White joins San Jacinto College Process Safety Program
San Jacinto College's LyondellBasell Center for Petrochemical, Energy, & Technology welcomes the second cohort of students to its process safety certificate program this spring.
Leading the program is Julie D. White, P.E., CFSP, a professional with more than 25 years of experience in operations, process technology, and process safety management.
"The plants along the Gulf Coast are some of the safest and most well-run in the world," White said. "My goal is to help the petrochemical industry build upon success through safety processes. I enjoy sharing my experience with others, and teaching in this state-of-the-art facility is a dream."
The first course, Introduction to Process Safety, is a prerequisite to the other program courses. Unlike personnel safety, process safety deals with the identification of potential hazards and hazardous conditions associated with the processes and equipment involved in the oil, gas, and chemical process industries.
"Students in the course will spend 48 hours over three months with us predicting, identifying, and troubleshooting hazards," White said. "If we can teach operators and engineers to identify potential hazards before they happen, we can help prevent some of these larger safety incidents as we've seen in the past."
White is a fourth-generation oil and gas industry professional. Her father, an engineer, was working in Houston during the infamous 1989 explosion at the Phillips Petroleum Complex in Pasadena.
"I was away at college pursuing my degree in chemical engineering and petroleum refining when the incident happened," she said. "My father begged me not to go into such a dangerous industry. Instead of running from it, I dedicated my life to making it better. That is why I do what I do."
The program was developed in collaboration with the Texas A&M Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center, whose namesake was an operations superintendent killed in that very explosion. This center is an academic leader in process safety research and best practices.
"We are thrilled to offer these safety courses to incumbent workers from our industrial partner facilities," said Jim Griffin, CPET associate vice chancellor/senior vice president. "The incumbent workers who enter our facility work with technologically advanced custom laboratories, experienced instructors at the top of their fields, and a curriculum developed by San Jac in partnership with the Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center."
The cohort begins Jan. 31, 2022, for the Introduction to Process Safety course, and registration is now open.
Learn more about San Jac's incumbent worker training. Or call 281-476-1844.
