Chemical Processing Distilled

Solution Spotlight: Alternative Fuels Pose Flow-Metering Challenges

The physical properties of hydrogen differ highly from other gases. Plant operators are therefore faced with major challenges due to the necessary adaptations that need to be made. To help us understand the challenges and options available, Chemical Processing spoke with Frank Flow, head of analyzer products and chemical industry at Flexim Americas Corporation.

Podcast: Study Reveals Advanced Process Control Can Degrade Operator Skills

In this podcast episode, Traci and Dave discuss a study that shows advanced process control (APC) can lead to a degradation of operator skills. The study found that after just a week of using APC, there was a 10% loss in skill level, and after two weeks, there was a 50% loss. The data suggests that operators should periodically run the plant without APC to maintain their skills. The Center for Operator Performance is researching interventions such as simulators, micro-learning and improved graphics to address this skill degradation. The integration of APC into the operator's role is also discussed as a shift in the nature of their work.

Solution Spotlight: Process Monitoring Maintains Productivity, Mitigates Downtime

Analytical equipment needs to be robust, reliable and responsive in order to detect change and enable corrective action. It also should be easy to use and provide high uptime.

When considering process organics monitoring, there’s a lot to unpack. To help make sense of all the capabilities, Chemical Processing spoke with Amanda Tyndall, senior product manager at Veolia Water Technologies and Solutions, which sponsored this episode.

Solutions Spotlight: Proper Communication Devices Are the Key to Safety

Keeping workers safe in hazardous environments requires constant communication. Add to the equation that many locations are also harsh industrial settings means ensuring the right communication equipment is appropriately rated while providing the needed functionality is paramount.

To better understand how to select the right equipment, Chemical Processing spoke with Ryan Brownlee, product manager and hazardous locations expert at Pepperl+Fuchs.

Podcast: Cybersecurity Requires Teamwork And Dispelling The Air Gap Myth

In this final episode of our three-part cybersecurity series with Matt Malone, ICS/OT cybersecurity consultant at Yokogawa, we talk about team strategy and old notions.

 

Podcast: Cybersecurity -- Don’t Get Caught In Your Underwear

Malware programs or endpoint protection programs are great tools. But in the same way that if you're a king sending an army out to battle, you're not going to have your soldiers storming the battlefield in a helmet and their underwear.

Solution Spotlight: Tips To Manage Cyber Risks

Part one of a three-part series aimed at helping you develop a sound cybersecurity plan focuses on assessments and training.

Solutions Spotlight: Proper Training, Equipment Are Keys To Safe Operations

In this episode, we're going to try and get our arms around understanding and addressing risks and how proper equipment and training are key for safe operation in hazardous areas. Joining me to share his expertise is Ryan Brownlee, Global Compliance and Technology Consultant with Pepperl+Fuchs. In that role, he provides guidance in regard to current and new technology and product compliance trends for industrial automation applications, especially for those targeting hazardous or classified areas. 

Solutions Spotlight: Structured Workflows Turn Data Into Action Items

In this episode of Solution Spotlight Traci Purdum, executive editor of Chemical Processing, speaks with Floyd Baker, vice president of Antea, a global software and services company specializing in asset integrity management software with digital twin. 

Floyd has been working in the asset integrity management industry for his entire career of over 40 years, with half of that time spent on the owner user side and the other half on services and technology. 

Solutions Spotlight: AI Transforms Sustainability, Topples Silos

No longer a warm-fuzzy concept, sustainability is increasingly becoming as good for the bottom line as it is for the environment. To explain how AI-driven solutions that target machine and process health can help with strategy and results, Chemical Processing spoke with James Newman, head of product and portfolio marketing with Augury, a production health solutions provider that combines advanced sensors with AI capabilities and human expertise.