process engineer

project engineer

operations engineer

engineer

chemical engineer

Chevron Phillips Chemical

 Company Review: CPC at Cedar Bayou

Summary
The pay at CPC is competitive and probably the main attraction for most employees. Unfortunately, the work environment and company culture leave much to be desired. 
Pros
Compensation* The pay is excellent, making it a strong financial incentive to join the company.

Cons
Toxic Culture. The culture at Cedar Bayou is notably toxic. The management style can be described as oppressive, with an underlying attitude summed up by the phrase, "the beatings will continue until morale improves." This creates a stressful and hostile work environment.
- Lack of Support: Operators are often undermined and looked down upon by other departments, including contract maintenance, which essentially controls operations despite their low skill levels and unreliable repairs.
- **Operational Challenges**: The equipment is outdated and poorly maintained, requiring operators to take shortcuts and work in extreme conditions without breaks. This is exacerbated by management's reluctance to invest in necessary repairs, instead relying on operators to overextend themselves.
-Facade of Diversity and Inclusion. While the company promotes diversity and inclusion, this appears to be more of a facade than a genuine effort. The majority of employees do not feel cared for or valued.
*Poor Practices. The company’s operational practices are substandard, with a focus on cost-cutting at the expense of safety and efficiency. 

Conclusion
While CPC offers attractive compensation, the poor management, toxic culture, and subpar operational practices make it a challenging and often demoralizing place to work. For anyone considering a position here, it's crucial to weigh the financial benefits against the significant drawbacks of the work environment. The experience at Cedar Bayou serves as a stark reminder that money is not everything when it comes to job satisfaction and overall well-being.

The starting pay is extremely generous, and probably the best in the Knoxville area.
You'll start off as a contractor for a minimum of 120 days, and if you stay on top of your training, you'll get hired on and receive an immediate raise, rivaling that of the top out pay at most other manufacturing plants in the area, and you'll continue to get raises as you progress your training and demonstrate your ability to retain all the knowledge you've learned.

The schedule is as follows:
• Twelve on, twelve off (7  to 7), three days on, three days off, the days you work each week offset by a day, and you'll switch from days to nights (and vice-versa) every six weeks. You're essentially only working six months out of the year, but with how the hours are scheduled, you'll be making very decent money. 

A typical day at work starts with a daily meeting with the crew, and then you'll go to your assigned production line for the day. 
Breaks are frequent enough to make the day go by faster, and they're all paid, including lunch. 

Management is really fair and is genuinely there to see you succeed at your job. Safety is their number one priority, and it really shows in a positive way. 

The hardest part of the job would be the changes from days to nights and night to days, but it isn't too terrible since you're there with a really good group of people. 

My job was not limited to ensure scaffolds shall be furnished and erected in accordance for persons engaged in work that cannot be done safely from the ground or from solid construction, except that ladders used for such work shall conform to 1910.25 and 1910.26. The footing or anchorage for scaffolds shall be sound, rigid, and capable of carrying the maximum intended load without settling or displacement. Unstable objects such as barrels, boxes, loose brick, or concrete blocks shall not be used to support scaffolds or planks. Ensured 100% tie-off at all times, review permits, plans, procedures required were in place. Guardrails not less than 2 x 4 inches or the equivalent and not less than 36 inches or more than 42 inches high, with a mid-rail, when required, of 1- x 4-inch lumber or equivalent, and toeboards, shall be installed at all open sides on all scaffolds more than 10 feet above the ground or floor. Toeboards shall be a minimum of 4 inches in height. Wire mesh shall be installed in accordance reported to safety manager regarding practices and concerns to improve job task performance. Excavations were limited to six feet from the scaffold footing to ensure structure compliance and best practices.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Helping Operations and Maintenance Professionals get their jobs done.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The structure of the IT Department allows CPChem, IT Employees to alienate and isolate themselves from the PC users, while forcing Contractors to be on the front lines of support and interaction. This causes a disconnect between CPChem Employee IT 
support, Contractor IT support and PC users. PC users have been complaining for years about the lack of willingness to help, that they get from CPChem IT Employees. And the foreign based Help desk is causing  communication issues.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The Contractors, Operations and Maintenance Professionals are very friendly. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
IT Department Contractors are generally very stressed by the large volume of work and very little help. Since no one is explicitly directed to help contractors. Just figure it out, is the daily motto.

Worked in the downtown area for (1) year at Chevron.  The company
relocated to The Woodlands and I was there for 10 years.  Worked
as a Marketing Aide, handling pricing for Specialty Chemicals and Drilling.  Work days 7:00 - 4:00, the company offered 9/80 days, so I was off every other Monday.

Typical work day consisted of bringing current & entering price          records, responsible for 800, clearing over payment report.   

Management & co-workers worked as a team daily to have worked
completed by end of work day.

The Job really wasn't hard but a challenge.  Sometimes I would get
200-300 price records a day for entry.  It was important to make sure
prices were entered due to invoices that were to be mailed customers.

The enjoyable part of the job was the holidays at Chevron Phillips.  The company would decorate & have contest. Thanksgiving & Christmas dinner were awesome.  Overall I enjoyed my 11 years
with the company.

Job Description:
A General Foreman is responsible for safety, schedules, assignment, supervision of manpower, work performance, material procurement planning, quality control, communication with project team, and onsite customer relations on our projects. You will manage this using business practices that are consistent within our company values- people, safety, integrity, innovation, and excellence.
Test electrical systems using the tools to determine where issues may be occurring, the safety of the system and to ensure compatibility
Document actions, testing results, observations, final diagnosis of the situation and steps taken to resolve issues for each job or situation
Determine the steps necessary to assess and electrical situation and troubleshoot using testing devices, blueprints and maps
Maintain a safe work environment by adhering to all company guidelines and OSHA safety requirements and also through reporting violations of policies, procedures and guidelines to immediate supervisor

I went to HR to report my superintendent about unfair treatment and bad behavior of another employee. I was then called in and had false actuations against me. With no merit or proof nor any documentation of any wrong doing  but I was let go with false actuations. They want you to be a yes man at the Baytown plant and if you go to HR and report any wrong doing by any management they will force you out no proof. They preach a lot about safety but they are more concerned about productivity. They don't really care about the people. They had operators wading through 4-5 feet of water during hurricane Harvey shutting down the plant when it should have been shut down and all employees out of the plants days before that!! They only look out for their incompetent upper management who have no clue how to do their jobs and promote them to other positions instead of terminating them. They try to find scapegoats instead of holding those accountable for their actions! 

Final position with Chervon was as the Project Engineering Superintendent. I supervised from three to five project engineers, Under Chevron, I learned the Phase approach to handling projects. I was responsible for developing the Capital Budget which usually averaged about 2 million dollars. I successfully implemented several large projects which were all completed safely, within budget and schedule and operated effectively after start up including:
1. A $15,000,000 polypropylene extruder installation
2. A $5,000,000 ethylene purification train.

One project which covered almost 16 months of design and development to improve the operation of twelve small high pressure reactor units was not implemented. The decision was made to shut these units down.

Safety vs Production depended upon current Plant Manager, which drove the atmosphere across the plant. When Mgmt was concerned about the employees, I enjoyed the opportunity to be involved in EH&S, auditing & mentoring, and training as well as employee relations. During these periods the complex was positive, absence lowered, employees worked together to produce quality product. The times when Mgmt was concerned only about production, there was distrust between Mgmt and Labor. Poor communication and not understanding Mgmt orders promoted animosity between employees.

Not the best pay/benefits in the industry, but good. The culture can be toxic, especially at the larger facilities and, from what I hear, HQ as well. Promotions are mostly about who you know, and rarely about merit. As I write this, Layoffs are looming if you are in a role that can be outsourced or eliminated. At one time I would have recommended CPChem as a good employer, but these days I couldn't, in good conscience, recommended this company to someone that has a good job already. They just built a brand new HQ complex in Houston, featuring Pickleball courts, meditation (nap) rooms, and fancy gas grills outside for BBQ, while simultaneously laying off hundreds of people because of poor financial performance. It is a bad look if nothing else, making for a depressing environment at CPChem right now.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Process engineer 5 salaries reported	$122,060 per year
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