Safety has to be the number one priority in the petrochemical and refinery plant maintenance industry, advises Don Thomas, Founder, Thomas Industrial Coatings, Inc. “Once there is safety, quality comes automatically. Both are critical for preventing disasters,” he says.

What is challenging the industry today?

It is difficult to find quality, experienced contractors to perform maintenance work. The second issue is having funds available to perform the work.

What separates Thomas Industrial Coatings from the competition?

Our safety training, people, management and equipment. Good equipment leads to less down time and more production. All of these put together, give our clients cost savings when painting or applying coatings to their plant equipment and machinery.

Safety training and enforcement of that safety training are critical. Whether it causes an explosion, injury or fatality, you cannot put a dollar value on a busted valve that fills up a secondary container or fumes that cause an environmental or neighborhood catastrophe.

It is important to minimize risk by putting different measures into place, assessing risk, and developing a plan for when things go wrong and how the impact on everyone can be reduced.

Why should the paint or coating job be documented? What value do clients see in tracking the progress of such work?

In this industry, there is a tendency to do the work without documenting it. Nobody knows what was done, how it was done and whether it was done properly. We helped develop a program that provides this information in real time, TruQC, iCloud based paperless jobsite documentation, and it is the newest technology in the industry as far as quality control documentation goes. It gives our project managers and clients the ability to track what operations are being performed on the job site.

This is better than our clients looking at a piece of paper or taking our word for it. It takes the trust portion out of the equation, and they can get a true feel for how the project is progressing. We do the quality control and they do the quality assurance. Every company wants to make sure that it gets what it pays for, without having someone onsite all day long.

Any final words of advice?

What we preach at Thomas is first, safety. Second, quality. Third, quantity. If you do not have these three put together at the exact right time and continue to focus on them with your team, you will end up with number four, a total disaster. We preach this from day one. It has become part of our organizational culture.

Everyone wants to get the most for his money, but going straight to quantity means missing quality. More people in this industry need to adopt this approach.

Thomas Industrial Coatings, Inc. is a solution provider at the marcus evans Petrochemical & Refining Summit 2013, in Austin, Texas, July 15-16.

About the Petrochemical & Refining Summit 2013

This unique forum will take place at the Barton Creek Resort & Spa, Austin, Texas, July 15-16, 2013. Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event. The Summit includes presentations on Process Safety, Regulatory Climate Change, Future Outlook, Operational Excellence, and Developing Your Workforce.

The Energy Network – marcus evans Summits group delivers peer-to-peer information on strategic matters, professional trends and breakthrough innovations.

Contact: Jennifer Keljik, marketing manager

Tel: 312.540.3000 x6592

Email: j.keljik@marcusevansch.com

About Thomas Industrial Coatings, Inc.

Thomas Industrial Coatings offers state-of-the-art services in industrial paint, costing, and corrosion prevention. TIC has grown to become one of the best painting and coatings contractors in the country, providing exceptional service that goes above and beyond our client's expectations. We’ve built strong partnerships with clients who know they can trust us to do what it takes to get the job done right while meeting deadlines. We’ve hired and trained extraordinary individuals, educated in the latest practices and safety guidelines, to man our crews. We've invested heavily in the tools we use, incorporating the latest technologies available to ensure the quality, efficiency, and safety of all of our work. Through constant investment in our equipment and employees, Thomas Industrial Coatings continues to set standards for leadership and professionalism every day.

www.thomasindcoatings.com

About marcus evans Summits

marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world’s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, case studies, roundtables and one-on-one business meetings.