Webinars

This webinar explores the evolution of engineering information management—from uncontrolled documents and fragmented information to structured document control with an Engineering Document Management System (EDMS). It examines how outdated drawings, disconnected files, inconsistent revisions, and unmanaged changes can cause engineering records to gradually diverge from the physical plant. By establishing version control, workflows, approvals, traceability, and a controlled source of engineering information, EDMS creates the foundation for safer, more reliable, and more efficient operations.

The presentation then moves beyond document control to Asset Information Lifecycle Management (AILM). Because plants are run by assets—not documents—engineering information must remain connected to the equipment, systems, and plant areas it describes throughout design, construction, commissioning, operations, maintenance, and modification. AILM helps maintain that continuity, reducing information and configuration drift while ensuring that the engineering record continues to reflect the actual plant as it changes over time.

Finally, the webinar connects information governance to the broader goals of digital transformation and AI. When controlled engineering information is combined with asset context and connected to operational and enterprise systems, organizations create a trusted information foundation for digital twins, predictive maintenance, advanced analytics, root-cause analysis, and AI-assisted decision-making. The key message is that AI readiness does not begin with AI—it begins with engineering information that is governed, current, traceable, connected, and trusted.

Chemical manufacturers globally face increasing pressure to improve returns on capital while navigating water scarcity and wastewater discharge constraints. Water treatment infrastructure is increasingly becoming a strategic business decision rather than simply a utility afterthought. Solving these challenges requires both advanced treatment technologies and adopting innovative commercial delivery models.

First, we showcase select advanced treatment technologies relevant for the chemical industry, including CoMag® ballasted clarification, for generating cooling water, Ionpure® Continuous Deionization (CEDI) as a chemical free polishing technology for generating boiler feedwater, and BioMag® system, a high-rate ballasted clarification technology, for solids removal downstream of the biological (aeration) treatment process in wastewater treatment. Several case studies are presented to demonstrate these solutions in action, ranging from cooling tower blowdown reuse to ballasted clarification.

Next, we will discuss capital saving Water-as-a-Service commercial models we have pioneered for the chemical industry including: both temporary water treatment solutions, and long-term permanent Design-Build-Own-Operate-Maintain solutions. Our Water-as-a-Service approach shifts water treatment equipment sales to performance contracts, saving chemical plants valuable capital to reallocate to core production assets, while also transferring water treatment performance risk.

The Purdue Model is the gold standard for an effective industrial data system that securely passes process data from control systems to plant and enterprise level analytics. Data historians sit squarely at the heart of this infrastructure, and there are a variety of ways to configure and utilize these critical components. This webinar introduces some best practices you can use for effective data historian design by looking at the Purdue Model from a modern perspective. We’ll also demonstrate how implementing these recommendations can give you better, faster insights that will prepare your operation for AI success.

Every fired-equipment operator wants longer test intervals — fewer shutdowns, less labor, and less production risk from taking safety functions offline to test them. NFPA 85, 86, and 87 all allow for design equivalency and AHJ approval of alternate designs — including testing beyond standard annual intervals. But almost no one can build the case an AHJ will accept, especially when the underlying test data was never consistent enough to trust in the first place.

This session covers both sides of that problem: how to justify a test interval extension, and how to get failure rate data good enough to justify it with. We’ll cover the field evidence that replaces conservative design-basis assumptions — prior-use failure rates, demand-based partial proof test credit, diagnostic coverage, and RRF safety margin — and the data discipline underneath it: getting day shift, night shift, and third-party instrument techs all recording pass/fail, safe/dangerous, and which component failed the same way, every time. Together, this ties back to the ROI case from Webinar 2 — the same field data that justifies the extension is what funds the enterprise risk visibility program.

Attendees will receive a Bayesian Prior-Use Failure Rate Calculator to run this analysis on their own fleet.

Having a compliant Burner Management System tells you it passed its last audit — not if it is drifting toward risk, or where your next capital dollar cuts exposure. Building an enterprise-wide, live view of barrier health takes investment, and that investment must be justified. This session shows where the funding comes from: the ROI captured by extending proof-test intervals, which pays for the risk management program that gives leadership visibility into performance across every unit and site.

Attendees will receive a free BMS ROI Calculator to run this analysis on their own facilities.

Does NFPA Compliance Make Your Burner Management System Less Safe? NFPA 85, 86, and 87 have long defined the baseline for Burner Management System (BMS) design and operation. But what if strict adherence to these prescriptive standards is creating a false sense of security—and in some cases, actually increasing risk?

This webinar challenges the conventional assumption that NFPA compliance equals safety. While NFPA standards define minimum requirements, they do not ensure that risk is reduced to tolerable levels. In fact, many BMS implementations rely on architectures, testing intervals, and component selections that align loosely with SIL 2 performance—regardless of actual risk exposure.

When evaluated through the lens of IEC 61511 and Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA), it becomes clear that certain fired equipment scenarios—high occupancy, frequent demands, offsite consequences, or aggressive corporate risk targets (e.g., 1×10⁻⁵/year)—may require SIL 3 risk reduction. Yet typical NFPA-based BMS designs fall short. Field devices are often only SIL 2 capable at prescribed test intervals, and logic solver requirements are rarely sufficient to achieve higher integrity levels.

This session will challenge deeply held assumptions and provide a clear path forward: moving from “compliant” to “defensibly safe” through risk-based design, lifecycle data, and performance validation.

Variable area flowmeters, commonly called rotameters, are basic, direct acting flow measurement devices that have been around for decades and are widely used in the chemical industry because they are simple, reliable, economical, and easy to operate.

Variable area flowmeters range from basic glass tube to rugged metal tube versions and are a versatile option for flow measurement that can be used in both liquid and gas applications where a visual indication is satisfactory and extreme accuracy is not necessary. They are particularly suitable for measuring low to medium flow rates of liquids and gases where continuous visual monitoring is required.

Although most Variable Area flowmeters have limitations regarding installation orientation and fluid properties, they remain one of the most common flow measurement devices in chemical plants.

This webinar will provide information about the installation and operation of variable-area flowmeters and offers insights into best practices for reliable operation.