Welding, corrosion, materials, inspection engineer

Consulting Engineer in the field of materials, corrosion and welding engineering. Providing asset integrity management support to end users globally. 

Supporting the following industries:
•	Crude oil upstream and downstream operations.
•	LNG offshore platforms.
•	NGL processing plants.
•	Metal refining. 
•	Natural gas transmission pipelines.

Responsibilities:
•	Pressure equipment in service repairs (methodology assessment and development).
•	Welding quality management system development and auditing. 
•	Corrosion damage mechanism assessments. 
•	Corrosion protection system consulting. 
•	Risk based inspection system development and execution. 
•	Material selection.
•	Inspection strategy development.
•	Integrity management auditing
•	Conduct industry R&D projects as needed. 
•	Develop and conduct training. 

Role: (Within the Inspection/Integrity Management Department of the refinery) 
•	Provide welding, materials, inspection, corrosion and mechanical engineering support to the Refinery during maintenance and project activities (both on and off site).  Primary focus on pressure equipment integrity management. 
•	Fully accountable for welding and fabrication quality at the refinery, its contractor’s workshops and its port terminal (maintenance, projects and turnarounds). 
Responsibilities:
Materials and Corrosion Engineering:
•	Responsible Materials and Corrosion Engineer for the refinery’s Utilities and distribution systems (boilers, fuel gas systems, raw water, demin water, furnaces, flare systems, off plot pipelines, crude line and storage tanks).
•	Develop and implement proactive corrosion control and prevention methods.
•	Conduct integrity assessments and define inspection strategies using in service codes and standards (API 510, API 570 and API 653) for various equipment types in the refinery (columns, vessels, tanks, piping, furnaces, injection points, dead legs, CUI etc). 
•	Identify active damage mechanisms of equipment and piping in accordance to API 571 and specific the most appropriate NDE methods for inspection. 
•	Review susceptible refinery equipment and develop inspection scopes accordingly (marked up P&ID, mechanical drawings etc). 
•	Participate in risk based inspection workshops (develop corrosion control documentation, conduct risk assessments, develop inspection scopes of work). 
•	Conduct risk assessments and take related risk based integrity management decisions. 
•	Development of corrosion control documents and proactive inspection methodologies. 
•	Implement integrity operation windows (IOW’s) as to ensure safe and reliable plant operations. 
•	Monitor IOW violations and work with operations, process specialists and maintenance teams to implement solutions / mitigations.  
•	Materials selection and design reviews. 
•	Provide guidance on coating systems for various refinery applications. 
•	Conduct root cause analysis workshops to identify reasons for pressure equipment leaks/failures. 
•	Technical report writing (investigations, leak reports, materials selection etc). 
•	Conduct materials and corrosion reviews on new construction projects. 
•	Internal and external inspections of equipment and piping. 
•	Turnaround scope development and review. 
•	Practice and drive safety in the workplace. 
•	Conduct fitness for service calculations (API 579).
Welding Engineering:
•	Welding subject matter expert (SME) for the refinery and its port distribution facility. 
•	Conduct pressure equipment inspections, assess extent of damage/degradation and provide repair recommendations. 
•	Development of pressure equipment repair methodologies in accordance to the in service codes (ASME PCC-2, NBIC etc). 
•	Fully accountable for repairs to refinery critical equipment (compressors, pumps, columns, vessels, furnaces etc).
•	Chair monthly quality and KPI tracking meetings. 
•	Provide welding engineering input into new project design work as to ensure compliance and practicality (review against ASME 8, ASME V, B31.3, B31.1, PD 5500, ISO 13480, NACE, Shell requirements etc). 
•	Development and implementation of training programs (welders, inspectors, supervisors). 
•	Implementation if ISO 3834-2 quality management systems for client and contractors. 
•	Vendor ISO 3834 and ISO 9001 auditing (including new vendor assessments) locally and abroad. 
•	Development of refinery welding technical standards (in addition to the Shell client requirements). 
•	Review and approval of welding and NDE documentation (QCP/ITP’s, PQR’s, WPS’s, NDE & PWHT procedures etc). 
•	Testing and implementation of new welding and inspection technology as to improve overall hot work productivity and efficiency. 
•	Conduct welding inspection activities before, during and after welding (from ITP review and approval up to final pressure test and release). 
•	Issue NCR’s and ensure management system improvements are implemented. 
•	Management of 5 pressure equipment inspectors. 

Position: Project Manager & Quality Management Representative (Risk Based Inspection)
Period: January 2015 to December 2015 (1 year) 
Role: 
•	Develop and implement a Risk based inspection management system for the refinery. 
•	Develop the management system documentation to support the system (aligned to ISO 9001 and client technical specifications). 
•	Project planning and KPI tracking. 
•	Internal auditing. 
•	Preparation for external auditing and certification. 
•	Manage team of 8 people. 
•	Budget control. 

Position: Senior Welding Engineer – Existing and new construction.
Period: 3 years (January 2012 to December 2014)
Role: Technical - Provide expert technical welding engineering support to Eskom and Contractor maintenance, construction and engineering personnel.  
Responsibilities:
•	Review and approve contractor welding documents (PQR’s, WPS’s, WPQR’s, weld maps). 
•	Witnessing of welder / welding qualification testing and verification of said test results. 
•	Conduct equipment inspection, assess damage mechanism and provide repair proposals. 
•	Conducting of failure analysis on failed components and providing technically sound solutions to prohibit future failures.
•	Provide engineering solutions to welding, metallurgical, design and inspection challenges faced during maintenance activities. 
•	Conduct risk assessments and make relevant engineering decisions based on operational requirements. 
•	Conduct fabrication quality inspections at fabrication workshops and power station sites.  
•	Conceptualise and implement methods of improving welding production and quality, while adhering to outage time constraints. 
•	Auditing service providers in accordance with ISO 3834. 
•	Developing and auditing of ISO 3834 quality management systems.
•	Compile and implement company welding engineering strategic policies and procedures.

Managerial / Leadership:
Position: Chairman of Eskom’s Welding Engineering Care Group
Period: 2 years (January 2013 to December 2014)
Role: To manage the engineering activities and outcomes of the company’s welding engineering team. 
Responsibilities: 
•	Manage the work load output of the company’s welding engineers (8 engineers).
•	Provide strong team leadership.
•	Setting goals and targets together with related action plans. 
•	Providing direction (technical or otherwise) during time of dispute or technical uncertainty. 
•	Strategizing with senior and executive management. 
•	Developing and implementing new company policy and technical specifications. 
•	Resource and budget planning
•	Facilitate the introduction of new technologies and methodologies. 
•	Development of personnel training and development plans as to meet company and personnel objectives.
•	Ensuring that the most technically appropriate engineering solutions are provided by the team. 

Position: Chairman of Eskom’s Welding Performance and Optimisation Team
Period: 2 years (January 2013 to December 2014).
Role: To manage the consolidated engineering and quality efforts by both Eskom and its main contractors as to ensure excellent welding performance. The scope included 13 power stations. 
Responsibilities: 
•	Identification of quality/engineering challenges that are affecting plant availability, safety and/or reliability. 
•	Conceptualising and implementing solutions to that mentioned above.
•	Coordinating and managing the work of contractor welding engineers and related quality personnel (30 personnel).
•	Dispute resolution. 
•	Ensuring that local legislation is adhered to at all times.
•	Liaising with contractor personnel (local and abroad), from management level down to artisans. 
•	Track and manage contractor welding repair and productivity rates.
•	Facilitate the introduction of new technologies and methodologies. 

Project Engineering Manager  - RBI
Location: Eskom head office, Sunninghill 
Period: 1 ½ years (June 2011 to December 2012)
Main project objective: Implementing a risk based inspection programme on all Eskom power stations nationwide, in line with the new PER regulations (and SANS 347). The total project cost was R 70 million.
Role: Technical Manager - Manage head office engineering support and provide welding/quality/NDE/Design technical input.
Responsibilities:
•	Managing the technical output of 5 engineers.
•	Lead all technical aspects of the project. This includes the technical evaluation process for all tenders.
•	Conducting tender negotiations.
•	Drafting and reviewing NEC:3 contracts.
•	Develop project plans for all technical deliverables and manage the related progress.
•	Provide technical input and advice, specifically with respect to inspection and testing methods, welding engineering issues and pressure vessel recertification challenges.
•	Develop specific technical manuals, procedures and reports as required by the project.
•	Enforce Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) philosophies. 
•	Planning and strategizing with senior management.
•	Forecasting for skills sourcing and budget control.

Quality Control and Inspection Engineer
Location: Johannesburg
Period: 3 ½ years (August 2008 to July 2011)
Main project objective: To refurbish and/or manufacture pressure vessels within the project timeline. 
Role: Technical - Lead Mechanical Engineer responsible for the refurbishment of the feed water heating plant (more specifically pressure vessels) for Eskom’s Komati power station. Appointed as the engineering representative, based at the contractor’s works who oversees all mechanical design work, welding engineering activities and overall manufacturing/production. 
Responsibilities:
•	Managing the pressure equipment design, fabrication and/or refurbishment activities on behalf of Eskom at the contractors works (7 contractors in total). 
•	Review and approval of various mechanical and process designs related to pressure vessels and piping (PD 5500, ASME 8, AD Merkblatt, TEMA, HEI, EN 13480 etc).
•	Implementing and managing a pressure vessel recertification process (to SANS 0227).
•	Conducting statutory and fabrication inspections on the pressure vessels.
•	Ensuring that all welding related documents (WPS’s, PQR’s. WPQR’s and weld maps) and welding quality process are correct. 
•	Ensuring legal compliance to the OHS Act (PER and VuP) for pressure equipment. 
•	Assess and identify various damage mechanisms. 
•	Developing welding procedures and welding repair methodologies.
•	Selecting the appropriate NDE methods. 
•	Project budget control and related costing exercises.
•	Ensuring that all work carried out by the contractors are aligned with the ISO 9000/9001 and ISO 3834 quality management systems.
•	Organising and leading technical audits on possible contractors.
•	Reviewing of contractor’s data packages and quality systems.

Project Mechanical Engineer 
Position: Turbine Plant Engineer
Period: 1 ½ years (January 2007 to July 2008).
Main project objective: To return all 8 mothballed power plants to service in a prescribed timeline and budget.
Role: Technical - Responsible engineer for the steam, feed water heating systems and rotating equipment within the turbine plant. 
Responsibilities: 
•	Providing engineering solutions to manufacturing, assembling and commissioning related plant problems.
•	Working with design codes (EN13480, ASTM, AMSE 8, BS 806, PD 5500 etc) and specifications to ensure that the correct material, pipework and components where selected. 
•	Drafting scopes of work for individual refurbishment work which required additional specific attention.
•	Actively involved in the commissioning and troubleshooting of both new and refurbished plant.
•	Conducting various engineering investigations into plant and process anomalies.
•	Enforcing quality control systems for work that was being conducted on the plant.
•	Review of designs, recommendations and data packages from various contractors.
•	Preparing and presenting various key plant modification/project packages to senior management for approval and overseeing the subsequent installation.
•	Supervising the disassembling, refurbishment, re-assembling and commissioning of the turbines units used on the power station. 

API 571 - Corrosion and materials professional 

Corrosion engineering course 

ISO 9001 Internal Auditor 

ASME Codes of construction and National board inspection code 

Post grad masters degree in Engineering (with distinction) 

Diploma - IWE

SAIW Level 2 Welding Inspector 

Engineering Degree