At The Glass Plant, we believe that knowledge grows when it is shared. We also believe that every process engineering challenge is worth discussing. Whether you are troubleshooting an operating issue, trying to improve efficiency, investigating an unexpected...

In chemical plant optimisation, statistics can point to hidden effects, but they do not always explain plant behaviour. This is where deeper process understanding becomes essential.

Some very strong insights come from Don Norman’s work on design, especially the idea that good design must start from an understanding of how people actually think, interpret, and act. With the rapid progression of AI, now acting as the knowledge engine behind many...

Why 1+Piote   In the process industries, the combination of system complexity and technical depth often creates silos: critical information does not flow smoothly between Operations, Engineering, Maintenance, Quality, and Management. Senior leadership should act...

After years managing operations and technical services, a recurring pattern emerged: moving people did not move knowledge.
Some departments, however, consistently developed a better system-level view.
This reflection explores why—and what chemical plants can learn from it.

Let's continue the analysis of knowledge in a chemical plant. In a typical chemical plant, everyone is competent, and this is ensured by continuous training, assessments, on the job training, and so on. But knowledge and way to acquire it follow different path: •...

From design offices to control rooms, chemical plant knowledge is distributed but rarely integrated. Horizontal and vertical barriers prevent operators, engineers, and managers from sharing a common understanding of the process. The result is a plant that is compliant, yet opaque—and difficult to optimise or safeguard as a whole.