Meeting Recap: CGA’s 2020 Safety and Reliability of Industrial Gases, Equipment, and Facilities Seminar (October 21-22)

October 29, 2020

With the following remarks, Rich Gottwald, President and CEO of the Compressed Gas Association (CGA), welcomed participants to the 2020 CGA Safety and Reliability of Industrial Gases, Equipment, and Facilities Seminar, held on October 20-21 as a two-part webinar event:

“What you will experience in the next two days is the very essence of why CGA exists. Sharing information among members of the industry allows us to look at our existing procedures and standards, and to modify or update them. In doing so, we create a safer workplace for all of us. Nothing could be more important.”

First held in 1962, the Safety and Reliability seminar is CGA’s longest running event of its kind.

Even though this year’s seminar was held virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions, 118 individuals participated from 17 countries across the globe, which was almost double the number of attendees at the 2019 seminar. This year’s participants from Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Germany, Greece, France, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, The Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, and the United States joined the seminar presented as two webinars over two days to listen, learn, and ask questions.

Chaired by Sudhir Phakey, Head of Bulk Process Safety, Linde plc, this year’s seminar included presentation topics on lessons learned and recommendations from an air separation unit (ASU) structure failure, cold embrittlement at the warm end of an ASU due to backflow, flat bottom tank overfill and overpressure, flat bottom tank pressure relief device ice blockages and learnings, incident investigation – good practices, liquid carbon dioxide filling hose coupling failure, and a perlite eruption from an ASU coldbox.

CGA would like to thank all event presenters who generously shared their time and expertise to ensure the seminar’s success:

  • John P. Bernard, CGA Consultant
  • Greg Weyrich, Americas Cryo Plant Process Engineer and Process Safety Manager, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
  • James VanOmmeren, Senior Process Safety Engineering Associate, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
  • Derek Miller, Process Safety Director, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
  • Jim Watson, Global Expert Vehicle Technology, Linde plc
  • Edward Richey, Development Professional, Linde plc
  • Nikos Larass, Process Safety Manager Global SHEQ, Linde
  • John Somavarapu, Director, ASU Technology, American Air Liquide Holdings Inc.
  • Paul Jantzen, ASU Plant Manager, Air Liquide Large Industries U.S. LP

Planning for the next Safety and Reliability of Industrial Gases, Equipment, and Facilities Seminar will begin in early 2021. For further information, please contact Kristy Mastromichalis at (703) 788-2728.