Until they add more hours in a day, I need to find ways to be more productive. The obvious place to squeeze more blood out of the turnip is during seemingly non-productive times. Commuting to and from work or an appointment, grocery shopping, or waiting in the doctor's office are ripe opportunities for multitasking. Recently I started using these times to listen to informative podcasts.
In the time it takes to me drive to the store, shop for my goods and drive back home I can be educated on trends in publishing, the state of the economy, or how to best serve my audience via social media. These are just a few of the recent career-specific podcasts I have downloaded to my MP3 player for later listening.
Thinking about how nice it is to have these materials at the ready, it’s only natural that Chemical Processing enters the world of educational podcasts. Indeed, we recently launched our Leadership Focus Podcast Series with an interview on cyber security. In this podcast I talk to Eric Byres, chief technology officer of Byres Security Inc., about the risks that chemical facilities face in terms of cyber security. Eric offers insight on threats that seem harmless on the surface but could severly stymie operations. He also discusses the future of cyber security and what sites can do to mitigate risks now and in the future.
This is a monthly series that will feature topics as diverse as those covered in Chemical Processing magazine.
[pullquote]Here are just a few of the topics we have lined up for future podcasts.
Leadership Focus: CFATS
Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) are now in the process of implementation. I talk to David Moore, president and CEO of AcuTech Consulting Group, about the challenges of becoming compliant, lessons learned, and how to address underappreciated issues.
Leadership Focus: Mixing
Mixing abounds at most chemical plants. Problems can arise that undermine processing. Identifying and addressing such issues are essential to remain competitive.
I interview Dave Dickey, senior consultant, MixTech Inc., to unearth mixing best practices.
Leadership Focus: Inherent Safety
One way to minimize risks is to design plants so they avoid risks in the first place. Our safety guru, Dennis Hendershot, who has written for us on the concept of inherent safety, and I will discuss inherent safety tradeoffs and how to avoid transferring risk somewhere else.
We hope these topics, and myriad more, will help you squeeze more into your already busy day.
