We're back with Kelly Schupp, ASME PCC Standards Chair and Consulting Engineer at Equity, for part 2 of our conversation! This episode picks up with Kelly’s transition from design engineering to refinery and chemical plant fixed equipment, including how an all-day interview at Valero changed her career direction, a “sink or swim” introduction to post-construction, and lessons in writing technical requirements that work across sites of vastly different sizes.

Kelly shares stories spanning 1930s German reactors, the Haber-Bosch process, glass process columns, and the potential pitfalls of spark testing. The conversation then turns to codes and standards, including capturing tribal knowledge, should versus shall, the value of peer networks, and ASME PTB-2 as a life cycle roadmap for younger engineers. Kelly also discusses her plans for sustainability as PCC Chair and the responsibility of experienced engineers to share hard-earned knowledge with the next generation.

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• 00:45 Team Captain vs. Coach Leadership
• 01:19 Why Kelly Skipped Management
• 03:26 Concerns Over the PE Stamp
• 04:38 Choosing Valero St. Charles
• 06:09 Sink or Swim in Post-Construction
• 08:19 Cat Cracker Replacement
• 09:33 Influence Without Authority
• 11:27 Fixed Equipment Role at BASF
• 14:19 Writing Standards Across Sites
• 15:41 Methanex and Returning to Consulting
• 17:25 PVP 2018 and a Trip to Germany
• 21:14 Six-Pack Reactors and German Foresight
• 24:09 Lost Records and Vessel History
• 29:07 Shrink-Fit Coil-Wound Vessel
• 30:31 Haber-Bosch and the BASF Legacy
• 37:41 Borosilicate Glass Columns
• 42:20 Dietrich and Glass-Lined Equipment
• 44:06 Spark Testing Pitfalls
• 46:32 Capturing Tribal Knowledge
• 47:43 Should vs. Shall Debates
• 50:16 Why Peer Networks Matter
• 51:38 PTB-2 Life Cycle Roadmap
• 54:13 PCC Sustainability and Knowledge Transfer
• 57:39 ASME Boiler Code Week

Episode Acronyms & Abbreviations

• API – American Petroleum Institute
• ASME – American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• BASF –  Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik
• EPC – Engineering, Procurement & Construction
• FCCU – Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit 
• FEED – Front-End Engineering Design
• FFS – Fitness-for-Service
• LDPE – Low-Density Polyethylene
• NBIC – National Board Inspection Code
• NDE – Nondestructive Examination
• PCC – ASME Post Construction Committee
• PCC-1 – ASME Pressure Boundary Bolted Flange Joint Assembly
• PCC-2 – ASME Repair of Pressure Equipment & Piping
• PCC-3 – ASME Inspection Planning Using Risk-Based Methods
• PE – Professional Engineer
• PTB-2 – ASME Guide to Life Cycle Management of Pressure Equipment Integrity
• PTFE – Polytetrafluoroethylene
• PVP – ASME Pressure Vessels & Piping Conference
• RBI – Risk-Based Inspection
• RP – Recommended Practice
• RT – Radiographic Testing
• SME – Subject Matter Expert
• TOFD – Time-of-Flight Diffraction
• UT – Ultrasonic Testing
• WRC – Welding Research Council

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