Posts Categorized: Uncategorized

Last month I told you about the problems I had because the beautiful people interviewing for Qatar Airways were distracting my training. What I did not tell you last month was … the venue had a safety hazard. The hazard was temporary, and easily fixed, but that does not change the fact that it existed…. Read more »

When I talk with people about process safety, one of my favourite examples is here (http://sache.org/beacon/files/2007/04/en/read/2007-04-Beacon-s.pdf). The very idea of a Mr PotatoHead hot air balloon coming down inside a factory is just … well … it is just silly enough to be ridiculous, but ridiculous enough to be credible. The article shows how the… Read more »

John has just been awarded the title of “Fellow” from the Institution of Chemical Engineers.

With the slowing of the economy, I am finding myself with a little free time. One way I fill it is by looking at technical discussion boards and (occasionally) participating. One caught my eye recently. A person was having problems with pump cavitation, and using an online discussion board was asking for solutions. It should… Read more »

I recently received a bill for annual membership in a professional association. I am a member of four, and looking at the bill, I had to wonder … was I really getting value for money? In my previous life as an employee of a large company, my employer paid these fees, and I took them… Read more »

If one does indeed “learn from our mistakes” then we recently have learned something. I would like to share it with you. Many of you are familiar with the concept of “management of change”, possibly from the US legal system for process safety. I have recently learned that it is extremely hard to manage change…. Read more »

We have safety rules for a reason (often a very good reason). But sometimes they can cause problems. For example, I have arthritis in my feet, and I have taken to wearing sandals to better manage the pain. Normally this is not a problem, but if I call on a client, and they have footwear… Read more »

Two articles really caught my eye this month. One was from the UK (thanks to my business partner Patrick Alilovic for finding it,), which discussed risk management and aging facilities. The other was from Australia on how Shell is closing its 90-year old refinery in Sydney, reducing the number of operating oil refineries in Australia… Read more »

My wife recently upgraded her phone. And it was a MAJOR upgrade, as she had not upgraded in 4-years. She found herself using many new features, and learning about other new features that she did not fully understand … And then … I realised she was embracing change. Many organisations need to change to keep… Read more »

Many times I have come across so called “rules of thumb” in delivering my training courses. And I am surprised at how often many people “blindly” accept them – almost with the same reverence as accepting the words of a legally binding standard. I do try to drive home the point that a rule of… Read more »