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Process Specialist, LAO

Company:

INEOS Oligomers

Organizational context and job purpose

Organizational Context:

With LAO manufacturing facilities in Canada and Belgium, INEOS Oligomers is one of the large merchant suppliers of Linear Alpha Olefins (LAO).

 LAO is used in a variety of industries, with main markets being comonomers for polyethylene, feedstock for production of lubricants, surfactants, lubricant additives, and paper sizing chemicals, and base stock for drilling fluids. PAO is a synthetic lubricant.

As part of its growth strategy, INEOS Oligomers invested $500 million in a new world scale LAO & PAO production facility to be located on INEOS Olefins & Polymers site in Chocolate Bayou, Alvin, Texas.

As a Responsible Care company, we encourage our employees to embrace the principles of Responsible Care® by actively practicing them, promoting awareness of Responsible Care® and encouraging others to commit to these principles.  Responsible Care® is the chemistry industry's commitment to sustainability - the betterment of society, the environment, and the economy. Its ethic and principles compel us to innovate for safer and more environmentally friendly products and processes, and to work cooperatively to identify and eliminate harm throughout the entire life cycle of their products.

Embraces and promotes the INEOS 20 Safety Principles.

Purpose of the job:

This role will be part of the manufacturing team reporting to the Operations Superintendent.

The OCB LAO Process Specialist is a member of the OCB Operations Team at Chocolate Bayou Works.  The Process Specialist will lead the support on activities to assure that unit operation, maintenance, and optimization is delivered in the LAO & PAO process areas. The operating area consists of a wide range of equipment and processes including feed systems, furnaces, reactors, compressors, distillation towers, exchangers, flare system, cooling water system, steam system, treating and shipment among other unit operations.

Environment:

The Process Specialist is critical to bridge Operations and Maintenance requirements/expectations while ensuring seamless cooperation between groups.

Successful incumbent in this position is dedicated toward the achievement of SHE objectives, business goals and improvements in an environment of conflicting and rapidly changing priorities, to meet the site performance contract. Must be able to quickly adapt to organizational and business priority changes.

The process Specialist must have the knowledge and skill set to directly interact with the operators and shift supervisors to make process adjustments, often rapidly due to the nature of the process and the design of the plant.  The process Specialist is on the front-line giving direction in the event of an upset. 

Responsibilities AND Accountabilities

Capital Projects

Primary Responsibilities:

  • Provide Operations and Technical assistance during construction and start-up.

  • Help train operators on how the process works.

  • Have direct input into operator selection, training and qualification, especially with regards to the control board positions.

  • Act as the liaison between the Logistics Group and plant operations.  Responsible for coordinating rail and barge movements to ensure product is loaded in a timely manner to not effect plant rates.

  • Track and order chemicals and catalysts, including bleach, acid and TEA

  • Act as the liaison between the site’s technical and operations group.

  • Clearly and concisely issue instructions for nights and weekends

  • Maintains and improves the operator logbook electronic platform

  • Help in writing start-up, shutdown, normal operations, and troubleshooting documents.

  • Help with writing commissioning plans

  • Help coordinate pre-commissioning and commissioning with field construction and establish a schedule of activities.

Normal Operations:

Primary Responsibilities and Skill Requirements:

  • Ensures safe and reliable LAO plant operations on a day-to-day basis (e.g., helps identify unit/equipment repairs needed while doing unit walk through). 

  • Plays a lead role in driving and maintaining the safety, management of change, shared management support and quality systems in the OCB areas.

  • Leads the daily coordination and planning of operational activities to: deliver SHE expectations, maximize value from field execution, improve asset reliability and effectively manage cost.

  • Leads the delivery of environmental requirements and compliance monitoring of OCB area.

  • Interfaces with Operations, Maintenance and SHE personnel to deliver compliance elements such as: vessel/tanks inspection, relief valves, compressors, and critical instruments among others. 

  • Is responsible for addressing findings and maintaining OCB safety and process safety systems in compliance (e.g., LOTO’s, Safety Equipment and Procedures).

  • Supports LDAR Coordinator by timely and assertively following up with findings including support on repairs and assessment/approval of items before they are placed on Delay of Repairs.    

  • Supports coordination and management of all unit rentals and scaffold needs for the OCB area.

  • Supports the management of maintenance orders backlog and influences schedules/planning to address these overdue items into work schedules.

  • Shares information about production planning, maintenance, operational activities and field work with Operations and Maintenance personnel to enable safe and efficient field execution.

  • Reviews projects packages and provides feedback to Engineering and/or Operations team in order to address concerns and opportunities for improvements.

  • Supports the thorough assessment and timely completion of action items from MOC’s, Tractions, Hazop’s and LOPA studies.

  • Supports the day-to-day delivery of Production and variable cost metrics.  

  • Assists in the development of the unit cost operating strategy, capital and expense budgets.

  • Assists with turnaround planning, coordination, and field execution.

  • Supports the Operations Superintendent in the management and efficient use of operational resources.  

  • Serves as a backup to the Operations Superintendent and supports the development of the Day Operator.

  • Supports and mentors Shift Supervisors, Process Technicians and Resource Team with technical knowledge and understanding of the CBW work processes.

    Successful incumbent in this position is expected to:

  • Become proficient with the use of process variables trending packages in order to conduct process monitoring, troubleshooting and optimization of the assets.

  • Supports and organizes optimization between DMC, RTO and Control Engineers to choose best options for controls and understanding for all operations team members. 

  • Report compliance to production schedules, investigate production chokes and investigate quality deviations.

  • Use of SAP to enter notifications and requisitions. 

  • Become proficient in the use of PI Mobile & Evision as part of the focus on process monitoring and compliance reporting

  • Have sufficient knowledge of PAO operations to back-up the PAO Process Specialist.

Skills Required

  • Strong focus on SHE, Process Safety, and Integrity Management requirements

  • Strong computer skills

  • Proven SAP skills

  • Needs to have good Traction and Management Of Change (MOC) skills  

  • Proven track record of delivering objectives, troubleshooting and sound decision making

  • Proven track record of challenging and improving existing work systems and procedures

Other Required Competencies:

  • Recognized and respected as a leader

  • Strong ability to lead by informal influence, without having formal authority

  • Demonstrates initiative (self-starter) and assertiveness

  • Is an Idea(s) generator

  • Is a team player; focuses on the success of and benefit to the team

  • Ability to effectively manage change and conflict

  • Attention to detail to ensure accuracy and follow up on unresolved issues

  • Effectively organizes work while balancing competing priorities

  • Should be willing to become an incident team leader 

  • Excellent interpersonal skills

    • Excellent communicator at all levels, is able to communicate clearly and concisely

    • Good listening and influencing skills

    • Excellent motivational skills

    • Recognized provider of good customer service

Proven track record in exceeding objectives and delivering results

Education

  •  B.S. In Engineering or equivalent experience required

  • Ten (10) years of process operations experience is required; LAO or PAO operational experience is preferred.  Prior experience in the following functions is preferred: Process Coordination, Maintenance Coordination in Operations, Working Team Leader, and/or Relief Working Team Leader.

Must be able to acquire a TWIC card

ADA Physical requirements, visual acuity requirements and environmental conditions

  • While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to lift at least 50lbs, walking, climbing ladders/stairs, bending, reaching, pushing, and pulling. Must be able to perform climbing, lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling and manual operation of various size valves and equipment.

  • The worker is required to have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; visual inspection involving small defects, small parts and/or operation of machines (including inspection); using measurement devices; and/or assembly or fabrication parts at distances close to the eyes.

  • Hearing: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication and to make discriminations in sound.

Our culture is one of honesty and integrity with an emphasis on safety, health and environmental performance.On our team, people are acknowledged for embracing new practices that help create real value for customers.