Author: Mike Ariza

Mike Ariza is a US Navy veteran with over twenty years of experience in the refining industry, extending from the Chevron Refinery in Richmond California, the Flying J refinery in Bakersfield, and the Valero Refinery in Benicia. Mike held the positions of number one control board Operator at Flying J and Senior Refinery Control Board Supervisor at Valero. He was an instructor of both operator field and control board classes. Among his peers Mike was well known for his control board skills during emergency situations. However, he was best known for his quick troubleshooting skills which he utilized to prevent emergency situations. Mike on numerous occasions prevented significant partial refinery outages. In addition, he utilized his skills to prevent two full refinery unscheduled downtimes. For these abilities, his peers often referred to him as one of the top ten control board operators in the country.