The Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center drew record attendance at its 17th Annual International Symposium held Oct. 28-30 in College Station. More than 640 participants from industry and academia, including representatives from 31 countries, attended the symposium, which serves as the conduit for process safety research and networking.
The symposium, "Beyond Regulatory Compliance, Making Safety Second Nature," was held in association with the Institution of Chemical Engineers. The three keynote lecturers included Brian Salerno, director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement; Eamonn Naughton, group head of risk, learning and HSE at BP; and Dwight Johnston, vice president of safety, environment and social performance in Shell’s Deepwater business unit.
In addition to the highlighted keynote addresses, nearly 100 presentations were given on various safety-related topics, including safety culture/ operational discipline, risk analysis, process management for safety and inherent safety. The symposium also featured exhibits from more than 38 companies that demonstrated products, technology and software related to process safety.
The next symposium is scheduled for Oct. 27-29, 2015, in College Station. The call for papers is open with abstracts due March 13, 2015. For more information, call 979-845-5981 or 979-845-6884.