Biography

I am an innovative Electrical Engineer, manager and a multi-disciplinary generalist. I tolerate ambiguity and find pragmatic solutions to complex and difficult problems. I actively seek opportunities to learn what I don’t know I don’t know and am quickly able to apply new techniques practically from a base of core principles.

I have performed the roles of:

  • Manager
  • Programme and Project Manager
  • Consultant
  • Process Control and Automation Engineer
  • Electrical Maintenance and Reliability Engineer
  • Project Cost Controller

I solve problems through systems and frameworks.

  • I have applied management approaches for the effective and efficient delivery of services, have implemented ISO9002 quality systems and managed technological change in businesses:
    • Integrated steel-making process control and automation.
    • Precious metals catalyst recycling electrical engineering, process control and automation.
    • I have led teams of engineers, technicians and journeymen of various disciplines.
    • I have had to retrench over 100 people. I conducted each interview myself.
  • As a programme and project manager I have applied both PMBOK and Prince2 to:
    • Deliver a technological solution, based on fundamental metallurgical principles, which automatically controls steel-making electric arc furnaces.
    • Convert an agricultural co-operation into a corporation while migrating their management and IT systems from a mainframe to instances of Microsoft Great Plains.
    • Transform management and IT systems in government for the provision of improved home affairs services.
    • I have overcome an antagonistic client to deliver a successful solution as originally promised.
    • I have herded cats on a multi-disciplinary, multi-faceted programme of projects to deliver a successful implementation.
  • As a consultant I have acted as:
    • Principal client consultant to implement real-time control and online information systems from the shop floor to the boardroom for a greenfields heavy minerals sand mines and processing plant.
    • Integration manager implementing real-time communication between SAP R/3 ERP and process control systems.
  • As an electrical engineer I have:
    • Specified and designed process control and automation systems.
    • Specified and designed automation and IT network architectures.
    • Specified and designed digital and mesh radio communications systems.
    • Commissioned and verified load studies and arc flash analyses.
    • Verified and managed Safety Instrumented Systems.
  • In process control and automation I have designed, built and implemented industrial solutions to:
    • Automatically control steel-making electric arc furnaces.
    • Detect and prevent stainless steel continuous caster breakouts.
    • Detect and prevent heavy minerals furnaces breakouts.
  • As a maintenance and reliability engineer I have:
    • Installed and replaced million dollar mission-critical plant and equipment.
    • Established systems and procedures for efficient and effective preventative maintenance.
    • Conducted root cause analyses.
    • Maintained new and obsolete electrical switchgear, high voltage distribution networks, motor control centers and electrical equipment.
  • As a project cost controller I have:
    • Administered the costs of multi-billion dollar projects.
    • Created interfaces and front-end applications to significantly accelerate the capture of data and the reporting of results.
    • reduced the time to initiate project controls for an EPCM project from 6 weeks to less than 2 weeks through the motivated introduction of commercial-off-the-shelf software.

I aim to ensure that your business evolves into Industry 4.0 and the circular economy to make money now, and in the future.