Walt Frank | AIChE

Walt Frank

Walt Frank, PE, CCPSC has a BS degree in chemical engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He has over 45 years of experience in the chemical process industries, having held assignments in plant technical support, production supervision, R&D, major capital project design and startup, and process safety consulting.

His career includes 24 years with DuPont and ten years with ABS Consulting.  He founded Frank Risk Solutions, Inc. in 1997. Walt’s consulting expertise includes process safety management program development, evaluation, and improvement; safety culture and organizational effectiveness evaluation and improvement; and explosion hazards evaluation and control with a particular emphasis on combustible dust fire and explosion hazards.

Walt is the author/co-author of four books in the CCPS Guidelines series and co/author of the NFPA Guide to Combustible Dusts.  He is a contributing author to the “Safety and Handling of Hazardous Materials" section of Perry’s Chemical Engineer’s Handbook, 9th ed., and recently authored the chapter on dust hazard analyses for the forthcoming Methods in Chemical Process Safety – Volume 3: Dust Explosions.

He is a former chair (and 24-year member) of the NFPA technical committee on Handling and Conveying of Dusts, Vapors, and Gases, which is responsible for NFPA 91, 654 and 655.  He also serves on three other NFPA committees: Combustible Dusts Correlating Committee, Fundamentals of Combustible Dust Committee (NFPA 652), and the Explosion Protection Systems Committee (NFPA 67, 68, & 69).

Walt is a Professional Engineer, licensed in Delaware, and is an AIChE Fellow, a CCPS Fellow, and an Emeritus Member and Staff Consultant for CCPS.  He is a CCPS Certified Process Safety Profession (CCPSC).  He is also an API-qualified assessor in the API Process Safety Site Assessment Program.