Roundtable: The reality of process safety risk

Greg Cline is a Principal Market Analyst for the Aberdeen Group. As the head of research for Aberdeen Group’s Product Innovation and Engineering (PIE) and Manufacturing research practices, he covers topics related to development and manufacturing of products, ranging from new product development to embedded systems. Previously, Greg spent 17 yr as a market intelligence manager and strategic product analyst at Intel Corporation, where he provided market insight to senior executives and managers. In addition, he spent 12 yr at globally respected market research firms, such as Yankee Group, IDC Government and In-Stat. Mr. Cline has an MS degree in computer and information systems from Dartmouth College.

Kelly Keim retired as Chief Process Safety Engineer from ExxonMobil Research and Engineering after more than 33 yr. After 15 yr in several levels of management in operations and maintenance, Mr. Keim found his passion in process safety. In his final years, Mr. Keim had the lead role in revamping ExxonMobil’s tools and methods for assessing and managing the risk of operating hazards with the highest potential consequences, such as BLEVE, toxic releases and vapor cloud explosions. Mr. Keim was part of a team receiving the Harry M. West Service Award for contributions made to the process safety center, as well as the Trevor Kletz Merit Award for contributions to the field of process safety.

Mike Neill is the president of Petrotechnics North America. With his 35-year background in operations working for BP and throughout his career at Petrotechnics, Mr. Neill has helped improve safety and performance management for oil and gas organizations around the world. He is a member of CCPS, AIChE, GPA, ASSE, AFPM and OESI, and an active member of the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center steering committee at Texas A&M University.

Jeff Thomas is a Senior Process Safety and Reliability Engineer for the Process Improvement Institute. He has more than 40 yr of experience in the upstream oil and gas industry, including positions in process/ facilities engineering, production operations and PSM. He has a BS degree in chemical engineering from Ohio State University, and is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Texas. Mr. Thomas spent numerous years in roles as a process engineer and operations support advisor for gas plants, offshore platforms and other upstream operating facilities. He has significant experience in process safety, where he was the Leading Global Technical Authority for ExxonMobil’s production company.