David Sowden Email & Phone Number

Adelaide Sa

Adelaide Sth Aust

Responsible for the design and installation of Seismic retraints to Electrical switchboards, Cable trays and Tunnel Lighting support systems within the O-Bahn tunnel in the East Parklands. Accomplishments: -• Created a seismic restraint system using standard Ezystrut parts and steel sections, instead of expensive Seismic components from Gripple, exceeding the DPTI Seismic standards, and allowing for windage loads which are actually 2 to 15 times the seismic loads, every time two buses pass inside the tunnel.

Adelaide, Australia

David wrote the specifications for new equipment to strip the skip guidance steelwork and install rock bolting and mesh in the 470 m deep Whenan Shaft at Olympic Dam, SA.He then set up a Quality Control system for the manufacturing of the equipment to meet BHPB requirements.

Adelaide, Australia

In this role, David engineered slurry pumping systems and equipment for Mineral Separation and Production plant for heavy metal sand mines. Major accomplishments:• Introduced the use of two stage air vents on slurry field piping to reduce booster pump seal failures.• Changed two undersized pumps in parallel, to series so larger pumps and VSDs were not required. • Added a recycle loop close to the slurry transfer pumps so that 5 km of piping did not need to be updated to handle slurry at less than 70% solids.• Identified that the use of 20ft straddle trucks, rather than the proposed 25T sea container forklifts, would reduce the production hall width by 60%, and eliminate the danger of large forklifts/straddle trucks inside the filling hall, where small forklifts and people are operating.• Identified a saving of $1.8m of chemical dosing pumps, tanks, and Bulker bag unloading, by changing the concentrations to rationalise the pump sizes, and simplifying the bulker bag unloading and mixing process.

Olympic Dam

David assisted with the mechanical and structural engineering preparation for commissioning of three off positive displacement pumping systems, to pump tails slurry, an extra 3 km to new larger tails disposal ponds.

Olympic Dam, Sa

David engineering managed the repair/rebuild of the Clark Shaft Headframe, at Olympic Dam, SA, that transports 80% of the copper ore from under ground, after a major accident in October 2009 that destroyed 30% of the head frame. David also engineered major projects in the Mine Engineering department. Major accomplishments:• Introduced the use of load indicating structural bolt washers, instead of the existing procedure of torquing of bolts to 45% of the correct tension.• Redesigned the main brace doors, so that they did not twist and bend 400 mm when being opened.• Redesigned the underground Load Station Flask bottom pivot structure to eliminate high twisting loads and bolt failures saving 36 hours during Clark Shaft downtimes every 2 years.

Adelaide, Australia

In this role, David was responsible for trebling the capacity of two oil satellites in SA and Southwest Queensland for Santos Oil, with the existing Interceptor ponds capacity.Major accomplishments:• Introduced the use of a collapsible steel bunded tank farm area with 2mm thick PE liner, and 300mm of soil cover that allows fast 50 T crane and truck access into the bunded area for maintenance or to add extra tanks, compared to access ONLY from the outside that required a 100 T + 50 T crane to lift a tank into position.• Changed the layout of tanks so the distance from the Dewatering tank oil outlet to the production oil tank was 3 m instead of 60 m, saving piping, insulation and heat tracing for each tank set, and the oil outlet from the production tank to the shipping pump was 20 m instead of 70 m. Saving $0.8M on a $14M project.• Introduced the use of Corrugated Plate Interceptors built into standard 20 ft. Sea Containers, to clean the water to 10 ppm of oil in water, so that the two limited capacity lined Interceptor ponds could be bypassed. Saving $1.0M on a $2M project.

Adelaide, Australia

David was responsible for:• Investigating changes required at WMC Olympic Dam to change from LPG and Fuel Oil to Natural Gas for the plant.• Investigating valve failures at Epic Energy Mt Gambier meter station, and checking the safety of all other meter stations control valves, meters and PSVs.• Design of a evaporation and pregnant liquor pond for Heathgate Recourses Beverley Uranium mine with a Radon gas degassing facility.Major accomplishments:• Identified that the existing 600 kPa LPG distribution piping and piping within the smelter could be all reused for Natural gas at 950 kPa at a maximum velocity of 7 M/S, and that the existing eight off LPG leak detection and burner stations could also be reused with only one air/gas proportioning valve being replaced. Saving $2M on a $6M project.• Introduced the use of vehicle based GPS and base station to obtain accurate ground profiles of large proposed and future excavation areas in one day instead of two weeks using standard surveying methods.• Designed three Radon Gas separation vessels to remove the built up Radon Gas from 0.5 pH Pregnant liquor, before entering a pond for safety reasons that cost $10K total instead of quoted $250K for a SAF2205 tower.• Designed the pregnant liquor and new Evapoation pond liner system with 2.0mm(PL) 1.5mm (EP) thick primary HDPE liner, 5.0mm leak detection mesh, and a 1mm HDPE seconardy liner, with 300mm thick clay third sealing layer to meet all the current and future EPA requirements, that allowed for a fast approval time. The ponds had 5 depressed areas to allow leak detection within 1/5 of the pond area.

Adelaide, Australia

David was responsible for the design of Feeders, 80 Tonne Crucible movement, Drum, soil and chemicals material handling to destroy hexachlorobenzene for Orica, Botany Bay, NSW.

Adelaide, Australia

David was responsible for the design of WMC, Olympic Dam, Copper Refinery, Eastern Extension, pumps, piping, and equipment.

Adelaide, Australia

David was responsible for the design of well house buildings and piping, plant and field piping material selection, for Heathgate Resources, Beverley Uranium Mine.

Adelaide, Australia

David was responsible for reducing the downtime of Zuiko by critical spare assemblies instead of only components being held and identifying and reducing machine inefficiencies/design on Line 3.

Adelaide, Australia

David was responsible for the design, installation and commissioning of Building extensions, services, pits and conveyors for new final quality inspection and adjustment equipment, fire fighting sprinkler upgrades, building extension for Paint shop and the Flameproof Paint mixing room.

Adelaide, Australia

David was responsible for:• Increasing the speed of the case packers by 110%, and improving the reliability of case packers, Palletiser and conveyor systems between them to handle distorted shippers.• Establishment of a Preventative Maintenance Program for the four Nappy lines and Factory Services.

Adelaide, Australia

David was responsible for the installation and commissioning of a Shell Sand Coating plant at the Lonsdale Foundry.

Adelaide, Australia

David appraised the PC needs of individuals/families, obtained the most suitable PC systems and configured and installed the appropriate software. The latest saving was $500/Pc for a group of eight.

Adelaide Area, Australia

David was responsible for all Capital Works (10 to 20 projects per year of $2.3 M/Yr) at the Terminal, including:• Investigating new capital-proposals, from management and workers for feasibility, cost saving, regulation requirements, construction costs. • Adding Jordan sliding plate, back pressure control valves, to the transfer gear pump discharge piping, to change the 7 off 50KL blending/storage tank with full blending after additive addition, instead of the existing 8 hours blending time. Project cost of $100K for a saving of $180K/yr.• Designing standardised boiler hot well incorporating an oil separator and oily water alarm. Project cost of $5,700 to reduce the chance of boiler damage.• Upgrading an unused 3 Million Litre Ship Deballast Tank and spill separator to meet the future pollution standards of storm water discharge into the Port River. The option was a new separator of 5 times the present capacity to handle peak flows. Project cost of $178K for a saving of $250K.• Standardising on Enraf Tank Gauging with stilling wells for fuel product tanks for Mobil giving a 1 mm in 15 M height accuracy, or 700 Litres accuracy, compared to 5mm by manual dipping. Project cost of $650K for accurate on line inventory control.

Bachelor Of Technology (B.Tech.), Mechanical Engineering

Education record