit knowledge, however, is highly personal, context-specific, and therefore hard to formalize and communicate. Tacit knowledge in an organization is essentially human capital, whereas explicit knowledge is structural capital. The purpose of this panel is to discuss how organizations can build a robust PSKM system to transition tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge so that while people change the company can build an organizational memory, hence can effectively retain and manage its process safety knowledge.

Learning Objectives:

  • Define what is PSKM.
  • Understand how an effective PSKM program can be established.
  • Discover improvement areas for an existing PSKM system in any organization.

Panel Discussion

Tim Belitz, Facilitator, with Dr. Tekin Kunt participating.

12:15pm – 1:15pm Lunch & Networking

1:15pm – 2:15pm Session: PSM Program Performance Management

PSM Program implementation in an organization includes various elements addressing OSHA PSM Standard (29 CFR 1910.11) requirements. The PSM Program compliance against the OSHA PSM Standard is checked at least every three years through Compliance Audits. As a best practice though, the performance of the PSM Program should be checked on a continuous basis. Like managing and benchmarking business performance, organizations are interested in benchmarking their performance in process safety. For a reliable benchmarking study, companies need two datasets: 1) internal metrics, and 2) averages for the same metrics in the relevant industries. Usually, it is easier to access lagging performance indicators for safety since companies need to report them often due to regulatory requirements. It is more difficult to access leading indicators, even as internal metrics since they are not consistently recorded in the same organization. In this talk, we will explore what options we have, as safety professionals, for measuring how our organization’s safety record compares to others in the same industry. The purpose of this talk is not necessarily to provide “a solution,” but to explore practical options available to safety professionals in various organizations.

Learning Objectives:

  • Define internal metrics to track PSM Program’s performance.
  • Understand how these metrics compare to external metrics in terms of lagging and leading indicators.
  • Discover improvement areas for the PSM Program in an organization.

Speaker: Dr. Tekin Kunt, Director, EMEA, PSRG Inc.

Dr. Tekin Kunt, Director at PSRG received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland at College Park, Maryland in Chemical Engineering and has over twenty-six (26) years of experience as a Senior Process Safety and Risk Engineer, Senior Product Line Manager, and Director of Research and Development in chemical process industries. Dr. Kunt conducted multiple OSHA PSM and EPA RMP audits as well as Process Hazard Analysis studies including HAZOP, Structured What-If, Bowtie, and LOPA methodologies. He also worked on multiple PSM Program assessment and improvement projects for various clients globally. He is a Senior Member of American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and is a Certified Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) Facilitator. Dr. Kunt is based in Houston, Texas and works globally covering Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region for PSRG.

2:15pm – 2:30pm Break

2:30pm – 3:30pm Session: RAGAGEP – Emerging Issues

Identifying and Monitoring for Changes

Since the inception of OSHA PSM and EPA RMP, companies have struggled with the concept and management of RAGAGEP. As time passes, RAGAGEP changes and these changes can have large impacts to the quantification and control of process risk and can result in compliance issues if not managed appropriately. This session will give an overview of RAGAGEP, explore recent changes to commonly used codes and standards, and share some recommended practices for managing your chosen RAGAGEP.

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand what RAGEGEP is
  • Learn about some recent changes to RAGAGEP
  • Explore some good practices for managing RAGAGEP and what to do when it changes

Speaker: Nathan Obaugh, Manager Process Safety, NuStar Energy

Nathan Obaugh started his engineering career in 2009 with Valero refining company, working in the process design group at the Valero, Texas City refinery. Since then, he has heled various process engineering and PSM roles for EPC firms, DuPont, and for the last 5 years, NuStar Energy. Nathan currently leads the PSM program for NuStar Energy and works to maintain PSM compliance and drive continuous improvement in process safety. Nathan graduated from the University of Houston with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and is a registered professional engineer in Texas and California.

3:30pm – 3:45pm Break

3:45pm – 4:45pm Session: Ask Us Anything

Open Audience Q&A with All Event Speakers

This discussion will include all the experts that have been giving presentations and participating on our panels. Years and Years of experience will be at your disposal to answer the hard questions. Ever have a PSM question and did not know where to turn and google was no help? Well this session is designed to take those questions straight on and provide you with workable answers. How do you know where you are on the PSM VPP Journey? What would VPP do to help my PSM program?

Learning Objectives:

  • Answer any burning questions you may have. Nothing is too large or too small.
  • Drive continual improvement of your PSM/VPP program through stimulating thought and conversation.
  • Learn something new for the expert panelist – bring something home.

Facilitated by Tim Belitz

Attendees should come with questions and an open mind to discuss and learn something new.

Thursday, April 11

7:00am – 1:00pm Registration
7:30am – 8:30am Breakfast & Networking

8:30am – 9:30am Session: Improving Hazard Analysis Through VPP & PSM – How They Fit Together

This session will not only cover the relationship between a VPP management system and a PSM Management System but will also dig deep into Hazard Analysis. Providing examples of how PSM and VPP work together and while not necessarily using the same language can use each other to make improvements in both programs. Hazard Analysis is the basis to reducing risk at a facility. The skills and techniques required to conduct useful analysis are very important. This session will provide the attendee with approaches for both PSM and VPP systems.

Learning Objectives:

  • Build a better understanding of how VPP aligns with PSM.
  • Learn some new ideas and approaches to Hazard Analysis.
  • Deeper Understanding of VPP Hazard Analysis requirements.

Speaker: Tim Belitz, HSE Director, Honeywell

Tim has a degree in Environmental Health/Industrial Hygiene from Old Dominion University and a master’s from Duke University. He has over 25 years of Industrial Health Safety and Environmental Experience and is a Certified Safety Professional. He has many years focused on Contractor Management and Process Safety programs.

9:30am – 9:45am Break

9:45am – 10:45am Session: OSHA’s VPP PSM Supplement B Results and Discussion

In 2008, OSHA developed a series of VPP PSM Supplemental forms to be completed by companies whose processes were covered by OSHA’s PSM standard. This session will focus primarily on VPP PSM Supplement B, the different kinds of information collected by this tool, and a summary of some of the data analyzed from the 2022 Supplement. This workshop is intended to be an interactive discussion about the information collected in Supplement B, how OSHA uses the tool, the purposes for including questions about various subjects, and what the future of the Supplement may look like.

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand the purpose and use of OSHA’s VPP PSM Supplements.
  • Learn about the various types of information collected in PSM Supplement B.
  • Discuss how OSHA currently uses the information collected by the annual Supplement B and provide input for future Supplement B topics and concepts.

Speaker: Jacqueline Annis, Industrial Hygienist, OSHA

Jackie has been with OSHA for 37 years, including five years as a senior industrial hygienist in OSHA’s Office of Health Enforcement, Directorate of Enforcement Programs in the National Office and 17 years as a compliance safety and health officer in Denver, CO. Jackie has worked as an industrial hygienist with the Office of Partnerships and Recognition, Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs in OSHA’s National Office for the last 14 years. Jackie’s primary responsibilities include developing and overseeing policies and procedures for the VPP; reviewing VPP on-site evaluation reports for process safety management information; overseeing the development of OSHA’s annual VPP PSM Supplement B and analyzing the results; serving as the National Office liaison for two of OSHA’s ten Regions; and facilitating the management of OSHA’s National Strategic Partnership Program.

10:45am – 11:00am Break

11:00am – 12:00pm Session: AI and PSM – How do we manage intelligence in Process Safety?

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in process safety management has garnered significant attention in recent years. The purpose of this panel is to provide an initial review of the utilization of AI techniques and methodologies in enhancing process safety across various industries. Some highlights would include key advancements in AI-driven risk assessment, real-time monitoring, incident prediction, and decision support systems. We will examine the role of machine learning, neural networks, and data analytics in analyzing complex process data to identify potential hazards and anomalies. Furthermore, we will discuss challenges associated with AI implementation in process safety, including data quality, model interpretability, and regulatory compliance. The panel will offer insights into the current state, potential benefits, and future directions of AI-driven process safety initiatives.

Learning Objectives:

  • Define what is Artificial (or augmented) Intelligence is.
  • Understand how AI can be applied in PSM.
  • Discuss how an existing PSM program can be improved using the latest AI tools.

Panel Discussion

Tekin to Facilitate.

12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunch & Networking
1:00pm – 2:30pm HOP Panel Discussion
2:30pm – 5:30pm Crawfish Boil