The Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) Trinidad and Tobago recently held its third annual regional meeting, under the theme “Learn from Experience.”
At the event, Maurice Massiah, representing the Board of Engineering of Trinidad and Tobago (BOETT), cited alarming data showing a rising trend in process safety incidents, some involving multiple fatalities in process plants. He urged that registration of engineers with BOETT be made mandatory.
“There is a critical role that BOETT plays in the management of Process Safety Systems, by ensuring that registered engineers are deemed competent to do their jobs. Our engineers are involved in a myriad of activities: design, maintenance, academia, consultancy, plant operations, construction, commissioning, project etc, yet not all of our engineers in Trinidad and Tobago are registered with the Board of Engineering of Trinidad and Tobago.”
Executive Director and CEO of CCPS, Shakeel Kadri, emphasised the crucial role of leadership in ensuring that process safety is upheld.
“Leaders also have to make sure that the barriers are working, and they’re effective, you have competent people, as people say, if you have great culture, if you have great leadership, and even if you have great management systems, and even good standards, but if you don’t have competent people the organisation will fail.”
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Steering Committee of IChemE Trinidad and Tobago, Astor Harris, encouraged greater collaboration among local stakeholders and stressed the value of information sharing in the sector.
“One of the core focus or foci that we have is introducing and really integrating, fully integrating, our local membership group into the international mentorship programme that IChemE launches, so that means that our young engineers, our engineers in mid‑careers and so, can avail themselves of international mentors, and we can also collaborate with them with that.”
He added that, in the near future, IChemE will not only offer membership, certification, and accreditation for technicians, but will also create opportunities for students at UWI and UTT to benefit from its international network.
