Process Safety with Trish & Traci

Leading Safely in a VUCA World

When economic pressures mount, safety vigilance can quietly erode — and that's when incidents happen. In this episode, process safety expert Trish Kerin introduces APTBED, a practical decision-making framework for navigating volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous times. The acronym covers six critical areas: Authority (know who's in charge), Psychological Safety (create space for honest information), Tacit and Explicit Knowledge (bring all knowledge into the room), Biases (recognize and manage cognitive blind spots), Expectations (manage them or people will fill the void), and Document Decisions (if it's not written down, it never happened). Good decisions and strong safety culture aren't mutually exclusive — even in a crisis.

When Level Nozzle Placement and Operator Behavior Collide

When operators inevitably push levels to their limits, a poorly placed vapor inlet nozzle can turn a routine excursion into a tower-wrecking event.

Could vs. Should: What 'Jurassic Park' Can Teach Us About Process Safety

In this episode, Stay Safe Columnist Trish Kerin reads her latest article for Chemical Processing. She's a proud GenXer, and she points out that a line from Dr. Ian Malcolm cuts to the heart of a critical distinction in process safety — the difference between what we are allowed to do and what we ought to do. You can read the column here.

When Nature Attacks: Preparing Chemical Facilities for NATECH Events

When natural disasters strike industrial facilities, the results can be catastrophic — and most companies aren't ready. In this episode of Process Safety with Trish and Traci, Trish Kerin and Traci Purdum explore NATECH events, where natural hazards collide with industrial risk. Drawing on real incidents including Arkema in Crosby, Texas, BioLab in Lake Charles and the Fukushima disaster, they examine why facilities consistently underestimate natural hazard risk, how to build truly complete ride-out and recovery plans, and why traditional PHAs fall short for NATECH scenarios. Kerin's bottom line: assume the event will happen, and prepare accordingly.

Human Factors Engineering: Designing Systems Around Our Limitations

Chernobyl, Bhopal, Three Mile Island, Deepwater Horizon, Texas City — What do they have in common? Human error or human factors were identified as contributing to the incidents. But what are these factors?

Understanding how people actually perceive, decide and act is essential to preventing catastrophic industrial accidents and everyday errors.

This In Case You Missed It episode brings the written word to life from the column: 

Human Factors Engineering: Designing Systems Around Our Limitations

Revalidating Process Hazard Analysis: Getting Real Value

In this episode, Trish Kerin and Traci Purdum explore process hazard analysis revalidations and how to make them more effective. Kerin explains the difference between redoing a PHA and revalidating existing assessments, introducing the Delta HAZOP methodology that focuses on creeping change in facilities. She discusses triggers for revalidation, from legislative requirements to significant operational changes, and emphasizes the importance of selecting the right team and methodology. Kerin highlights how AI and machine learning can help gather data and identify trends, while stressing that human expertise remains essential. The key takeaway: approach revalidations with rigor and discipline, not as tick-box exercises, to truly identify hazards and manage risk effectively.

Calculate Risk to Capture Reward

Applying risk management principles helps Process Safety Engineer Trish Kerin navigate her first successful year of self-employment. Listen in as Trish brings her January column to life. You can read her column here.

Challenger Disaster 40 Years Later: The Deadly Cost of Reversing Safety Burden

Engineers couldn't prove danger, so managers launched anyway. Seven astronauts died when O-rings failed in freezing temperatures. Apply the lessons learned to help avoid future incidents.

 

Three Key Takeaways:

1. Reverse the burden of proof: Require positive proof that something is safe before proceeding, rather than forcing engineers to prove it's unsafe.
2. Simplify safety communication: Complex data failed to convince decision-makers, but a simple demonstration (O-ring in ice water) made the danger crystal clear.
3. Protect technical authority: Engineers need more than just formal authority to stop unsafe operations — they need genuine psychological safety to exercise that power without career consequences.

Bird’s-Eye View Prevents Process Safety Groundings

This In Case You Missed It episode brings the written word to life. Today, Trish Kerin, the director of Lead Like Kerin, and Stay Safe columnist for Chemical Processing, will read her column "Bird’s-Eye View Prevents Process Safety Groundings," which was published to chemicalprocessing.com on Dec. 17, 2025.

Young Engineer Champions Process Safety Via Social Media

In this year-end episode, hosts Trish Kerin and Traci Purdum welcome Hayley Little, a U.K.-based process safety engineer who tracks quarterly catastrophic incidents on LinkedIn. The discussion explores origin stories in process safety, the critical gap in fundamental safety knowledge outside petrochemical industries, and the alarming frequency of preventable incidents in lower-hazard sectors. They discuss innovative solutions including AI tools, virtual reality training and social media outreach to democratize process safety education. The conversation emphasizes the urgent need for better university training, field presence over desk work and human factors integration to make it easier to "accidentally get it right."