Corrosion and Failure Analysis Expert for Oil and Gas, Chemical, and Pulp & Paper Industries

Technical Consultant #2276

Material engineering serving the chemical, refining, oil and gas, pipeline, pulp and paper, and insurance industries.
Root-cause failure analysis, fitness-for service assessments, API 580 risk based inspection, equipment and piping inspection programs and procedures.
Coatings and linings specification, equipment fabrication troubleshooting.
Corrosion investigations and corrosion control, fitness-for-service and risk based inspection programs.
Accident investigations for the United States Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) involving mechanical integrity issues.
Storage tank assessments, water-related corrosion, risk based inspection program development.
National and international materials selection and failure, corrosion investigations, corrosion control, fitness for service and risked based programs and projects.

Expert Witness Experience

Offering litigation support in environmental science and engineering to attorneys, the legal community and to industry in general.
Served as a testifying expert on mechanical integrity.
Major accident investigation projects for the United States Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) involving mechanical integrity issues and has served as a testifying expert on mechanical integrity, failure analysis and corrosion cases.

Undisclosed Company,President, 2002 - Present

Failure analysis, materials engineering and laboratory testing services for more than eighteen years.
Specialize in root cause failure analysis, laboratory and corrosion testing, corrosion investigations, materials selection, API 579 fitness for service assessments, API 580 risk based inspection program development and API 653 storage tank assessments.
Provide expert witness services to the legal and insurance communities.

RBIT Consulting, LLC, Houston, TX, Vice-President, Engineering, 2005 - 2002

A diversified engineering and inspection company specializing in risk based inspection, mechanical Integrity, fitness-for-service and risk management.
Solutions for the refining and chemical industries.
Responsible for directing, coordinating, and exercising functional authority for planning, organization, control, integration, and completion of engineering projects within the company.
Accountability for all engineering and technical matters.
Directly supervise four professional employees and other staff, in addition to all personnel assigned to projects with engineering or technical content.
More than 25 years' experience in the process industries, including over 15 years' experience in mechanical Integrity, including risk based inspection.

Bryant-Lee Associates, Houston, TX, Materials Manager, and Principal, 1988 - 1990

Engineering consulting company providing materials and corrosion engineering services to the petrochemical, refining, O&G, insurance, and legal communities.
Responsible for Houston area clients involving materials and corrosion technology, equipment inspection, failure analysis and materials selection and fitness-for service related projects.
Participated in a leading role in client capital projects with equipment/piping fabrication issues, field QA/QC implementation, including specifying and implementing positive material identification (PMI) inspection to assure equipment/piping compliance with owner specifications.

Metallurgical Engineering and NDT, Houston, TX, Manager, 1986 - 1988

Responsible for company-wide materials engineering consulting, business development and management of client equipment inspection projects.

ARCO Chemical Co., Principal Materials Engineer, 1980 - 1986

Responsible for materials technology at ARCO's Texas Gulf Coast plants.
Performed failure analysis of plant equipment, acted as technical advisor for materials, coatings, and fabrication and inspection related issues on capital projects, developed corrosion monitoring programs, and specified equipment materials of construction for new processes.
Initiated and developed a test program to in-situ evaluate state-of-the-art radiant-tube materials for ethylene cracking heaters.

Texaco Inc., Arthur, TX, Materials Engineer, 1976 - 1980

For the Research Laboratory, provided materials engineering and failure analysis support for Texaco's worldwide drilling, exploration, production, refining, and petrochemical operations.
Developed the technical specifications and acted as resident technical advisor and supervisor of a Japan-based inspection and quality assurance program during the fabrication of high strength, sour 2 gas production tubing and casing for resistance to HS stress corrosion cracking.

Credentials

Academic and Professional Affiliations

Publications

Author of Corrosion Control Tutorial (CCDs) for refining and chemical plant clients to identify, control and inspect for damage mechanisms in processing units and identification of integrity operating windows.
Author of a college text book and author of over 30 presentations, conferences, and papers.

B.S. Metallurgical Engineering, (Cum Laude) University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL