“Office of the Week” guy, Chad Patschke, joins the hosts of Upon Further Inspection to share stories and insights from his 30+ year career in process safety and mechanical integrity (MI). Starting in 1992 with early Process Safety Management (PSM) rollout as a plant engineer, Chad discusses how the industry has shifted from a “bare minimum compliance” philosophy to valuing robust MI programs.  He reminisces about the challenge of convincing management to invest in prevention and the cyclical corporate attitude of cost-cutting followed by renewed standards after a major incident. 

Chad emphasizes the importance of implementing sustainable, well-documented management systems and evergreening key tools like damage mechanism reviews, integrity operating windows (IOWs), and risk-based inspection (RBI) to improve near-miss learning and data analysis. Finally, in a special recognition to two previous UFI guests, Chad recognizes the value of his life-long mentors, John Reynolds and Mark Bell.

Listen now for advice and valuable lessons in how to navigate the constantly evolving landscape of industrial safety.

1:30 Career Origins in PSM

05:02 From Plants to Consulting

07:11 PSM Culture Shift

11:01 Selling Safety to Management

16:56 The Industry Sine Wave

18:52 Building Sustainable MI Systems

22:22 PSM Maturity Across Industries

26:42 Audit Experience Worldwide

29:38 IOW and Damage Mechanisms

31:09 From CMLs to DMRs

32:39 NASCAR Program Analogy

35:04 Building Ownership Culture

37:50 Process Over People

44:07 AI for Data Insights

46:46 Evergreening MI Programs

49:41 80 20 Compliance Focus

55:10 Mentors Who Shaped Me

Episode Acronyms & Abbreviations

AFPM – American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers

AIChE – American Institute of Chemical Engineers

API – American Petroleum Institute

API 751 – Safe Operation of Hydrofluoric Acid Alkylation Units

CCD – Corrosion Control Documents

CCPS – Center for Chemical Process Safety (non-profit within AIChE)

CMLs – Corrosion Monitoring Locations

CSB – US Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board

DMR – Damage Mechanism Review

EPA – US Environmental Protection Agency

IDMS – Inspection Data Management System

IOW – Integrity Operating Windows

MI – Mechanical Integrity

NDE – Non-Destructive Evaluation

OSHA – Occupational Safety and Health Administration

PSM – Process Safety Management

RBI – Risk-based Inspection 

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