Chemical Processing Magazine

Want better-trained operators? Stop wasting time on the wrong things. 🎯
If you're in manufacturing or process industries, you know that when things go wrong, your operators need to respond FAST. But most training programs are setting them up to fail.
Here's the problem: We train people in ideal conditions, then expect them to perform perfectly during emergencies when equipment is down, alarms are screaming, and nothing is going according to plan.
5 game-changers for operator training:
✅ Practice until it's automatic - Critical skills should be so ingrained that operators don't even have to think. Like driving home on autopilot.
✅ Drill the hard stuff repeatedly - If a decision has safety or economic consequences, practice it 5 times in an hour, not once.
✅ Don't make them memorize everything - Give them reference sheets and checklists so they can focus on the TASK, not trying to remember numbers.
✅ Train for the worst days - What happens when backup equipment is out for maintenance? When you're at half capacity? Train for reality, not perfection.
✅ Keep them engaged - Ask questions constantly during training. Passive learning = poor retention.
The difference between a well-trained operator and a poorly-trained one can literally be the difference between a safe shutdown and a catastrophic incident.
Worth thinking about as we start 2026. 💭 Listen to the podcast now: https://www.chemicalprocessing.com/podcasts/distilled-podcast/podcast/55343199/master-5-critical-guidelines-for-effective-operator-training

Podcast: Master 5 Critical Guidelines for Effective Operator Training Dave Strobhar, founder of the Center for Operator Performance, explains how to build automatic responses, maximize practice, and keep trainees actively engaged.

🎧 Our final podcast episode of 2025 is here!
This week on Process Safety with Trish and Traci, we sat down with Hayley Little, a UK-based process safety engineer who's doing something admirable — tracking every major industrial incident that happens around the world, quarter by quarter.
We talked about: • How confined space incidents keep claiming multiple lives • Why the next generation of engineers needs better training • Using AI and virtual reality to make safety training more accessible • Getting critical safety information to maintenance workers and operators, not just engineers
As Trish and Hayley both said in the episode: "You can't do process safety sitting behind a desk." It requires engagement at every level, from the CEO to the newest operator.
Thanks to Hayley for joining us and for her incredible work making process safety more visible and accessible to everyone. This is what the future of safety looks like. 💪
Listen to the full episode at https://www.chemicalprocessing.com/process-safety-w-trish-traci/podcast/55336988/young-engineer-champions-process-safety-via-social-media

Young Engineer Champions Process Safety Via Social Media Hayley Little shares her LinkedIn project tracking global incidents quarterly, using AI and virtual reality innovation ideas.

🏆 Meet the Technologies Transforming Chemical Manufacturing
The 2025 Vaaler Awards just recognized three innovations that are changing how chemical plants operate—and making them safer in the process.
The Winners:
Yokogawa Electric Corp. developed an AI system that actually learns how to control chemical processes on its own. One plant in Japan ran autonomously for 35 consecutive days using this technology. The AI makes adjustments through trial and error (up to 30 experiments per second!) while staying within safe boundaries.
Sherwin-Williams created a coating that solves a massive industry headache: corrosion under insulation. Instead of wrapping pipes and equipment in traditional insulation that can trap moisture and cause corrosion, this spray-on coating insulates while keeping water away from metal surfaces.
Flowserve built a pump that's virtually leak-proof for handling the most dangerous chemicals. It's the first magnetic drive pump with double sealing—so even if something goes wrong, hazardous fluids stay contained. Plus, the bearings never wear out.
These technologies address real problems: the shortage of skilled operators, equipment that corrodes and fails, and the constant risk of dangerous chemical leaks.
The Vaaler Awards have been recognizing game-changing innovations in chemical processing for over 50 years, honoring the legacy of industry pioneer John C. Vaaler.
Innovation like this is why chemical manufacturing keeps getting safer and more efficient. 👏
Want to learn more about how these technologies work? Check out the full story: https://www.chemicalprocessing.com/awards/vaaler-awards/article/55336259/innovation-honored-ai-control-advanced-coatings-and-leak-proof-pumps-earn-2025-vaaler-awards

Innovation Honored: AI Control, Advanced Coatings and Leak-Proof Pumps Earn 2025 Vaaler Awards Yokogawa, Sherwin-Williams and Flowserve recognized for technologies that enhance safety and efficiency in chemical processing.

🏆 Congratulations to the 2025 Vaaler Awards Winners!
Chemical Processing has announced three groundbreaking innovations that are transforming chemical plant operations:
Flowserve takes the Fluid Flow Category with their INNOMAG TB-MAG Dual Drive—the first magnetic drive pump to feature true secondary containment technology. This innovation eliminates leaks when handling hazardous materials while consuming up to 45% less energy than traditional sealless pumps.
Sherwin-Williams wins the Miscellaneous Category for their Heat-Flex Advanced Energy Barrier (AEB), a spray-applied coating that tackles corrosion under insulation (CUI). This solution replaces bulky, mineral-based insulation while maintaining operating temperatures up to 350°F, improving both safety and sustainability.
Yokogawa secures the Instrumentation & Control Category with their Factorial Kernel Dynamic Policy Programming (FKDPP)—an AI-powered reinforcement learning algorithm that brings autonomous optimization to complex industrial processes, enhancing productivity, quality, and energy efficiency.
These innovations represent the future of safer, more efficient, and more sustainable chemical processing. Kudos to all the winners for advancing our industry!
Learn more about the innovations and why they are called the Vaaler awards: https://www.chemicalprocessing.com/industrynews/news/55326137/chemical-processing-announces-2025-vaaler-awards-winners

Chemical Processing Announces 2025 Vaaler Awards Winners Innovations from Flowserve, Sherwin-Williams and Yokogawa win for advancing safety, efficiency and automation in chemical processing plants.

This Halloween, we're putting together a special slideshow featuring the real "horrors" of chemical engineering: those scenarios that make your heart skip a beat when you get paged at 3 a.m., the near-misses that still haunt you and the what-ifs that keep you vigilant on the plant floor.
Participate in our anonymous poll:

What Keeps You Up At Night? We want to hear from you! We all face unique challenges and concerns in our day-to-day work—from process safety incidents to regulatory nightmares, equipment failures to quality...

Congratulations to Editor Traci Purdum for winning a 2025 Eddie Award for her column "Lax Regulations Burn Rivers." https://www.chemicalprocessing.com/environmental-protection/blog/55284603/lax-regulations-burn-rivers

We are honored to announce that multiple teams here at EndeavorB2B have won multiple awards at the FOLIO: Eddie & Ozzie Awards, celebrating outstanding journalism, design, and storytelling.

Chemical Processing Magazine: Eddie Award – Top B2B Column/Blog
Bulk Transporter: Eddie Award – Best Single Article, B2B, Travel/Transportation
Architectural Products: Ozzie Award – Photography, B2B
Pharma Manufacturing: Ozzie Award – Best Table of Contents Design

These awards are nice, but more importantly, we want to celebrate the dedication, creativity, and journalistic excellence of our teams across the EndeavorB2B network. Congratulations to all who contributed to this success.

A heartfelt congratulations to everyone who made this possible, and a very special shoutout to our CEO, Chris Ferrell, who has been inducted into the Folio: Hall of Fame for his visionary leadership.

The latest Distilled podcast episode details the Aguinda v. Texaco, Inc. contamination lawsuit and the RICO lawsuit filed by Chevron against the lead attorney in the case. Podcast guest Dave Russell was a witness for Chevron.

Dave was hired in 2003 to travel to Ecuador to inspect the contamination site in question and provide his expert opinion on how to remediate the contamination and the associated costs. During Dave’s due diligence, he realized that the contamination in question wasn’t from Texaco/Chevron (the company had pulled out of Ecuador years prior). He testified in court to this fact, and his testimony was one of the pieces that led to an attorney's disbarment.

Podcast: Jungle Fumble - The Ecuador Lawsuit Against Texaco/Chevron Environmental consultant discusses massive fraud in $9.5 billion Ecuador lawsuit against Chevron, revealing fabricated evidence and judicial corruption.

In this episode, Trish and Traci discuss two major BP incidents: the 2005 Texas City Refinery explosion that killed 15 workers when an overfilled tower created a geyser of hot raffinate that ignited, and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 workers and caused the largest U.S. marine oil spill when cement failed to properly seal a well. Key factors included faulty equipment, misleading indicators, inappropriate safety messaging and failure to learn from near-misses. These tragedies led to industry-wide improvements, including standardized process safety metrics, occupied building risk assessments, and better hazard management.

Deadly Lessons from BP Disasters | Process Safety with Trish & Traci Remembering the human toll of Texas City and Deepwater Horizon and applying those lessons learned can prevent similar tragedies. In this episode, Trish and Traci discuss two major BP incidents: the 2005 Texas City Refinery explosion that killed 15 workers when an overfilled tower created a geyser of...

Need a break? Test your chemical regulations knowledge:

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