FCC Roadshow introduces new era in safety respons…

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FCC Roadshow introduces

new era in safety response,
prevention
BY NANCY FORD, CONTRIBUTING WRITER JANUARY 1, 2024 12:00 AM

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In a proactive effort to prioritize the
safety and welfare of petrochem workers,
a dedicated group of fluid catalytic
cracking (FCC) experts has launched what
they have dubbed the "FCC Roadshow."

Understanding the paramount significance of

safety to the petrochemical industry and
industries at large, this innovative initiative aims
to bolster worker well-being and industry
standards.

Recognizing that nothing is more valuable to the

petrochemical industry than the safety and well-
being of its workers, a group of fluid catalytic
cracking leaders have devised an FCC Roadshow.

A suite of tools for senior level operators, the FCC

Roadshow provides a high-level overview of the
customizable, easy-to-implement tools developed
in response to recommendations from major
industry events.

Roadshow participant Nikolas Larsen, FCC and

alkylation technology manager with Marathon
Petroleum, describes FCC as "a dynamic and high
temperature process" that’s been around since the
mid-20th century.

"We know that abnormal events can get out of

hand and quickly lead to personal or process
safety events," Larsen said, discussing the
Roadshow in an industry roundtable presented by
BIC Magazine. "Historically, this led to the
development of safety instrument systems and
shutdown systems."

Larsen recalled a time "back in the old days" when

an operator might be distracted or "in the
bathroom" when the air blower shuts down,
leading to "plumes on a stack."

More recently, Larsen said, incidents have

highlighted risk during non-normal operation.

"The one thing we’ve noticed with high profile

process safety events in FCC is that they’ve been
related to non-normal operation — not something
breaking when the unit is just running along," he
said. "We realized we have a blind spot here and
we need to put more focus on transient operation
of FCC."

That realization, coupled with dedication to

reducing incidents by evolving safety regimens,
led to the development of the FCC Roadshow.

Ziad Jawad, director of FCC Technology with

Phillips 66, has joined Larsen as an FCC Roadshow
presenter.

Jawad explained that Roadshow meetings are

designed to be easily accessible to personnel who
would most benefit from the curricula.

"Simplified" and "easy to use" best describe the

resource content, he said.

"We’re going to have regional meetings within an

hour of the refinery so the people that need to be
there can attend," Jawad said.

"The gap we have is that the right people haven’t

been seeing the information," noted Roadshow co-
presenter, Richard Grove, FCC enthusiast and
global manufacturing process technology expert
for Chevron. "So we’re going to try to get this
information out to the unit level so they can take
advantage of these learnings."

Jawad agreed with Grove’s assessment.

"The people who attend often haven’t been to

these conferences before — you don’t see them
taking a flight and staying at a hotel," Jawad said.
"These are the people who are too important to
leave the refinery — the operations supervisors,
senior operators, senior board operators and
procedure writers."

The one-day Roadshow seminar "will be easily

accessible," Jawad continued, offering resources
including practice shares — a toolbox of
documents that reference the body of knowledge
presented by subject matter experts that
attendees can take back to the refinery to
implement.

"There will also be action plans to help attendees

best implement shared practices," Jawad said.

Jawad encouraged Roadshow attendees to use the

tools and "make a change."

Director of Process Technology, Joe Colmone,

with Delek US and Roadshow co-presenter
emphasized that leaders should choose dialoguing
instead of dictating when communicating with
their workers.

"Leaders need to enable their staff and listen to

their struggles," Colmone said. "I think having
real-world examples helps. They need to be heard,
rather than be told what needs to be done."

Larsen endorsed the "long history of industry

working together to try to learn from incidents
that happen across our industry."

Larsen and his FCC Roadshow co-presenters

"have been communicating and collaborating with
one another for more than 10 years, focusing on
improving internal standards and processes, and
taking those lessons back to our specific
companies," he said.

Nonetheless, despite best efforts, incidents

 continue to happen, "So we’re out here trying to
do more," Larsen said.

A dedicated website for the Roadshow is currently

in the works. Meanwhile, panel moderator Lara
Swett, VP of Technical and Safety Programs with
AFPM, said questions may be directed
to fccsafetyworkshop@afpm.org or by calling (202)
457-0480.

TAGS
FEATURE CURRENT ISSUE

HEALTH, SAFETY & ENVIRONMENTAL

BY NANCY FORD, CONTRIBUTING WRITER JANUARY 1, 2024 12:00 AM

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