Looking down at his wet shirt, stained black, Gottimukkala’s future in process safety was destined. His shirt was wet from the rain, but the black stains were from an explosion started by a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) leak at a refinery in his hometown in India that killed 20. This incident piqued his interest in chemistry, refineries, and accidents.
As a senior risk engineer at RISKbytes, Gottimukkala identifies hazards and provides strategic risk-based decision-making advice for onshore and off shore projects. He applies his knowledge of science and engineering to assess the consequences of major hazards, as well as to develop plans and processes to ensure adequate mitigative measures are taken. He has a toolbox of safety skills, but it is his mentor’s mantra that he keeps at the forefront of his mind: “The plant operator’s safe return home should be the highest priority during the design, construction, and operation of a plant.”