The Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) — an industry technical alliance of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) — partnered with the European Process Safety Center (EPSC) on an innovative conference that applied concepts of big data analytics to improve process safety performance in the chemicals, petrochemicals, and allied industries. The European Conference on Process Safety and Big Data was held on October 5–6, 2016, at the DECHEMA House in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and attracted process safety practitioners and leaders from more than 60 international organizations. Companies sponsoring the event included Siemens, Petrotechnics, Orpic, Rolls Royce, Sphera Solutions, Cefic, and Total.
Thirty-five subject matter experts from industry, academia, and government agencies shared their knowledge with the international audience of engineers, plant designers, and company leaders. The sessions incorporated concepts of big data — the application of online process information to business — into an array of chemical industry activities to promote safe industrial and workplace practices.
In evaluating the conference and CCPS’s collaboration with EPSC, Shakeel Kadri, Executive Director of CCPS, said, “We have just scratched the surface as we embark on a shared journey to explore process safety improvement through big data analytics.” He added, “both CCPS and EPSC are very pleased with the enthusiastic interactions we witnessed at this event, and will continue to explore similar events in the future.”
Pol Hoorelbeke, Vice Président of Safety Management for Total and an EPSC board member, echoed Kadri’s sentiments. He added that, in addition to the program content, the conference was successful “in bringing together people from ESPC and CCPS, working together for the purpose of a safer world.”
Another participant, Christian Schacht, Technologist at Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH, expressed his enthusiasm for ideas he acquired at the conference, including the potential benefits of industry-wide standardized data streams for plant operations. “In principle, one might be able to take it a step further and think about compatibility not only between sites but between companies, to really start adapting best practices and sharing process safety across the whole industry, said Schacht.
The European Conference on Process Safety and Big Data is just one event in a slate of annual and international conferences organized by AIChE and CCPS for the benefit of chemical engineers, academic researchers, and business leaders interested in developing safe industrial processes and instilling a culture of safe practices in the chemical, petrochemical, and allied industries.
Information about the Center for Chemical Process Safety’s upcoming conferences and other programs is available at www.aiche.org/ccps/.
Information about the Center for European Process Safety Center is available at http://www.epsc.org/.
About CCPS
CCPS is a not-for-profit corporate membership organization within AIChE, with over 190 members, that identifies and addresses process safety needs in the chemical, pharmaceutical and petroleum industries. CCPS brings together manufacturers, government agencies, consultants, academics and insurers to lead the way in improving process safety. Members, working in project subcommittees, define and develop useful, time-tested guidelines that have practical applications that run the gamut from human factors to qualitative and quantitative risk analysis to security vulnerability to inherently safety design. With more than 100 publications, CCPS is at the forefront of efforts to improve process safety performance. More information about CCPS is available at www.aiche.org/ccps.
About AIChE
AIChE is a professional society of 53,000 chemical engineers in 110 countries. Its members work in corporations, universities and government using their knowledge of chemical processes to develop safe and useful products for the benefit of society. Through its varied programs, AIChE continues to be a focal point for information exchange on the frontiers of chemical engineering research in such areas as energy, sustainability, biological and environmental engineering, nanotechnology and chemical plant safety and security. More information about AIChE is available at www.aiche.org.