Chemical Plant Commissioning

50th Anniversary Edition – July 2026

2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the Chemical Plant Commissioning short course at the University of Leeds. To celebrate this significant milestone, the 1–3 July 2026 course will be delivered during a special anniversary year, bringing together five decades of expertise, industry insight, and professional practice.

Alongside the established course content, the anniversary year provides an opportunity to reflect on the evolution of chemical plant commissioning over the past 50 years, as well as to consider current best practice and future challenges facing the industry.

What will I learn?
This IChemE approved course deals with the commissioning and start-up of process plants both large and small. It covers many different aspects including the planning and managerial aspects of major plants, the start-up of small plants with an emphasis on the technical problems and also dealing with the documentation associated with commissioning.

How will I benefit?
You’ll benefit from the wide experiences of the course presenters, all of whom have been associated with start-ups themselves. There will be substantial emphasis on tutorial exercises in both commissioning and pre-commissioning.You’ll receive comprehensive course notes, which has been highly acclaimed by those attending previous courses.

As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations, delegates and speakers will be invited to take part in two special evening events, designed to encourage networking and to mark this landmark year:

50th Anniversary Course Dinner – Wednesday 1 July
Harvey Nichols Fourth Floor Brasserie, Leeds City Centre | 19:00
Join fellow delegates and speakers for a celebratory anniversary dinner at the Harvey Nichols Fourth Floor Brasserie in Leeds city centre, marking 50 years of the Chemical Plant Commissioning course and offering an excellent opportunity for networking.

50th Anniversary BBQ-Style Evening Reception – Thursday 2 July
Courtyard, Weetwood Hall Hotel | 18:00
A relaxed outdoor evening reception featuring a BBQ-inspired menu, celebrating 50 years of the Chemical Plant Commissioning course.

This course is for you if you’re a recent graduate process engineer about to take on your first major commissioning responsibility or if you’re a process engineer who wants to strengthen your knowledge in commissioning to commission a new plant. 

Day one

Registration: 9 – 9.30am

• Introduction to plant commissioning

• Pre-commissioning

• Tutorial exercise: Heat Transfer Utility

• Tutorial exercise presentations 

• Discussion on tutorial exercise 

• Developing effective commissioning plans and schedules

• Planning tutorial exercise

50^th anniversary course dinner

Day two

• Plant completion - dealing with complexity 

• Risk based commissioning and start up 

• Commissioning tutorial exercise

• Commissioning measurement and control systems – Hardware commissioning

• Commissioning measurement and control systems – Process control and loop tuning

50^th anniversary BBQ-Style Evening Reception

Day three

• The law, safety and the environment

• Commissioning hazard studies

• Case study - Commissioning small areas of plant 

• Case study - Commissioning of large scale plants

• Commissioning "Top Tips"

Course finish time: 1.55pm

Course Director
Professor Mike Fairweather, School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds 

Deputy Course Director
Dr Martin Pitt, Consultant

Deputy Course Director (Industrial)
Professor Paul Lunt, Commissioning, Start-up & Operational Readiness Consultant and Visiting Professor, University of Leeds

Industry speakers
Gregg Dadson, Integration & Commissioning Manager, National Grid 
Richard Griffiths, BOC Ltd, a member of the Linde Group
Martin Killcross, Consultant
Barry Monk, Director Commissioning & Start-up, Climeworks, Switzerland
David Stockill, Stockill Energy Management Systems Ltd

Course fee:

IChemE Member: £1,500 (VAT Exempt) 
Non IChemE Member: £1,580 (VAT Exempt) 

Fees include:

• cost of tuition

• course materials

• lunches and light refreshments

• social programme – evening meals on Wednesday and Thursday are included*.

Substitutions may be made at any time without extra charge except that a non IChemE substitute would need to pay the £80 supplement on the standard registration fee.

Accommodation for delegates is not included in the course fee and needs to be booked separately (see accommodation tab).

* As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations, delegates and speakers will be invited to take part in two special evening events, designed to encourage networking and to mark this landmark year:

50th Anniversary Course Dinner – Wednesday 1 July
Harvey Nichols Fourth Floor Brasserie, Leeds City Centre | 19:00

50th Anniversary BBQ-Style Evening Reception – Thursday 2 July
Courtyard, Weetwood Hall Hotel | 18:00

View our terms and conditions

The course will take place at the Weetwood Hall Hotel, which is situated to the north of Leeds at the junction of the A660 Leeds - Skipton road and the A6120 Outer Ring Road.​​

Weetwood Hall Hotel
Otley Road
Leeds
West Yorkshire
LS16 5PS
UK

Travel

International delegates travelling to the UK may need to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). Be sure to apply in advance of your travel date. For further details, visit the UK government website.

“Great course for Early Careers to gain a good foundation of commissioning and the stages to follow. Would highly recommend to those working or intending to work in commissioning and being able to relate your experiences to the knowledge of the speakers.” 
Jasmine Sagoo,  Atkins

“The Chemical Plant Commissioning course provides a broad but thorough understanding of Commissioning. I attended this course before having any commissioning experience and feel much more prepared for future installations.”
Rachel Wright, Victrex 

“The ultimate course for anyone looking to learn about commissioning, big or small projects!”
Rameez Mussa, PQ Corporation 

"This course helped me to have a clearer idea on how to prepare for a plant commissioning, with very interesting tips to apply throughout the whole commissioning process. The information presented, the experiences of the speakers and the practical examples were a very good source of information to make your mind around such an important work." 
Carlos Alvarez Ruiz, Johnson Matthey

Harriet Wills – Course Coordinator

CPD Conference and Events Unit
Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences 
University of Leeds,
Leeds
LS2 9JT

T: 0113 343 2494

E: cpd@engineering.leeds.ac.uk 

Stay up to date with the latest course news and developments by following the CPD, Conference and Events unit on LinkedIn.