Show Notes
Welcome to the In Case You Missed It edition of Process Safety with Trish and Traci -- the podcast that aims to share insights from past incidents to help avoid future events. I’m Traci Purdum, EIC of Chemical Processing. Please subscribe to this free podcast on your favorite platform to continue learning with Trish & me in this series. This In Case You Missed It episode brings the written word to life. Today, Trish Kerin, the director of IChemE Safety Centre, and Stay Safe columnist for Chemical Processing, will read her column “Knowledge Is Power – Or Is It?”"Knowledge is power" — a phrase commonly attributed to Francis Bacon's 1597 work Meditationes Sacrae — has endured for centuries, echoed by influential figures like Thomas Jefferson. However, this adage, while impactful, may only scratch the surface of a deeper truth.When it comes to process safety, we need people to understand a range of aspects, from the basis of design to the operating philosophy. In other words, we need them to have knowledge. Written By: Trish Kerin Read By: Trish Kerin Read Article HERE
More from Process Safety with Trish & Traci
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Our brains are wired to find meaning in incomplete information — even when there isn't any. Here's how that same shortcut that turns clouds into animals can turn ambiguous data into costly decisions, and the simple question that can snap you out of autopilot.
With federal OSHA down to roughly 1,700 inspectors for 12 million workplaces — meaning a facility might see a full inspection once every 191 years — self-regulation has effectively become the entire safety system. In this episode, Trish Kerin explains why internal teams stop noticing their own drift from procedure (normalization of deviance) and why "no incidents" doesn't mean a program is working — only that controls haven't been tested yet. She outlines practical fixes: cold-eyes audits between facilities, the three lines of defense model, and the crucial difference between assurance and reassurance. Her bottom line: good process safety isn't just compliance — it drives reliability, productivity and profit.
On this episode of Processing Safety with Trish and Traci, forensic engineer Dr. Sean Brady joins Trish Kerin and Traci Purdum to revisit Piper Alpha, the 1988 North Sea platform disaster that killed 167 workers. They trace how a lost permit-to-work, a missing relief valve, and a design never updated for gas service combined with failed firewalls, redundant systems that bred false confidence and risers that kept feeding the fire. Using the "Jenga tower" metaphor, Brady explains how safety systems degrade unnoticed until they collapse, and why organizations must dispense with likelihood and focus on consequence, controls, and leadership culture to prevent the next catastrophe.
Smart design and layout choices, made well before a crisis hits, can protect plants from cyberattacks, sabotage and extreme weather without a major capital investment. This is based on an article from Amin Almasi, "Disaster Planning in Process Plants: Best Offense is a Passive Defense," Chemical Processing, July 20, 2026