Process engineer, Project Engineer, Production Engineer, Manager, I/E Engineer

••••• •••••
CHEMICAL ENGINEER
Hands-on process troubleshooter as competent in the field as in the office.
Adept at process design, with P&IDs, equipment design, M&E balances, DCS programming, commissioning and start-ups. Broad knowledge in troubleshooting instruments and equipment, rotary and stationary. Excellent team leader or as motivated individual contributor. Technical expertise includes:

Design/specification:•••••Reactors, direct-fired heaters, a broad spectrum of VL,
LS, GS separation equipment, agitators, pumps, blowers,
compressors, boilers and specialty equipment, possess
detailed knowledge of AutoCAD, API, NFPA, ISA and ASME
standards. Worked with ChemCAD,Hysys, Fathom, & Korf.
Production:•••••Day-to-day operation management, shift work;
commissioning, employee oversight, operator training,
optimization, scale-up, process improvements, SPC,
ISO•••••,FTA, PdM, laboratory analysis.
Safety & environment:•••••RCRA, PTI, PTO, ERP, SPCC, PHA facilitation, NFPA safety
•••••inspections, relief systems evaluations.
Process control:•••••Control scheme design, instrument selection, DCS
•••••programming, instrument troubleshooting & installation,
electrical hardware troubleshooting.

HIGHLIGHTS
Ambitech Engineers (A), Middough Consultants (M), Hemlock Semiconductors (HSC) Organic Technology (OT), International Steel Services, Inc. (ISSI), Swenson Technologies (S), CITGO Petroleum, Ambitech Engineers, & Gas Technologies Products (GTP)
Contract Engineer ? April, •••••Present
Integral in completion of many projects for numerous clients from conception to commissioning:
? Developed PFDs and P&IDs, M&E balances and hydraulic studies with Fathom & Hysys for projects (A,M);
? Caught an unexpected systemic valve actuator failure that threatened safety (HSC);
? Identified a critical flaw in hydrogenation column (OT);
? Optimized OTs distillation using ChemCAD - found a vac. pump failure (OT);
? Devised controls using a density meter to compensate a dP level transmitter (ISSI);
? Developed a temperature control scheme to avoid poor crystallizer performance (S);
? Completed several project details in support of a ULSD hydrotreater project for CITGO;
? Led electrical area classification project at BPs Whiting, Indiana refinery for Ambitech; and,
? Caught a design flaw with GTPs COS hydrolysis reactor thermal shock during startup.

Putman Media, Itasca, IL
Senior Editor••••• ? November, •••••April, •••••
Wrote, and continue to write, Fieldnotes and other columns for Chemical Processing magazine.

Archer, Daniels, Midland Company., Decatur, IL •••••
Product engineer ••••• ? March-September, •••••
Led team to improve a product (astaxanthin):
? Raised production capacity by •••••% and quality by •••••% in only four months;
? Slashed downtime by •••••% by identifying bad actors in equipment reliability; and,
? Originated seed-batching system to add nutrients to starving cells during long fermentation.


International Steel Services, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA
Senior Process Engineer ••••• ? •••••; •••••
Streamlined the design of chemical plants by employing uniform physical properties for material balances; standardized spreadsheets for equipment design such as packed towers, and, simplified specifications for equipment and instruments. Led or participated in five plant start-ups, writing SOPs and punch lists, commissioning equipment and instruments, setting up laboratories and running plants until I trained operators and managers to do so:
? Designed ••••• plants, including M&E balances, P&IDs, controls, instruments and equipment;
? Saved a patent involving solvent extraction by working with the research to cut capital by $•••••K and steam costs by $•••••K/year for a $•••••M project;
? Discovered flaws in a process for removing silicon from recovered iron solution, justifying changes to filtration, settlers, heat exchangers and blending;
? Initiated a orientation program and a training program for our clients, which became a big draw for new clients; and,
? Conceived a novel use of contact condensers that is now central to ISSIs bid design - shaving approximately $•••••k off their bids.

Earth Tech, Grand Rapids, MI •••••
Senior Process Engineer ••••• ? •••••
Corrected several vendor flaws while participating in steam stripper design. Started up two strippers. Led up to ••••• complex pharmaceutical projects simultaneously totally $•••••M:
? Amended a critical calculation error in pressure relief survey at Pharmacia (Pfizer);
? Quickly fixed a decanter problem involving poor agitation and a level switch;
? Became expert in pipe stress analysis, preventing design errors on several project; and,
? Impressed a client by showing them how to avoid a $•••••M replacement project by staged re-investment in their existing, worn out fluid bed dryer.

Millennium Inorganic Chemicals, Ashtabula, OH
Process Engineer ••••• ? •••••
Key contributor on a new reactor project that revolutionized TiO2 business; I solved the complex flow control issues that were critical to its success. I suggested improvements in reactor programming and instruments, wrote SOPs, and commissioned two reactors. We extended reactor run times from three weeks to ••••• Later, I was assigned double-duty as I&C engineer:
? Anticipated a shortage of N2 & O2 caused by the new reactors, inventing inexpensive solutions that inspired Praxair to complete modifications within our timeframe;
? Traced short reactor run times to a DCS error saving three weeks a year of downtime;
? Smoothly eliminated the worst instrument problems: batch tank pH control and level control in the condensation-distillation train;
? Uncovered a programming error during an outage, fixed it, and prevented downtime;
? Debottlenecked a TiCl4 vaporizer, raising plant capacity of Train B by •••••%;
? Accurately predicted an O2 heater coil failure, preventing five days downtime, I suggested changes to extend service; and,
? Conducted a plant-wide capacity studies that served as a basis for future work.

Andrew Jergens Company, Cincinnati, OH
Contract Process Engineer ••••• ? •••••
Process lead on consolidation/expansion project. I was involved in the soap operations and cosmetics:
? Prevented EPA delay by rushing through missed PTI and PTOs;
? Eradicated a dust problem by replacing belt conveyors throughout plant with vac. pneumatic conveyors (Won EPA support with this.);
? Invented a new agitator to deal with researchs ingredient innovations; and,
? Scaled-up and debugged processing problems with a new hazardous cosmetic allowing its successful launching, on schedule, and within the $3M budget I prepared.


Lockwood, Jones, & Beals Engineers, Dayton, OH
Project Engineer ••••• ? •••••
Participated in several water treatment, wastewater and air-emission control design projects:
? Convinced the EPA to accept novel softener design in place of green sand filters, saving a client $•••••k in capital and avoiding long lead times; and,
? Reduced instrument costs by simplifying design for BPs NH3 bio-treatment project.

Ralston Purina Company, Lancaster, OH
Process Engineer ••••• ? •••••
Became focal point for cleaning up backlogged projects and troubleshooting capacity issues prior to sale of plant:
? Traced the cause of •••••% reduction in packaging capacity to utility air problems - I untangled the system and installed refurbished equipment;
? Refined mixing, cutting quality losses in 2 products, saving at least $•••••k/year each; and,
? Installed an AS••••• system throughout the plant leaving sufficient spares for expansion.

Anheuser-Busch Company (ABC), later Gist-Brocades, Bakersfield, CA
Process Engineer ••••• ••••• ? •••••
As the only engineer at the facility, I wore many hats, including maintenance manager, production manager, project engineer, and environmental coordinator:
? After only six weeks with ABC, I justified a conservation project cutting the plant electric bill by •••••%, winning a rebate of $•••••k from PG&E, and a promotion offer; and,
? Completed two plant expansions, identifying and implementing several cost savings totally about $•••••k/year (chillers, electricity, steam, and downtime).

United States Air Force
Petroleum Engineer ••••• ? •••••
Animate force behind contractor improvements in waterflood operations at Elk Hills reserve, the Naval Petroleum Reserve #1, Department of Energy, Tupman, CA. (The biggest waterflood in the continental US) In addition, I was a contributing team member of the reservoir group.

Research Engineer••••• ? •••••
Applied statistical analysis and RCA, leading efforts to improve the solid propellant testing facilities at Edwards, AFB, CA. We increased testing capacity from ••••• propellants a week to ••••• At the same time, I ran five polymer aging studies and a combustion study. I published six reports, presented two papers, contributed to three others, and developed a training manual used in the Air Force.

Credentials
Bachelors of Science, Chemical Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, •••••
Self-study: equipment design, Delta-V, SPC, DOE, six-sigma, SIS, Hysys, PdM, RCM, RCA.
Licenses: Engineering-in-Training (EIT).
Registration: Transportation Workers Identification Credential (TWIC).