30 Years of AcuTech: Reflecting on the Past
This year, AcuTech celebrates a rich history of 30 years of process risk management. To commemorate this milestone, we had a discussion with David Moore, Founder, CEO, and President of AcuTech and are publishing a series of blog posts. Join us as we dive into our history, present, future growth, and memorable anecdotes.
In this first post of the series, we delve into AcuTech’s decades-long journey, exploring its inception in 1994, initial aspirations, landmark projects, and notable achievements.
AcuTech’s Start
AcuTech got its start in the San Francisco Bay area, with a focus on providing Process Safety Management services to facilities in the region. David saw the need for a process safety management consultancy that was dedicated to assisting companies with both the management and technical aspects of managing risks. He found particular inspiration in preventing incidents like the Bhopal disaster he had witnessed earlier in his career. Such an unthinkable accident was preventable, but a difficulty to manage. He aimed to position AcuTech as a leader in tackling such challenges.
As AcuTech began to establish its position, the company sought opportunities to help drive innovation and thought leadership in process safety to solve complex problems, and to help companies achieve excellence in process safety.
Shortly after founding the company, a major global company tasked AcuTech with spearheading its entrance into implementing a process safety program. As the project neared completion, it was rewarding for AcuTech’s small team of consultants to see the company embrace the concepts and dedicate themselves to success having AcuTech as a trusted advisor.
Defining Achievements
Over the subsequent 30 years, AcuTech has achieved several additional milestones that further define its success.
The company was an early pioneer in the development of the process safety industry. As such, AcuTech was the contractor selected to prepare leading industry guidance including eight AIChE CCPS guidelines for best practices in process safety including auditing, measurement and metrics, PSM culture, inherently safer design, and chemical security.
Just 7 years after its founding, following 9/11, AcuTech took on the task of developing the ANSI/API Standard 780 Security Risk Assessment Methodology for the Petroleum and Petrochemical Industries.
As the team expanded, consultants extended support to implement Process Safety Management (PSM) for over 75% of Fortune 500 companies in oil, gas, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. For many, we introduced these concepts and have witnessed ongoing performance improvements.
Since its inception in March 1994, AcuTech has undergone significant evolution, emerging as a global consultancy offering technical and management expertise in key areas: process safety management, corporate security, and emergency management. Stay tuned for our next post, where we delve into the driving force behind AcuTech’s continued service to industries requiring process risk management solutions.