Expert Details
Process & Control Engineering, Operational Excellence, Reliability & Expert Witness
ID: 728984
Texas, USA
Other experience includes construction supervision & coordination, operations & technical training, operability & safety analysis, international project execution & management, DCS Hot Cutovers & commissioning and IT/DCS network integration. Operations experience includes staff scheduling & management, startup/shutdown supervision, and turn-around inspection & planning.
Project Engineering & Management activities include process unit modifications, grass-roots unit design, and DCS/ESD retrofits & upgrades. Capital project management experience ranges from $20M to $50MM. Process Design experience includes P&ID development, heat, material & pressure balances, hydraulic calculations, process modeling, equipment sizing & process control applications development. Process Control experience includes development & implementation of advanced regulatory, sequence control, PLC/SCADA, and model-predictive control (DMC) applications for refining, olefins & chemicals units. Knowledgeable of numerous programming languages, including Object Oriented Programming (OOP) methodologies, and IT & integrated process control systems network design.
Expert has led a multinational expatriate team in a challenging O&M project with Zero on-the-job accidents & injuries. He participated in a process design Team that completely reworked an EPC Contractor’s process design basis on an expansion for two Crude Units in less than 6 months. His Expert Witness experience includes identifying the faulty basis for loss-of-revenue insurance claims. He completely reworked, tested & shipped a chemical injection system application in less than 2 weeks. He has also assessed numerous biofuels development projects for domestic & international clients.
Expert was recognized by previous employers for taking on troubled projects and making them financial & technical successes. He identified deficiencies in shutdown & safety systems utilization to an end-user and EPC Contractor on a polyolefins unit project. He successfully managed multiple personality interactions within client & project teams. His applications experience includes reverse-engineering an assembly language equipment sequencing application to a new DCS platform that remains unchanged and in-service to date. He also held highly visible APC project competitive bid evaluation and developed an Advanced Regulatory Control engineering & design Front-End Loading (FEL) procedure.
He had a lead role in justifying an employer’s first multivariable control project and provided justification for a multi-million dollar instrument retrofit project. He implemented the first management-of-change procedure for DCS point allocation & configuration. He also created a statistical comparison report of online analyzer vs. lab results. He was the engineer responsible for the Extraction Distillation and Glycerol Units.
Willingly gets his hands “dirty” to solve the problems no one else can: Based on broad experience across multiple industry sectors and functional areas, including process design, construction, startup & commissioning and operations for the midstream, LNG, refining, petrochemical, chemical, agrichemicals, and bio-processing industries, utilizing versatile technical expertise and results-oriented management skills with geographically and culturally diverse teams and projects. Effectively communicate with management, colleagues, and subordinates. Network and collaborate with multiple and varied industrial & academic experts & organizations.
Process Design experience includes P&ID development, heat, material & pressure balances, hydraulics,
steady-state & dynamic process modeling and equipment evaluation, trouble-shooting & sizing. Advanced expertise in control applications, advanced regulatory controls & automation systems, including batch and
model-predictive control (APC/MPC). Knowledgeable in crude & polar solvent distillation, cryogenic design &
operations, olefins cracking, poly-olefins, light ends & LPG distillation, and leading HAZOPs. Extensive project
leadership & management experience, including international projects & multinational, multicultural staff.
Developed and present a 3-5 day training course, “Practical Process Control for the Practicing Engineer”, to address the interdependent aspects of process & controls design (batch & continuous), safety systems integration, alarm rationalization & management, operator-interface design & automation. Develop & publish industrial white papers covering practical issues affecting robust process & controls design.
Experience Matrix:
Process Design
Process Modeling
Project Engineering
Process Control
Equipment Sizing
Process Economics
Commissioning Process
Trouble-shooting
High-Performance HMI
Human Factors
High Reliability
Operational Excellence (OE)
P&ID Development Cause & Effect (C&E)
Management of Change
Project Management
Operations Management
Construction
Litigation Support
Expert Witness
Remote Engineering
Turn-Around Supervision
Team Leadership
Process Control Training
HAZOP, LOPA, PSM
Alarm Rationalization
Alarm Management
Abnormal Situation (ASM)
Matlab, Simulink
Data Reconciliation
Dynamic Modeling
Dynamic Simulation
Biochemistry, Biology Computer Science FAT, SAT, Sim-Ops Retrofit, Hot-Cutover
Experion C300, Delta-V Yokogawa CS3000 TDC3000, TDC2000 Rosemount RS/3, Foxboro IA
Refining, Petrochemical Specialty Chemical (Semi)Batch Control Machine/Deep Learning
Sim-Ops, Proc-Ops NGL Fractionation Isobutylene, MTBE USP Glycol, Glycol Ether
Methanol, Ammonia, Urea Styrene Monomer (SM) Propylene Oxide (PO) t-Butyl Alcohol (TBA)
Ethyl Benzene (EB) Olefins, Ethylene, FCCU Light Ends, Poly-Olefin Methane Reforming
Extractive Distillation Inline Blending UOP CCR, Gas Plant Polar Solvent Distillation
Fischer-Tropsch Midstream: LPG, LNG Sequence Control Biodiesel, Ethanol, Biomass
Haldor-Topsoe Snamprogetti Feasibility Studies Operator Training Simulators
Amine Systems Cooling Water Startup/Shutdown Instrumentation, C&I
Crude Distillation Advanced Control MPC: DMC, RMPCT Boiler/Furnace controls
High Purity Distillation Utilities & Offsites Honeywell AM & PM CL Pascal, Visual Basic, Python
VMWare/vSphere Tennessee Eastman Bedrock, CODESYS VMGSim, Hysis, Aspen
Macro Assembly, OOP FORTRAN, Basic, C Honeywell PMC/PMX HMI, GUS, US, HTML
Hybrid Controller Red Lion, HC900, RTU Triconex, FSC, SIS, ESD DCS, PLC, BMS, I&E
Online Analyzers Gas Chromatograph (GC) Sample Systems Infrared, FTIR, Paramagnetic
Cross-Cultural Projects Expatriate/Overseas SE Asia, South Pacific Africa, Europe, Mexico
Resolve discrepancies and inconsistencies between design and construction of process control, Fire & Gas, Online Analyzer, and Emergency Shutdown systems. Review and recommend modifications to control scheme designs to improve operability, reliability, and safety. Test & Commission Fire & Gas, Emergency Shutdown & Process Control applications on Yokogawa Centum CS3000 process control system & safety instrumented systems (SIS). Oversee the design, construction, mechanical installation of field instrumentation and Vendor Packages for Fire & Gas, Process Control, and Safety Systems. Coordinate construction activities between multiple disciplines, including piping, instrumentation, and electrical. Interface and consult with Owner representatives on process design, control & instrumentation requirements for cryogenic service, operability, and safety. Commission & revise process control sequence and continuous control applications for LNG vaporization train startup & shutdown and Terminal Sendout, including pipeline monitoring & control. Provide startup & performance-test support to Operations & EPC Contractor.Responsible for economic & technical feasibility assessment of green & brownfield biofuels (ethanol & biodiesel) facilities in developed and under-developed regions – U.S. & international. Interfaced with technology vendors, contractors, and clients on infrastructure (utilities/offsites requirements and logistics) & feedstock requirements, process design, technical & economic feasibility, and product marketing & distribution. Managed & coordinated project development & progress with financial stakeholders. Led project development efforts for clients to meet scope, schedule & budgetary constraints.
Summary of Engagements:
•Central American Ethanol Plant Feasibility & FEED
•Central American BioDiesel/Refinery Feasibility & FEED
•U.S. Ethanol Plant Equipment Evaluation/Relocation Feasibility
•U.S. Vitamin E to Ethanol Plant Conversion Evaluation & FEED
•Sierra Leon, West Africa Bio-fuels Plant Feasibility
•Nigeria, West Africa Bio-fuels/Refinery Feasibility
•South American Ethanol Plant & Refinery Feasibility
•U.S. BioMass-to-Methanol Conversion Process Evaluation
•U.S. BioMass Gasification & Conversion Unit(s) Construction
Designed & configured SCADA applications for chemical injection systems. Detailed design included PLC configuration, operator interface design & configuration and sequence application design, implementation & commissioning. Sequence application included chemical injection scheduling, chemical consumption monitoring & tracking as well as abnormal event detection & alarming. An entire application is written in a structured text program environment using OOP methodologies. Performed detailed design, implementation & tuning of regulatory & advanced process control applications to meet objectives for throughput, safety, environmental, and quality metrics of Catalytic & Light Ends purifications units including implementation of Fired Heater cross-limit controls. Provided daily control applications and process engineering support for alky, catalytic light ends fractionation, hydro-desulfurization, and olefins units. Commissioned & supported multi-variable control (DMC) applications for refinery & olefins units. Supported project development, technical design & implementation of online optimization & abnormal event detection applications. Supported legacy PMX control applications during the Experion Migration project. Directed technical staff on multi-unit DCS replacement project which included a very large number of complex control applications, Remote Instrument Enclosure building (RIE) mechanical, HVAC & electrical design and fabrication, and fiber optic network installation. Coordinated integration, construction & acceptance testing activities. Performed multiple lead functions while the project team was being staffed. Successfully managed multiple personality interactions within client & project teams. Responsible for project delivery, schedule, technical performance, and change order estimation. Assisted Project Manager achieve financial results. Redesigned & implemented a complex multi-fuel fired heater control & load-balancing scheme in less than a week that had stumped the client's team for over two years for an LNG facility in West Africa.
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 1988 | Degree: BS | Subject: Chemical Engineering | Institution: Texas A&M University |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2002 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Principal Consultant | Department: |
Responsibilities:Provide practical process control training and consulting, process design, process trouble-shooting and commissioning, regulatory control, batch and APC applications design, construction supervision and project execution services for international and domestic clients in refining, petrochemical, LNG, specialty chemical and bioprocess industries. Also provide Expert Witness testimony and analysis of refining and petrochemical related cases for insurance and legal industry clients.Major Accomplishments: Completely rewrote batch controls for two (2) thermal reactor systems in less than six (6) weeks. Resolved numerous DCS controls’ configuration & tuning deficiencies and equipment mechanical issues to recommission three (3) separate online reactor models and associated controls that had been out-of-service for three years. Redesigned multi-fuel heater firing and load balancing controls in a matter of days that had stumped a project team for over two years. Led multinational expatriate team in a challenging overseas Operations & Maintenance (O&M) project with ZERO on-the-job accidents & injuries. Completely reworked an EPC Contractor’s process design basis on an expansion for two Crude Units in less than 6 months. Identified faulty basis for loss-of-revenue insurance claim. Completely reworked, tested & shipped a chemical injection system application in less than two (2) weeks. Activities: Process Control & APC Design Plant Startup & Commissioning Expert Witness Analysis/Testimony Process Analysis, Trouble-shooting & Process Modeling Process Design: Hydraulic Calcs, Equipment Sizing & Evaluation HAZOP Leadership Project Management & Development Project Management Consulting Training: Process Design, Process Control & Automation Operations Support & Management Multicultural/Multinational Projects Expatriate – International Projects |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1995 to 2002 | Employer: Honeywell Industrial Automation & Control | Title: Lead Project Engineer | Department: |
Responsibilities:He was recognized for taking on troubled projects and making them financial & technical successes. He managed multiple personality interactions within client & project teams. He turned-around a troubled project on time to meet aggressive client schedule. He managed a subcontractor who was a direct competitor of Company. He also led highly visible APC project competitive bid evaluation. Developed ARC engineering & design Front-End Loading (FEL) procedure. He performed 100% of design & implementation of batch-sequencing application. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1988 to 1995 | Employer: ARCO Chemical Co. | Title: Process Controls Engineer | Department: Process Controls |
Responsibilities:He had a lead role in justifying Company’s first multivariable control project; He implemented first management-of-change procedure for DCS point allocation & configuration. He led development of statistical comparison of online analyzer vs. lab results. He developed rules for tuning vertical & horizontal drum level controllers, a priori. He provided process control support during “hot” cut-overs of pneumatic-to-DCS retrofit project (PO/TBA) and new plant (PO/EB/SM) startup. He developed computer script for maintaining persistent documentation for computer-based control applications. He evaluated process identification & tuning software for Company-wide use. He coordinated Technical Department’s participation in the Plant Emergency Team. He also provided justification for a multi-million dollar instrument retrofit project.Major Accomplishments: Lead role in justifying Company’s first multivariable control project. Provided process design justification for a multimillion dollar instrument retrofit project. Implemented first management-of-change procedure for DCS point allocation and configuration. Created statistical comparison report of online analyzer vs. lab results. Developed rules for tuning vertical and horizontal drum level controllers. Evaluated process identification and tuning software for Company-wide use. Coordinated Technical Department’s participation in the Plant Emergency Team. |
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International Experience
| Years | Country / Region | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Years: 2004 to 2005 | Country / Region: Vietnam | Summary: Managed & directed an international, multi-cultural expatriate and local operations & maintenance staff – directly supervised 35 expatriate operations staff; indirectly managed 12 expatriate maintenance staff - for an Ammonia/Urea plant (the first modern chemical plant in Viet Nam) using Haldor-Topsoe & Snamprogetti technology. Provided guidance and direction to local management on the development of appropriate operations, maintenance & HSE practices, policies and procedures. Generated over 200 reports and policy & procedures recommendations covering various aspects of modern chemical plant operations, maintenance, emergency preparedness and organizational structure & management. Interfaced with plant & corporate management as well as government representatives regarding local staff & management capabilities & proficiency progress. |
| Years: 2002 to 2002 | Country / Region: Vietnam | Summary: Reviewed design of Vietnam’s first oil refinery project. Provided guidance on appropriate use of instrumentation, automation and control systems. Performed complete PFD and P&ID review of EPC Contractor’s detailed designs. Generated in excess of 100 reports covering numerous facets of process design (including utilities, cooling water, SPM & power generation facilities), refinery operations, control & instrumentation and Oil Movement & Storage systems. |
| Years: 2012 to 2015 | Country / Region: New Zealand | Summary: Provide control systems design, development & configuration on a Honeywell Experion/C300/TPS system for the replacement of an aged reformer unit with UOP CCR (CycloMax II) Unit, including the integration with Triconex-based ESD, Fire & Gas and UOP-developed sequential control systems. Guide & develop implementation standards for C300 controllers, Experion system configuration, DCS-SIS integration and regulatory & model-predictive control implementations. Facilitate development of and coordinate with refinery Stakeholders for justifying first Operator Training System (OTS) associated with CCR project and for on-going training of new Console Operators on other units. |
| Years: 2015 to 2016 | Country / Region: Angola | Summary: Provided process control & automation and plant operations consulting to a LNG facility. |
Career Accomplishments
| Professional Appointments |
|---|
| Activities: Project Engineering/Management Front End Design (FEED) Instrumentation & Electrical Design Continuous Control Design Sequence Control Design Engineering Consulting Project & Proposal Development Hot/Cold Cutover & Commissioning Advanced Process Control |
| Awards / Recognition |
|---|
| Awards: Team Spot; 3 Individual Spot; Individual Spot x2 Awards: Team EXCEL; Manufacturing Excellence; Individual EXCEL |
Additional Experience
| Expert Witness Experience |
|---|
| Assessed a Loss-of-Revenue insurance claim relevant to a fertilizer company that resulted in the claim being rejected due to a faulty basis. Experienced as an Expert Witness in technical and economic analysis for process industry-related cases. Capital Project Management experience up to $35 Million USD. Basically, Expert is an apparel and fabric expert and consultant. This covers the spectrum from fiber to yarn, to fabric, to weaving and knitting, to wet finishing and printing, to garment assembly and garment wet finishing. In Expert's career this was the focus of his work which translated into quality assurance and capacity building in manufacturing facilities. As his resume demonstrates, Expert did this for many of America's leading manufacturers and retailers. Expert was also a consultant to several USAid sponsored projects in developing countries to assist in the improvement of productivity and quality and thus raise employment in the industry. He was deployed on short-term visits (2 to 4 weeks) to Serbia (7 visits) Ethiopia twice and once to Rep. of Georgia. His expert witness work history is brief..... Expert was called to testify in a case involving smoke damage to inventory at a warehouse that had had a fire. This was in Chicago about a decade back. HIs work was highly praised. It involved a search of thousands of invoices for these goods and also an on-site visit to the said warehouse. |
| Training / Seminars |
|---|
| University Guest Lectures: “Dynamic Analysis”, “Distillation Control Primer” & “Practical Process Control”, University of Auckland, Chemical & Materials Engineering Dept., 2013-2015; Training: “Practical Process Control for the Practicing Engineer”: A 3-day course for Process Design Engineers, Process Control Engineers and Control Systems & Automation staff of all experience levels, that teaches the inter-dependent aspects of process plant design, process control, safety systems design & integration and process automation to achieve reliable and robust plant performance. Utilizing a mixture of lecture and case studies that are gleaned from 30 years of real-world experience with operating plants and design projects, this course addresses the large gap that exists between process design and control theory, as it is normally taught, and its practical application. The course also addresses the growing and diverse knowledge requirements forced upon Control & Instrumentation projects and plant staff resulting from the on-going evolution of automation systems and industry standards. |
| Vendor Selection |
|---|
| Knowledgeable with numerous DCS, PLC & SCADA systems vendors equipment. |
Fields of Expertise
advanced process control, chemical process design, dynamic process simulation, P & ID, change management, chemical operation troubleshooting, chemical plant design, chemical plant troubleshooting, chemical process analysis, chemical process control, chemical process control instrumentation, chemical process modeling, chemical process troubleshooting, control system engineering, design process, energy-efficient process control, engineering change control, feedforward control, front end loading, petrochemical process, petroleum refinery troubleshooting, process control engineering, process design, atmospheric distillation, characterization process, chemical refining, continuous distillation, crude distillation, distillation column control, energy-efficient distillation, extractive distillation, fractionating column, fractionating column design, fractionation, petroleum refinery design review, petroleum refinery evaluation, petroleum refinery simulation, process-engineering distillation, vacuum distillation, hydraulics, pressure measurement, process design variation reduction, engineering dispute, expert testimony, leadership, courtroom testimony, arbitration testimony, testimony, chemical explosion, capital planning, engineering investigation, chemical project engineering, employee safety, equipment appraisal, fiduciary duty, expert witness, business valuation, world crude oil prices, energy economics, incident investigation, constructability, operability and maintenance review, project execution planning, oil refinery equipment, chemical industry, project review, isobutane, engineering specification, bioprocess engineering, proposal writing, process simulation, exothermic chemical reaction control, distillation column, resource planning, engineering project management, facility appraisal, chemical process monitoring, chemical reaction engineering, process modeling, chemical process equipment selection, chemical process equipment failure, process hazard analysis, commercial hydrocarbon process development, chemical process safety engineering, control valve sizing, process control system design, chemical processing system safety, confined space safety, biotechnology process engineering, project cost engineering, value pricing, chemical process economics, construction schedule, contract, digital process control system, plant management, design review, chemical engineering mathematical modeling, troubleshooting, equipment failure analysis, chemical plant explosion, chemical plant, chemical process safety management, heat exchanger failure analysis, chemical process safety analysis, due-diligence investigation, simulation, distillation, design engineering, petroleum refinery, refinery, international sourcing, process safety management, steam reforming, engineering management, cost control, process engineering, critical path method, process modification, construction, chemical process, biochemical engineering, equipment, engineering, risk management, refining, project scheduling, project planning, project management, process optimization, operations management, modeling, failure analysis, engineering cost, distributed control system, control loop, contractor safety, continuous process analysis, construction planning, chemical engineering, boiler furnace, industrial biochemical process, accident investigation