Co-authored by John Murphy, Ronald J. Willey, and Arthur Baulch.
In recognition of process safety excellence, this interview series was created to highlight process safety legends who have had a profound impact on the field of process safety.
Each legend followed a unique career path. All the legends had mentors to assist them in their careers, none had any university training in process safety, and all credited AIChE’s Loss Prevention Symposium and Global Congress on Process Safety (GCPS) for contributing to their success.
AIChE’s Loss Prevention Symposium (LPS) is one of several parallel symposia that are part of the Global Congress on Process Safety (GCPS). LPS focuses on process safety technology, including new developments, cutting-edge solutions, and innovative/novel approaches to hazard identification and risk assessment/management.
In the interview below, process safety legend John Herber discusses the path that led to his process safety career, the importance of process safety, the role of mentors, and more.
How and when did you initially become interested in process safety as a career?
My interest in process safety began when I was assigned to be the engineering manager for a business using solvent recovery units. One unit had a serious vessel failure caused by a lack of process-focused design reviews. Post-event, the rebuild team made a concerted effort to use process safety tools, especially hazard analysis to ensure that the redesign would prevent the previous incident and would allow safe, sustainable operation in the future. I had been aware of process safety from my days working in 3M’s chemical businesses, but this was the first time when I was responsible for operations that were covered by process safety. This unit’s process safety implementation became the template for many process safety management systems around the company. Later, as the engineering manager for a large manufacturing site, I chaired the process safety management element of 3M’s safety management system. That experience taught me how challenging it is to build a functional PSM program. My next position was in our corporate safety group. A portion of my job function was to manage the safe design and operation of emission control equipment, thermal oxidizers, and carbon absorption units. The other part of the job was supporting process safety across 3M’s global operations. It was then that my process safety education seriously began. It was also my introduction to Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS).
Briefly describe the major events in your career in process safety.
There have been several major events that have shaped my process safety approach across the years. The most impactful was the assignment to rebuild a process building and equipment after a serious explosion with three fatalities. I knew two of the maintenance people who were fatally injured. I attended the funeral of one. When I met the widow, I expressed my condolences, and she told me “to do whatever I could to prevent this from happening again.” In retrospect, this may have had a greater impact on me than I ever realized.
A second serious event was an incident investigation of an explosion in the plant where I started my career. Fortunately, there were few injuries and no fatalities. I was assigned to the investigation team. Needless to say, it was a very steep learning curve. The investigation team’s deliberate approach to gathering information, interviews, and technical analysis taught me a lot about dealing with post-incident concerns and excellent incident investigation skills.
Why is process safety important?
I often feel that explaining why process safety is important is like trying to explain air to a 2-year-old. It’s something you just need. Some of the businesses I supported while at 3M were a lower hazard and did not require many of the process safety management tools. However, I found that better information on their process and an understanding of the variables of the systems and equipment made their processes more productive and safer. Another missing element in non-PSM operations is diligent management of change. People frequently made changes without looking deeper at the larger picture from a risk perspective.
It is often said that process safety provides the plant’s license to operate. Since the initiation of PSM in 1992, enforcement of government regulations has increased. While regulatory compliance is one driver, another impact of poor PSM performance is the public outrage that occurs after an incident. You only have to read about Chevron’s Richmond refinery (2012) incident to realize that the public can interrupt your operations significantly following an incident.
Did you have any mentors over the course of your career, and what role did they play?
My dad was my first mentor. He worked in HVAC construction, often as the contractor superintendent. As such, he worked closely with engineers during installation. He gave me a perspective of engineering from the installation and start-up perspective. One of his recommendations to me as a ChE student, was to listen closely to the operators and maintenance people because they know how the equipment works and how it fails. This advice was helpful during the design and installation of chemical processes in various manufacturing plants.
Another mentor from my first plant assignment was Roeland Reyers, the plant engineer. As a new grad who was assigned to start up a process that had been idle for over 18 months, I sought his help to understand the design of the system and what was needed to prepare the equipment to restart. He was very willing to spend time with me as a rookie. He and I crossed paths several times during my career, and he was always encouraging of my technical development.
Brain Kelly has been a constant mentor and friend. We have shared our thoughts across many process safety topics. While on some we debated, on others we “violently agreed.” I have also been lucky to work closely with Dennis Hendershot as a co-instructor and on the Beacon committee. Discussions with Dennis are always insightful.
The interview continues
Read the responses to several more questions about John’s areas of specialty, his formal chemical engineering education, his proudest achievements, and more in the article “The Stories of Four More Process Safety Legends,” which was published in the September 2023 issue (Volume 42, Issue 3) of Process Safety Progress.
This article is available under the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND license and permits non-commercial use of the work as published, without adaptation or alteration provided the work is fully attributed.