TriplePoint.Threads by TriplePoint.Engineering

    Process Engineering: The Final Frontier In the vast galaxy of the chemical industry, process engineers are the unsung heroes, like Geordi La Forge, but with less warp drive and more spreadsheets. Their mission? To boldly optimize where no batch has gone before. Distillation columns  are the warp cores of the plant. If they go down, production halts and someone inevitably shouts, “She can’t take much more of this, Captain!” Heat exchangers  are like Data: quiet, efficient, and prone to dramatic failure when you least expect it. P&IDs  (Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams) are your star charts. Without them, you’re flying blind through a nebula of valves and mystery fluids. PPE vs. Space Suits. Whether you're entering a confined space or a Borg cube, you better be dressed for the occasion. Gear Chemical Plant PPE Starfleet Space Suit Helmet Hard hat (with faded safety stickers) Bubble dome with built-in comms Respirator SCBA or half-mask Oxygen scrubbers a...

A Real-World Look Across Industries and Countries When it comes to workplace safety, not all jobs are created equal. Some industries are like walking a tightrope over a pit of fire, while others are more about dodging paper cuts and burnout. Let’s break it down. Chemical Industry This one’s intense. You’ve got flammable liquids, toxic gases, and the kind of stuff that needs a full hazmat suit just to handle. Safety is taken seriously, think emergency showers, strict protocols, and constant training. One mistake can mean a major incident, so the culture is all about prevention. Construction It’s physically brutal. Falling from heights, getting hit by machinery, or dealing with unstable structures makes this one of the riskiest sectors. Safety is improving thanks to tech like drones and wearables, but it still depends heavily on where you are, some countries enforce strict codes, others not so much. Car Manufacturing Mostly automated, but still risky. Workers deal with heavy parts...

Just a list of major disasters, all over the word, in all kind of industries. Not to show how bad the industry is, but to proof Process Safety is important every single day..... # Title Location Year Description Consequences Long-Term Outcome 1 Bhopal Gas Tragedy Bhopal, India 1984 Methyl isocyanate gas leak from Union Carbide pesticide plant. ~15,000 deaths, 500,000+ injured. Triggered global chemical safety reforms and the Responsible Care initiative 2 Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster Pripyat, Ukraine 1986 Reactor 4 explosion at nuclear power plant. 31 immediate deaths, thousands of cancer cases. Led to global nuclear safety protocols and exclusion zone  3 Texas City Disaster Texas, USA 1947 Explosion of ammonium nitrate on SS Grandcamp. 581 deaths, 5,000 injured. Prompted U.S. chemical safety legislation 4 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster Fukushima, Japan 2011 Earthquake and tsunami caused reactor meltdowns. Radiation release, 150,000 evacuated. Shifted global nuclear energy policy ...

  What’s Process Safety All About?  Safety is NOT only Personal Safety, there is so much more to take proper care of. Process safety is basically the art (and science) of keeping dangerous chemical processes from going haywire. It’s not just about wearing hard hats or putting up warning signs, it’s about designing systems that don’t explode , don’t leak toxic stuff , and don’t catch fire in the first place. What Is Process Safety Management (PSM)? PSM is OSHA’s way of saying: “If you’re working with hazardous chemicals, you better have your act together.” It’s a set of rules under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119 that tells companies how to manage the risks of handling highly hazardous chemicals. It’s not just paperwork, it’s a full-on strategy that includes: Writing clear procedures for operating and maintaining equipment Training workers to recognize and respond to hazards Using tech like sensors and alarms to catch problems early Regularly checking and fixing equipment before...

It should start with What’s the Problem, Really? Let’s start with the basics: what’s the problem we’re trying to solve? In many engineering environments, especially fast-paced ones, we often find ourselves firefighting, patching issues, reacting to failures, and optimizing things that maybe shouldn’t exist in the first place. The real problem is that we’re solving symptoms, not root causes . Take, for example, a recurring bottleneck in a production line. Every few weeks, throughput drops, and everyone scrambles to fix it. We add sensors, tweak software, retrain staff, but the issue keeps coming back. Why? Because we haven’t asked the deeper question: should this process even exist in its current form? So the problem isn’t just inefficiency. It’s misalignment between what we’re doing and what we should be doing . And that’s worth solving. Should We Solve It? Now, before we jump into solutions, let’s ask: is this worth solving? Here’s a simple framework to decide: Impact : Does solving t...

In the world of plant operations and finance, you’ll constantly hear the terms CAPEX and OPEX thrown around.  But what do they mean? CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) : This is the money you spend on big-ticket items. Think of it like buying a new machine, upgrading your facility, or investing in a new production line. It’s a one-time cost that gives you something long-term. OPEX (Operational Expenditure) : This is your day-to-day spending. Stuff like electricity bills, maintenance costs, salaries, and raw materials. It keeps the plant running but doesn’t give you a shiny new asset. In short: CAPEX = Buying hardware that lasts, like heat exchangers, pumps, engineering to design, procurement and construction to connect it all. OPEX = Paying to keep things going.   Financial View – How the Bean Counters See It From a financial perspective, CAPEX and OPEX are treated very differently. CAPEX: Goes on the bal...

 Why a technical blog? After years of working on CAPEX projects and diving deep into the world of process engineering, all over the world I’ve decided it’s time to start sharing some of that experience through a technical blog.  The idea is simple: there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes in problem solving, engineering and project execution, things that don’t always make it into textbooks or official reports. From lessons learned on the ground to practical tips, tools, and strategies that actually work, I want to create a space where I can reflect, share insights, and hopefully spark some useful conversations. This blog will cover a wide range of topics, somewhat random, from the technical and tactical aspects of project execution to broader reflections on innovation, efficiency, and continuous improvement.  Whether you're a fellow engineer, project manager, or just someone curious about how complex projects come to life, I hope you'll find something valuable here....