As a Chartered Chemical Engineer, Helen Conlin has been recognised as an engineering professional of distinction, making a significant contribution to the profession and demonstrating technical excellence and leadership of her peers by being confirmed as a Fellow of the Institute of Chemical Engineers, at the age of 34.

Amongst her achievements recognised by the Institute was her development of a method to assess the safety of process operations staffing arrangements, published as an UK HSE (Health and Safety Executive) research report and recognised with two IChemE Loss Prevention awards.

She has applied this method to multiple high hazard facilities which have been undergoing complex organisational and technological change.  Whilst with RPS Risk Management, this approach has been applied to one of the largest UK oil refineries.

Recent other projects include the provision of Seveso II / in the UK COMAH (Control of Major Accident Hazards) support for land use planning applications; a benchmarking review of a major refinery against the findings of the two (CSB and Baker Panel) investigation reports associated with the BP Texas City incident; process hazard identification projects, human factors and management consultancy support for a UK oil refinery and due diligence advice related to COMAH for a major chemicals facility.

Helen is leading the development of RPS Risk Management’s Process team, and is instrumental in the development of new RPS capabilities.  These range from organisational risk management consultancy, policy review and development; to toxic, fire and explosion consequence modelling.

Helen is the topic editor for Human Factors and Management, of the Process Safety and Environmental Protection Official Journal of the European Federation of Chemical Engineering: Part B, has been a member of the IChemE Hazards Symposium Organising Committee since 2002 and is on the IChemE Publications Medals Board of Assessors.

On achieving her transition to Fellow, Helen said

“It is encouraging that IChemE are willing to recognise my unconventional contribution to the chemical engineering profession as much of my best work has been in the area of Human and Organisational Factors developing solutions to complex and novel problems.  This is not an area traditionally associated with chemical engineering although I consider it vital that this topic becomes integral to professions which design, build, operate, maintain and manage high hazard facilities and businesses.“

For more information please contact:

RPS Warrington (Risk Management)
T: +44 (0)1925 831 000