As the plant manager for LyondellBasell's Chocolate Bayou Polymers Plant in Alvin, Texas, Lawrence Moreaux wears many hats. His role at the site includes employee safety, environmental stewardship, proactive reporting, mechanical integrity, asset reliability, developing personnel, supporting career advancements, and working with the plant's surrounding community to support the area's needs.
"I aim to lead by example and uphold the values of LyondellBasell, which are to strive for excellence in everything we do, own our decisions and reward results, and believe in the power of many," Moreaux said.
Moreaux grew up in Orange, Texas, and attended Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, where he earned a degree in chemical engineering. His first job out of college was as a co-op student at LyondellBasell's Channelview and Bayport complexes.
He was later hired as a full-time production engineer at the Channelview Complex. Over the years, he has held roles of increasing responsibility within LyondellBasell, including production engineer, technical lead, lab manager, operations manager and plant manager at the Chocolate Bayou Plant, the position he has now held for nearly two years.
Moreaux's professional accomplishments don't end there, though. He also served as lead engineering recruiter at the University of Houston from 2005 to 2015.
Walk the Line
Today, Moreaux is proud to serve as chair of AFPM's Walk the Line program, a process safety practice-sharing initiative to help prevent open-ended lines and line-up errors at industrial facilities.
Walk the Line has been met with tremendous success since its inception. While there are various aspects to Walk the Line's process, it is especially efficient when verifying open bleeds, Moreaux said.
"You can see elements of shift handover and definitely having good critical bleed management processes for our systems," he said. "But more importantly, Walk the Line is not just the physical walk; it's about actually making sure you have independent verification. Sometimes that other person can be a 'buddy system' or a new set of eyes."
Striving for continuous improvement is the goal at the heart of Walk the Line that unites all of AFPM's members, he added.
"I think of it not just as checklists or assessments, but as a tool to make workers' jobs easier and information more accessible," he said. "It's definitely helpful to ensure that processes are robust and the proper engineering and management disciplines are in place to support the front line."
Giving back
"I feel it is important to give back to the industry that has given me and my family so much," he said.
One way that Moreaux is able to "give back" to the industry is through his work on LyondellBasell's recently launched Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Leadership Council.
"I proudly serve on the DEI Leadership Council, which is responsible for working closely with the LyondellBasell leadership team to shape and implement the DEI strategy," Moreaux said. "The council is composed of global leaders who represent employees across all our regions."
LyondellBasell's Chocolate Bayou Polymers Plant was built in 1978 and is co-located in the INEOS Complex, 18 miles from Alvin. The plant produces high-density polyethylene, which is used to make food packaging, automotive exteriors, retail carry-out bags, toys, personal care products, and construction and roofing materials.
Recent site expansions include the installation of two regenerative thermal oxidizers, which will reduce VOC emissions by approximately 200 tons per year.
The plant has a significant economic impact to the area, which includes the yearly totals for goods and services purchased as well as employee pay and benefits.
According to Moreaux, a wide variety of skills are needed to be effective in his position, including technical skills and experience in HS&E, operations and maintenance. However, he believes that some "softer skills" are just as important.
"Some of the softer skills that are equally important include being an effective listener, having strong emotional intelligence and being an excellent communicator," he said. "You also need to be concise, curious and collaborative while ensuring accountability, driving results, cultivating innovation, and instilling trust and integrity."
Prioritizing safety
The Chocolate Bayou plant has a strong history of safe operations and has been an OSHA VPP site since 2006. In December 2020, the site reached six years without a recordable incident. It has been three years since the site has had a Process Safety Level 2 or greater incident and 12 years since an Environmental Level 2 or greater incident. In 2020, the site received three awards from the Texas Chemical Council: the Distinguished Safety Award, the Dr. Sam Mannan Award for Zero Process Safety Incidents and the Zero Contractor Incident Award. In addition to those accolades, the site also received AFPM's Elite Gold Awards for safety in 2017, 2019 and 2020.
In 2018, the plant received the industry's highest safety honor: AFPM's Distinguished Safety Award.
"I attribute this success to a leadership presence in the field and our employees' commitment to keeping each other safe," Moreaux said. "We also have a number of safety programs that we routinely follow, such as the behavioral observation processes, employee- led safety committees, life-critical audits, safety walkabouts, process safety protocols and more."
According to Moreaux, the top safety issue facing the site continues to be the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Our site has successfully prevented the spread of the virus within the site, and we are working diligently to keep everyone safe," he said. "The site remains competitive in these challenging market dynamics, and the goal is to continue operating safely and reliably."
Community involvement
The Chocolate Bayou plant is committed to being a strong community partner, Moreaux said. The site is involved in many local educational, well-being, food security and safety initiatives.
These initiatives include support for United Way of Brazoria County, the Liverpool Food Pantry, the Liverpool Police Department, the MS150 Bike Ride and the Alvin ISD STEM Bus, among other organizations. The plant is also a member of the Chocolate Bayou Community Advisory Panel.
Looking forward
In the years ahead, Moreaux said his top priority is the continuation of the site's GoalZERO performance in safety, process safety and environmental.
"I also want to continue to develop our employees and have a solid succession plan to support the site for years to come with strong leaders in all key positions," he added.
As an industry leader, LyondellBasell also actively advocates for many important issues and works with industry trade groups to help craft public policy solutions. These advocacy activities are designed to advance LyondellBasell's business interests and foster the protection and advancement of strong petrochemical and refining industries.
To stay abreast of industry news and trends, Moreaux pays close attention to LyondellBasell's regularly issued internal newsletters, and he sits in on regular business meetings for the company. He also receives updates through his work with AFPM and reads a variety of trade publications, like BIC Magazine and IHS Markit.
"In Texas, we seek to raise awareness on key issues and advocate in support of programs that are important to creating jobs and attracting new capital investment to Texas," Moreaux said. "In addition, we support dedicated funding of the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan programs (which provide the most cost-effective solutions for reducing mobile source emissions), the creation of a coastal barrier system for the Gulf Coast, opportunities to enhance protocols and processes that support safe operations, and fair and equitable tax policies that promote economic investment."