Marathon Petroleum to Present DRA at AI in Energy Conference

Near-Miss Management (NMM) is pleased to share that Mr. Tim Sandford, Senior Refining Engineer, Refining Operations Research at Marathon Petroleum, will make a presentation featuring Dynamic Risk Analyzer® (DRA) at the AI in Energy Conference in Houston, TX on February 24, 2026, at 2:10 PM.

In his session, “Predictive Maintenance: Anomaly Detection for Smarter Refinery Operations at Marathon,” Tim will discuss how Marathon Petroleum is applying anomaly detection to identify early indicators of equipment issues and support a shift from reactive to predictive maintenance. The presentation will highlight how Marathon Petroleum is leveraging DRA as a hands-off AI solution that automates data cleansing, model development, and real-time monitoring. The technology enables continuous analysis of thousands of process signals, flagging subtle changes in behavior—such as shifts in reactor temperature slopes—that may indicate developing equipment or process issues well before traditional alarms are triggered.

This session offers valuable insights for refining and operations professionals seeking practical, real-world examples of how autonomous AI can enhance reliability, maintenance planning, and operational performance.