Break in the HUB
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Digital Transformation: Conditioning Your Workforce for Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a transformative technology that is presently influencing, or will eventually influence, nearly every facet of our personal and professional lives. Although much of the information highlights the benefits of AI, it also raises concerns about potential negative impacts and unintended consequences. It's crucial to prepare the workforce for AI to reduce disruptions. Leaders will share their experiences with AI deployments, the methods used to ensure success, and lessons learned for future AI initiatives.
Take Aways:
- Awareness of potential impacts of AI on personnel and culture
- Methods and techniques employed to achieve and sustain positive acceptance of AI
- Insights into how AI is impacting jobs and job roles and defining new valued skill sets
Moderator:
Brent Railey, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP
Speakers:
Holly Fitch, Marathon Petroleum Corporation
Tyler Harnos, Big West Oil, LLC
Siva Lakshmanan, DeepHow
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CSB Lessons Learned: Fired Heater Tubing Failure
Fired Heater, Lessons Learned
The CSB will discuss its investigation of the November 19, 2023, fired heater tube rupture at a refinery in Martinez, California. The incident occurred during the initial startup of a renewable diesel hydroprocessing unit, resulting in a fire that seriously injured one employee. Topics will include fired heater safe operating limits, worker proximity to fired heaters, safety instrumented systems that detect low process flow into fired heaters, burner operation, valve misalignments, and corporate oversight.
Participants will: Gain an understanding of both the process-side and combustion-side causes that contributed to the tube rupture; Identify potential deficiencies that may exist at their own units; and Review the CSB’s industry recommendation to API for suggested revisions to API RP 556 (Instrumentation, Control, and Protective Systems for Gas Fired Heaters).
Moderator:
Willis Jernigan, AFPM
Speaker:
Melike Yersiz, U.S. Chemical Safety Board
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Main Column Bottoms Operation and Optimization
101 Series, FCC
This session will review a collaboration between UOP and Marathon to optimize operation of the FCC bottoms section. After detecting fouling in the main column slurry pumparound packing, an innovative internals modification was implemented to minimize this in the future. This presentation will review the observed benefits of the new internals and provide an overview of key variables to monitor in the bottoms circuit.
Moderator:
Michael Allegro, BASF Corporation
Speakers:
Ryan Brown, Marathon Petroleum Corporation
Nick Turner, Honeywell UOP
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When the Standards Stop: Using FEA to Push Fitness for Service Further
Reliability and Maintenance Bootcamp, Mechanical Integrity
This technical session is designed to give engineers and maintenance professionals a practical understanding of how API-579 Level 3 Fitness-for-Service (FFS) assessments—powered by Finite Element Analysis (FEA)—can solve complex reliability challenges in the oil and gas industry.
We will introduce advanced methods for evaluating equipment with damage mechanisms like corrosion, cracking, and dents. You’ll learn when Level 3 assessments are needed, how FEA is applied, and why these techniques offer better accuracy, safer outcomes, and longer equipment life.
Highlights include:
- API-579 FFS framework and when to escalate to Level 3
- Benefits of FEA: realistic modeling of stress, temperature, and pressure
- Real-world case studies: pressure vessel corrosion, weld cracking, and pipe dents
- Key takeaways for maintenance planning and repair decisions
Tailored for a broad operator-based audience, this session uses real examples—not just theory—to demonstrate how advanced analysis can enhance reliability, reduce costs, and support critical decisions.
Moderator:
Dean Roberts, Ergon, Inc.
Speaker:
Colin Davis, Becht
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Break in the HUB
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Digital Transformation: Exploiting The Generative Artificial Intelligence Opportunity
Digitalization
Generative AI is now widely available, often integrated into existing applications and tools in our facilities. While commonly used for writing, its potential to transform routine work is immense. GenAI can significantly enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and job satisfaction by reducing effort on repetitive low-value tasks. A panel will discuss various practical use cases to showcase how GenAI is being applied in everyday operations.
Take Aways:
- Scope of capabilities represented by GenAI (Text, Graphics, Code, and more)
- Creative and practical examples of how GenAI has been effectively applied
- Insights into the attributes of a good opportunity for GenAI and implementation approaches
Moderator:
Bruce Taylor, FurtherTec
Speakers:
Ryan Byrne, Macedon Technologies
Brandon Taylor, Flatirons Digital Innovations
Andrew Vignes, HF Sinclair Corporation
Patrick Robinson, PBF Energy, Inc.
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Normalization of Deviance — The Pathway to Disaster
Reliability and Maintenance Bootcamp
In this session, we will discuss in detail the definition of Normalization of Deviance and how it has contributed to major accidents, including both Space Shuttle disasters. Examples will be provided of Normalization of Deviance in operating and maintaining process plants, as well as in our daily lives.
Participants will:
- Gain an understanding of how to stop Normalization of Deviance
- Learn how to identify and correct this behavior
- Take this concept home to apply with their families
Moderator:
Dean Roberts, Ergon Refining, Inc.
Speaker:
Rick Hoffman, Becht
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Bump it, Don't Break it!
Lessons Learned, FCC
Identifying, diagnosing and remedying catalyst losses are crucial to successful FCC operation. It is not a matter of if, but when, your FCC unit will encounter catalyst losses and whether it is small and manageable or large and unsustainable. This session will review catalyst loss fundamentals and troubleshooting followed by case studies from two units with very different outcomes.
Moderator:
Tiffany Clark, Marathon Petroleum Corporation
Speakers:
Joe Colmone, Honeywell UOP
Andishaeh Dadgar, Ketjen Corporation
Steve Gremillion, Delek US
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Diamond Sponsor: Axens Co-presentation with ExxonMobil — Reforming Heater Basics and Baytown Refinery Tube Failure
Sponsored Content
Speakers:
Amit Gupta, Heurtey Petrochem Solutions
Amanda Nelson, ExxonMobil
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