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Operational Excellence Conference Highlights Monument’s Progress in Mechanical Integrity

December 11th, 2019

In this article, we talked about emergency preparedness. In this article, let’s jump back to emergency prevention and process safety, which as mentioned, is our first line of defense for keeping each other safe.

One of the 14 elements of Process Safety is Mechanical Integrity (MI) – a big area of focus for Monument over the past couple of years. Nik Henry, Process Safety Engineer, Houston Area, recently attended an Operational Excellence Conference in Houston to share Monument’s progress in MI with a range of industry professionals. The conference was sponsored by Operational Sustainability, Monument’s partner in developing our MI plan and deliverables.

“We talked about how we built the foundation for our refreshed MI efforts, and briefly touched on how we’ve been making that plan a reality,” said Nik. “The big push started about three years ago, when Monument put together an official Process Safety Department. Previously, folks who wore many hats were supporting process safety as part of their jobs. I assumed responsibility for MI in 2018, and our work there has further proven the advancements you can make when you have technical experts focused on key areas of process safety.”

The event also served as a great process safety networking opportunity for Nik.

“I learned a lot about what other companies are doing, and I traded contact info with about a dozen industry colleagues,” said Nik. “I even spent some time with the Process Safety Manager for Calumet, who had a great presentation as well – and we made plans to get together to collaborate on efforts.”

The conference was also good exposure to the excellent work Monument has been doing at all of our sites.

“It was clear at the conference that many companies were renewing their focus on process safety because of the recent industry crises,” said Nik. “Monument was already in that mindset, and that proactivity has clearly served us well.”

A highlight for Nik was when a representative from the local water authority mentioned that she was impressed with the positive changes happening at the Bayport facility.

“We’re public and open about our efforts,” said Nik, “but it’s great to hear in person that the word is spreading about the improvements we’ve made in all aspects of operations – from process safety to compliance to waste management.”