The case for action on climate change has been accepted by the world, and it is time for commercial and industrial leaders to take action. In Veolia we call this ECOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION. It represents a proactive and in-depth change in our methods of production and consumption in order to provide the solutions our societies need. In Short, Ecological Transformation means walking the talk and taking real action to achieve society's goals for Climate Action. I will talk about the need to make our economy more "Circular", what that means and ask if we, as Asset Management Professionals, are prepared. Finally I will use a case study of Electric Vehicle Battery management to illustrate the concepts that I hope you will find interesting.
I trained as an engineer in the 1980’s in the British Merchant Navy. I later studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Glasgow (Scotland) and switched industries to work for Thames Water, the UKs’ largest water company, through their graduate program. This turned out to be an excellent foundation in Asset Management as they put me to work in every department of the water utility and I experienced every part of the asset management landscape. At that time Thames Water were beginning to explore the benefits of an Asset Management approach as a way to challenge the organisational silos within the company. Since then, I have developed my career in the water industry working on four continents and within multiple cultures. I have worked in many parts of the Asset management Landscape including: Operations; Maintenance; Program Management; Project Management; Commissioning; Procurement; and Operational Readiness. Reliability is baked into facilities during design and I have worked on many major wastewater upgrade projects where I brought operations and maintenance knowledge to the design phase. Besides my undergraduate Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, I have a Master of Science in Environmental Decision Making and I am a Certified Asset Management Professional through PEMAC. I am a PEng. with Engineers, Geoscientists Manitoba and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in the UK.I Have worked for Veolia, the world’s largest environment services company, since 2005 in capital program management and project management. Since 2010 Veolia have been partnering with the City of Winnipeg on their two billion dollar Wastewater Treatment Upgrade program, where I have been leading Veolia’s assistance on the operations, maintenance, asset management and refurbishment and replacement activities. I recently changed roles in Veolia and now act as Technical Director supporting Veolia’s municipal and industrial activity across Canada for water, wastewater and waste management. I have been a PEMAC member since discovering the CAMP program when I was looking for a recognized certification in asset management. I have gone on to instruct on the Capstone and Risk and Performance modules of the CAMP. In the words of Carl Santana, “The purpose of the music is to serve the song” and this is how I like to view Asset Management. To make music a band must communicate, cooperate, and collaborate among its members, with the production crew and with the audience. So, we must encourage the same behaviours across the asset management landscape to meet customer expectations and serve the objectives of our organizations.
