After serving as Midstream Chair at EPC 2026, one conversation stood out by its absence: what happens after project turnover. From AI and stakeholder engagement to workforce challenges, the human element remains critical to delivering assets that are safe, compliant, cost effective, and built to operate for years to come.

Good engineering doesn't guarantee successful execution. Danielle Baughman shares lessons learned from years of project work in oil and gas, exploring how communication, accountability, and ownership often determine whether a project succeeds or struggles in the field.

Engineering plans rarely fail because of bad engineering. More often, problems arise when field realities, operational experience, and execution challenges are not fully considered during project development. Drawing on experience across engineering, operations, and project execution, Danielle Baughman explores why successful projects depend on collaboration between the teams designing the work and the teams responsible for operating it.