Speakers
Alex Gregory
- Principal Electrical engineer at AECOM, Lecturer - EIT
Alex is a Principal Electrical Engineer and the Electrical Team Lead within AECOM Buildings & Places in Brisbane in addition to being a Lecturer at EIT. Alex has extensive experience in the detailed design and documentation of electrical services across a range of industries include Defence, healthcare and industrial applications. With strong technical knowledge and construction experience in the electrical engineering principals of low voltage design, Alex is also a Chartered Engineer of Australia and Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland.
Cem Novella
- Managing Director - Novella Group
Cem Novella is the managing director of Novella Group. Novella Group is a consultancy company comprised of Static Electricity Control, Meech Australia Static Control & Newson Gale Australia.
Cem is the current chair for the Centre for Static Electricity Control and provides technical support and guidance to various industry groups and standards committees in relation to static electricity control and lightning protection in hazardous areas.
As static electricity and lightning affect a wide spectrum of global industrial and manufacturing processes, Cem has worked on a diverse range of static electricity control and lightning protection programs for applications across the globe, including Mawson Station in Antarctica.
- Conference Engagements:
Daryl Wheatley
- Director MWS Risk
Daryl is a director of MWS Risk and an electrical engineer whose career has been focused on Instrumentation, Control Systems and Functional Safety.
Over a career of more than 25 years Daryl has been involved in project delivery and technical roles that have spanned conceptual work through to execution, commissioning, ramp-up and operational support.
He has experience in metallurgical extraction, refining, waste water treatment, coal, product handling and process
- Conference Engagements:
Deepak Pais FIEAust CPEng
- Lecturer - EIT
Deepak is a Chartered Professional Electrical Engineer and Fellow of the Institute of Engineers Australia. He has a wealth of experience in Asset Management and Engineering within Electricity Supply Industry, Manufacturing firms and the Engineering education sector.
Deepak started his career in the mining industry as a Project Engineer looking after Substation and Distribution equipment construction and maintenance. He then worked in a Marine and Logistics firm in the Bahamas as Maintenance and Commissioning Engineer. Following this, he worked in the automobile manufacturing sector as a Maintenance Engineer on Power Distribution and Utility related systems.
For the last 14 years, Deepak has been working in a Senior Engineering role within the Asset Engineering, Risk and Compliance branch in a leading NSW Electricity Distribution utility.
Deepak has hands on experience in Design, Construction Standards and Maintenance of Power Distribution and Substation assets. He has a particular interest in industry best practice Asset Management practices focussing on safety, reliability, quality and value for money outcomes.
Derek Cross
- Gexcon, Team Lead of Gexcon Australia
Derek is a professional mechanical engineer with over 20 years of process safety experience across a range of industries, including hydrogen.
He has worked in projects around Australia and the world, both in design teams and as operational support.
Derek has extensive experience in process safety management, risk assessment and regulatory approvals, as well as using tools such as Shell FRED and Effects to conduct modelling for clients worldwide, helping them understand their hazards and design appropriate strategies to mitigate them.
- Conference Engagements:
Dr Scott Davis
- CEO – Principal Engineer, Gexcon US
Dr Scott Davis is the CEO at GexCon US and specializes in the engineering analysis and testing of combustion, thermal, and fluid processes.
Dr Davis received his Ph.D. and M.S. degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University.
He is responsible for fire and explosion related activities, which include post-incident investigative work, worldwide training and experimentation.
Dr Davis performs risk assessments and safety studies for petrochemical facilities and chemical processing facilities. Dr Davis has investigated hundreds of fire and explosions, and is a member of GexCon’s docents group,
- Conference Engagements:
Dr Yuanyuan Fan
- Course Coordinator; Lecturer Electrical Engineering - EIT
Coming from an electrical background, Dr. Yuanyuan Fan has always attached significance to social and environmental impacts in her everyday work and research. She believes the future lies in the efficient utilization and management of renewable energy sources, from where smart grids incorporating technologies such as green hydrogen production and usage will then become practical and cost-effective. With extensive teaching experience to engineering students and continued pursuing of applied research, Dr. Yuanyuan Fan has publications from power system analysis to machine learning based engineering practices and education. For a sustainable energy future, she believes electrical engineers should take initiatives to broaden their knowledge and in the meanwhile to collaborate with data communication engineers, automation engineers, data scientists and policy makers. Yuanyuan has recently been accepted as a member of IEEE.
Kanchana Bishop
- Senior Risk Consultant - MWS Risk
Hydrogen is a source of clean energy, and is contributing to a sustainable future. We do, however, need to ensure that safety is inherent in systems using this resource.
As an emerging technology, project management and planning – integral to safety - need to be embedded in the design and lifecycle of the systems, to protect producers, transporters, users and the public.
This presentation covers how safety can define the design, construction, operation and maintenance of a system. The specific challenges around hydrogen are also covered.
- Conference Engagements:
Nancy Norton
- Senior Inspector, Petroleum & Gas Resources Safety & Health Queensland
Nancy is a highly experienced chemical engineer with over 17 years of experience in leadership roles including operations management, safety regulation, quality and change management.
Nancy was Operations Manager of the BOC Townsville site before joining the Queensland Gas Safety regulator, RSHQ, in 2018. At RSHQ Nancy took the lead of hydrogen safety and led the development of Queensland’s Hydrogen Safety Code of Practice, the first of its kind in Australia.
Nancy represents RSHQ as a member of the Hydrogen Technologies standards committee and has represented Australia at the international technical standards committee for Hydrogen Technologies (ISO TC 197).
Nancy is passionate about creating a sustainable future and enabling the safe development of the hydrogen industry.
- Conference Engagements:
Neil Dennis
- Technical Director - AECOM Australia Pty Ltd
Neil’s professional background spans over 40 years’ experience as a designer and safety advisor for industries with a range of explosion hazards.
Neil has been an active member of Australian Standards committees for hazardous areas since 1992 and International Electrotechnical Commission committees since 2000.
His roles have included that as chair of Australian Standards committees, chair of IEC subcommittee for the classification and installations for hazardous areas and active membership in numerous working groups in both forums.
- Conference Engagements:
Shoena Messner
- Director Major Hazard Facility Unit, Work Health & Safety Queensland (WHSQLD)
Shoena is the Director of the Major Hazard Facilities unit within Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.
She has extensive experience as a process engineer and superintendent with Western Mining and then BHP Billiton. She moved into regulation 13 years ago after investigating a dust and hydrogen explosion that cost a life and precipitated the closure of the plant.
Shoena is dedicated to bringing practical solutions to the management of high-risk activities and incorporating technical judgment into public policy.
- Conference Engagements:
Shyamal Sharma
- Director MWS Risk
Shyamal is a director of MWS Risk and an electrical engineer, specialising in Control Systems Engineering with over 15 years of experience in design, detailed engineering and commissioning of process control and safety systems.
He has a proven track record of delivering engineering projects and offers specialist engineering expertise in functional safety and hazardous areas.
He is a recognised Charted Professional Engineer and TUV certified Functional Safety Engineer
- Conference Engagements:
Stacey Ozolins
- Stacey Ozolins Director Supply & Networks Electrical Safety Office, Office of Industrial Relations
Stacey is a highly experienced professional with over 20 years’ experience in leadership roles including industry and government policy, regulatory reform and delivering senior executive statutory roles.
Having worked in the electrical sector throughout her career Stacey joined the Electrical Safety Office (ESO) in 2020 and is the Director Supply and Networks. In her role, Stacey has responsibility for regulating Prescribed Electricity Entities and Accredited Auditors who undertake audits of electrical installations in hazardous areas and high voltage installations. Stacey also worked in supporting the review of the Electrical Safety Act 2022 review.
Stacey is passionate about delivering the ESO’s purpose of preventing of death, injury and destruction of property caused by electricity.
Travis Stewart
- Founder - Zero Industries
Travis’s held a position of Technical Regulator, Travis spent much of his time working with Compliance related issues for the industry, a part of his portfolio was Hazardous Area installations.
Travis took what he learnt within the Department of Justice and has applied it in providing practical knowledge into safety within Explosive Atmospheres & bringing together leaders within the Hazardous Area industry to join him in Zero Industries.
- Conference Engagements:
Venkat Pattabathula
- Director, SVP Chemical Plant Services
Ammonia is the best carrier of hydrogen, and is stored in large atmospheric storage tanks. The safety and integrity of these tanks are of utmost importance to the new renewable energy sources-based hydrogen and ammonia industry. How to maintain this is a topic for the session.
This presentation also discusses unique design features, applicable codes and standards in tank design, fabrication, commissioning, and operation. Guidelines for the inspection protocol for ammonia tanks are covered too.
Ammonia storage incidents - presented at the past safety symposiums over the last 50+ years - are reviewed.
This presentation is designed to help industry understand the challenges involved in the safe storage and handling of ammonia.
- Conference Engagements:
Vince Pececca
- Chief Scientific Officer – Risk Management Technologies
