Process safety conference

The event will take place in Edinburgh over three days from 24th to 26th May 2016. Organised by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) in association with the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Centre, Hazards 26 will focus on the crucial topic of leadership and competence in process safety. Over 350 delegates are expected to participate, in a programme that will feature leading speakers from industry, academia and regulatory bodies.

This year’s conference will welcome former chief executive of Shell UK and chair of the COMAH Strategic Forum, Ken Rivers. Rivers recently led the Buncefield report, detailing progress since the disaster in 2005. Vice president of process safety at BP, Cheryl A Grounds will also be a keynote, reflecting on her 30 year career in process safety, and Alan Chesterman, Apache North Sea senior manager, will discuss the prevention of offshore major accident hazards in the UK continental shelf.

This year’s event received a record-breaking number of abstracts, up 25% on last year’s conference. The number indicates that even in tough economic times, process safety remains high on the industry agenda.

Dame Judith Hackitt, IChemE past president and chair of the HSE, said: “Process safety conferences such as Hazards 26 provide an important reminder that safety is of the utmost importance in our industry. We are all responsible for our own safety and for the safety of those around us – regardless of role, seniority or job title.”

IChemE’s Safety Centre will host a free-of-charge workshop at the event. The session will be led by centre director Trish Kerin, and Dr Sam Mannan, from the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center, in Texas, USA. It will focus on the current status of process safety worldwide - with the aim to building a future roadmap for the discipline.