EEMUA Conference 2027

Day Two - Thursday 22 March 2027

Time	Description	Location
09:05 - 09:55	Keynote 3: When the barriers fail: Leadership lessons from a major incident
	Major incidents rarely result from a single failure. This keynote will explore how technical, organisational and leadership barriers can degrade over time, using lessons from significant incidents to highlight the role of leadership, governance and organisational learning in preventing major accidents.
09:55 - 10:10	Break
10:10 - 11:00	Breakout sessions - E
	(E1) Asset integrity management: Managing uncertainty and degrading conditions without normalising risk
	Organisations frequently face difficult decisions when operating with ageing assets, incomplete information or constrained resources. This session will explore how leaders and engineers can maintain a clear understanding of process safety risk, avoid the normalisation of degraded conditions and understand the real implications of decisions such as budget reductions on integrity performance.
	(E2) Joint integrity management - Shaping new EEMUA guidance from member insight to practical application
	Joint integrity remains a recurring challenge across many industries. This session will explore the drivers behind the development of new EEMUA guidance, incorporating lessons from industry surveys and member experience while demonstrating how improved management of bolted joints can contribute to safer and more reliable operations.
	(E3) Quality management for bio alternatives - Instrumentation challenges and solutions
	The transition to alternative fuels and feedstocks is creating new challenges for measurement, monitoring and process control. This session will examine instrumentation considerations associated with bio-alternatives, including data quality, reliability, calibration and maintaining confidence in operational performance.
11:10 - 12:00	Breakout sessions - F
	(F1) Leadership in human factors – Have we applied the learning from past incidents - Axiom
	Leadership and the ability to learn from past failures is central to preventing major accidents. Past industrial incidents show how leaders have overlooked warning signs and normalised unsafe practices, creating cultures where risks were misunderstood or ignored. After the Buncefield incident in 2005 the PSLG Principles were created to help senior leaders take clear, visible, and continuous responsibility for managing major-hazard risks. They emphasise competent board-level leadership, strong organisational culture, effective performance monitoring and the need to learn not only from internal events but from failures across industry. Are these principles working or are we still seeing the same mistakes?
	(F2) Non-invasive inspection
	Advances in inspection technology are enabling organisations to gather valuable integrity information while reducing intrusive interventions. This session will present case studies, lessons learned and emerging approaches to non-invasive inspection, helping attendees understand where such techniques can improve decision-making and asset management outcomes.
	(F3) Cyber resilience as a major hazard barrier
	Cyber threats have the potential to affect operational technology, safety systems and critical industrial infrastructure. This session will examine cyber resilience through the lens of engineering integrity and major hazard management, considering how cyber risks can challenge traditional barrier models and what organisations can do to strengthen resilience.
12:00 - 13:00	Lunch
13:00 - 13:50	Breakout sessions - G
	(G1) Leading engineering integrity through change
	Industrial organisations are navigating energy transition, workforce change, digital transformation and ageing infrastructure simultaneously. This session will explore how leaders make effective integrity decisions during periods of change, balancing long-term strategic objectives with the need to maintain safe and reliable operations today.
	(G2) Beyond the PSV: A joint EEMUA–SAFed guide to relief system management
	Pressure relief systems are often understood through the performance of individual devices, yet effective management requires a broader systems perspective. This session will introduce emerging joint guidance from EEMUA and SAFed, exploring the wider considerations needed to ensure relief systems continue to perform as intended throughout their lifecycle.
	(G3) Obsolescence management for critical electrical and control equipment
	Ageing electrical and control systems present challenges that extend beyond equipment reliability. This session will examine practical approaches to managing obsolescence, including lifecycle planning, supportability, replacement strategies and maintaining confidence in critical systems where technology, suppliers and expertise continue to evolve.
14:00 - 14:50	Keynote 4: Resilience by design: The shared responsibility for safe, reliable industry (Industry initiatives to improve resilience)
	This keynote will reflect on how industry has responded to major challenges over the past decade and explore the shared responsibility for creating resilient organisations. Bringing together themes of risk, readiness and resilience, the session will highlight how collaboration, leadership, standards, competence and innovation contribute to safe and reliable industrial operations.
14:50 - 15:00	Staying connected and updated on EEMUA
15:00 - 15:15	Close
15:15 - 15:30	Farewell coffee