PROCESS SAFETY EDUCATION AND TRAINING: ACADEMIC EDUCATION AS A FOUNDATION FOR OTHER PROCESS SAFETY INITIATIVES ON EDUCATION

Commitment to process safety is fundamental to the process industry. Governance, promotion and participation in academic and related educational programs are testament to the industry’s commitment and stakeholder reach. Process safety education and training is a very broad topic. Industry-academic collaboration is essential when developing high level education and training on process safety. This article looks at the development of educational and training programmes for students in advanced master programmes in the european master network and for experienced industry workers

Conclusion:
After three years of organizing the Advanced Master Class on Process safety we can be satisfied with the number of participants and their evaluation on two levels, according to Kirkpatrick’s Evaluation Model. Inherent to this type of course are the selection and content given the time constraints and nature of the process industry. For the process industry in general, represented by essenscia, Delta Process Academy plays an important role in the first pillar of a process safety management system, namely ‘Commitment to process safety’ and ‘Process safety knowledge and competence’.

Due to the limited hours available in the regular program (Level 1), the development and maintenance of Level 2 and Level 3 education and training are essential. The content and evaluation of the Advanced Master Safety engineering are very much appreciated by students. An important challenge for the future will be maintaining this level, but even more important is a peer review of the program by academics and by the industry and the latter on a continuous basis. When considering the Advanced Master of Safety Engineering, two major improvements are needed. First, the Master needs to be modular so that industry participants can pick out modules of particular interest. They should be able to opt for the modules that best suit their personal development path within the organisation. Also, this will mean a better fit when combining learning, work and daily tasks as part of a life-long learning approach. Secondly, this modular approach would allow other universities to participate in the Master programme by developing a module when it fits within their specific area of competence.
There is a very good understanding and synergy with industrial partners, but collaboration with industry could be strengthened and intensified, especially with regard to exploring the possibilities for starting common research projects related to process safety.