On Thursday, 27th February, Cofely Fabricom and Emerson Process Management organised the inaugural “Hands on Valves” day at Fabricom’s valve workshop in Zwijndrecht, Belgium.
### Scroll down for video interviews with organisers, speakers and delegates ###
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Well over a hundred valve professionals came along, and were treated to a very informative event.
The programme included four ‘blocks’, ranging from the traditional presentations (installed base tool, wireless HART, and how to capture and use data), to a walk through the workshop (with stop-off points along the way to discuss safety, smart tools during repairs, diagnostics and quick deliveries), to a round-table discussion on shutdowns to a knowledge sharing session.
All these components were very interactive, and delegates were quick to share thoughts and ideas with the presenters and also with their peers from other companies.
Indeed, Valve World’s very informal survey showed that this element – being able to interact with colleagues, and learn from each other’s experiences – was seen as exceptionally valuable by the delegates.
Further helping to encourage dialogue between delegates were the well-catered coffee and lunch breaks, for which Fabricom had cleared out its entire overhead storage area.
The day concluded with a humorous yet passionate presentation by well-known Belgian politician Marc van Peel, who discussed the past, present and future of the Harbour at Antwerp. He clearly sees and important role for the harbour, and also the surrounding petrochemical industry.
The following videos were all recorded during the “Hands on Valves”event:
Over a hundred valve professionals from the key petrochemicals cluster in Antwerp but also further afield attended the very first “Hands on Valves” day at the Fabricom Valve Workshop. They were treated to an excellent programme, full of knowledge-sharing and networking opportunities. Cofely Fabricom’s Carl Stevens discusses the day’s highlights.
During the “Hands on Valves” day, Emerson Process Management’s David Van de Velde talked to attendees about how Emerson was providing a faster response to spares requirements. He explains more about thes eprogrammes to Valve World’s David Sear
As an Expert Instrumentation & Control Systems for Air Liquide, Hugo Willekens is always interested.in meeting and sharing insights with colleagues working in other plants. He was therefore very positive when asked about the first “Hands on Valves” day organised by Cofely Fabricom and Emerson Process Management.
As the valve shop supervisor for the Total Refinery in Antwerp, John Boey is used to working with valves on a daily basis. He says that typical issues requiring attention include leakages, sticking valves and valves not fully closing.
Manu Verschueren discusses his role as Valve Lifecycle Services Manager for Emerson Process Management, and then explains what he means when saying that Emerson is increasingly turning into a consultant for its clients. Interview recorded during the Hands on Valves day, jointly organised by Emerson and Cofely Fabricom.
