Gavin Duncan Email & Phone Number

Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom

Aberdeen, United Kingdom

Aberdeen, United Kingdom

Aberdeen, United Kingdom

As part of the director team reporting to the MD I was responsible for the engineering function which consisted of 5 teams globally totalling around 85 engineers. These teams were split into product development, project design and service support. The disciplines included Mechanical systems and structures, Hydraulic, Process, Electrical ,Electronics and Software. Originally these teams were from 3 different companies and I was responsible for integrating them into one cohesive department using new and improved common practises and procedures that added value. This allowed more efficient use of engineering resource across the whole company to support all business streams. This was also improved by restructuring the teams to introduce effective delegation and reporting. When I arrived there was no common culture and projects were over budget and behind schedule. I introduced a robust stage gate design procedure with regular effective reviews to reduce “over engineering” and specification creep, along with an “on-time delivery” culture. Detailed fully resourced engineering schedules were introduced to control projects. Also lessons learned and risk analysis was used to ensure mistakes weren’t repeated and commercial and technical risk was minimised. Global engineering system integration enabled standardisation of designs and products, therefore reducing cost and complexity of engineering solutions. Some of the legacy projects were brought back on track and all new projects were managed more effectively. There were multiple engineering projects across sites with values from £50k - £4m and durations from a couple of months to 2 years, the processes introduced were scalable to accommodate all projects and developments. Also responsible to come up with unique, market leading products Innovation management techniques were being introduced.

Aberdeen, United Kingdom

I report directly to the CEO and I am responsible for all engineering and R & D development with a budget of £2M, including electronics, software and mechanical disciplines, and ensure that our next generation of acoustic products are market leaders. As the company’s objective is to grow x3 in 5 years one of my tasks is to identify companies that have enabling or game changing technologies for our product lines or new products that will give us a niche markets. Once these companies are found our strategy is to partner, merge, and licence or acquire their technology or if it is commercially advantageous purchase the entire company. I have grown the engineering team from 15 to 25 and brought in a number from outside industries to take advantage of technology transfer. My main focus has been to ensure that all the developments have been subjected to a rigorous evaluation and de-risking process through prototyping and technology qualification. Due to the introduction of a more demanding design process with stakeholder’s reviews and extensive unit, prototype and field testing our products are far more reliable and meet the desired specification requirements within the agreed budget and schedule.

Aberdeen, United Kingdom

My role was to manage the introduction of new technology to the market to improve production optimisation in subsea wells. This included methods of making intelligent decisions from real-time data which lead to improved recovery rates, EOR, increased safety, lower artificial lift costs, and ultimately extend the life of the well. I was involved in production optimisation systems for flowing wells and artificial lift. Using advanced hardware and innovative software and down hole optical measurement systems. My main focus was to identify our client’s issues and fully understand how we could create the best improvements with our existing, and define the R&D development roadmap for our, fibre optic completion sensors product line. This included flow measurement, distributed temperature, pressure and acoustics. Applications for this technology were mainly targeted at the more complex completions such as multi zone intelligent wells. Part of the role was identify companies and research establishments that had enabling technology, sometimes game changing, that could be developed by them or in partnership with Weatherford and ideally an operator to solve key issues and introduce unique products to the market.

Inverness, United Kingdom

I am responsible for all technology development and engineering including management and budget. I report to the CEO and am an observer on the board. Due to the small team of three heads of department and 10 engineers I extensively work with research and technology companies to deliver the required scope of work of which a large part is subsea. I have full responsibility for the companies IP portfolio and have written the recommended strategy to protect AWS technology and maximise its value for investors. I have introduced a stage gate process based on Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), this forms part of the overall technology strategy that I have devised and implemented. At present we are completing the component technology qualification in preparation to pass through gate 3. My ultimate objective is to ensure the technology developed is fit for purpose, meets the requirements of prospective investors and energy suppliers and ensure continued success. In my time at AWS I have had a steep learning curve and obtained extensive knowledge of the future market and what remaining R&D is required to make wave energy a commercial reality.

Aberdeen, United Kingdom

Aberdeen, United Kingdom

Responsible for the new Expro technology budget of and gate process which manages all new technology developments across all Expro companies. I proposed a strategy to inject innovation into the company, with the board’s full support this is now and creating value. I have held global innovation forums and also headed up the technology network which consists of 20 technology area managers worldwide. This has introduced effective knowledge transfer globally. I liaised with the itf, universities, research establishments and world class technology companies to ensure Expro have access to the best technologies for their next generation products as part of our “Open Innovation” initiative. This has given Expro access to Step Change technologies which will create new markets and significant additional revenue. I had full responsibility for all new Intellectual Property (IP) and work closely with our patent agents to ensure all Expro’s IP was protected and added value to the company. I lead the development for the next generation of Ultra deepwater control systems. Also looked at new technologies for thru tubing non contact inspection of outer casings, this will give clients significant savings and Expro a new niche market. I was also involved in putting together the technology strategies for the individual areas and the company as a whole; this included identifying suitable joint ventures, licensing agreements and acquisitions. The latest being for Ultra Deepwater. Also identifying new niche market segments for 2 way technology transfer such as marine renewables. Had a technology marketing role to identify the technology requirements of our regions and their clients the Oil & Gas operators to ensure Expro’s medium and long term technology strategy creates, captures and delivers value to all their stakeholders.

Aberdeen, United Kingdom

This position involved the management of a number of technology platform projects. Each of these projects had a team of engineers under my control. Typically there were up to six projects at any one time. My role also had the function of looking at what technologies would be applicable for our business for the next 5 to 10 years which involved future scoping studies and continual communication with suppliers, universities, technology companies and clients. It involved a broad spectrum of responsibilities from initially identifying technologies, assessing them, securing funding, and contract negotiation, including IPR, and managing any resultant development activities.A major programme that I lead was the Ormen Lange Subsea Gas Compression project. I worked with 3 clients with responsibility for the requirements definition, design and qualification for the relevant equipment to be fit for purpose to be installed and operate reliably subsea. Consequently Aker Solutions have been awarded the pilot development project with a value of $80M. Another project was to assess the feasibility of using renewable energy (wind, wave, tidal, geothermal) for powering remote subsea fields in environmentally sensitive areas eg the Arctic. The Schtokman project was the main driver for this. The study was commended by Norsk Hydro.Other projects looked at application of technologies across a wide spectrum including Fibre Optic communications and sensing, Pilotless Directional Control Valves, Implementation of IWIS 13628-6 standard to KOP product range, the complete system solution for Subsea Gas Compression & Processing and Extending Life of Field for mature assets.

Aberdeen, United Kingdom

This role increased my responsibility by reporting direct to Group Technology at our Houston head office. It is a more strategic role looking at new technology and assessing the applications and the current and future requirements of prospective and existing clients, Oil majors and EPIC contractors. It involved technology presentations, presenting papers, identifying the key people and forming relationships with them, in both supplier and client organisations. I was responsible for ensuring that all controls development was co-ordinated within the group of companies. These two functions have involved extensive travel mainly to the USA and Norway and many other countries. This role also had a business development responsibility, which demands close collaboration with our Sales & Marketing division. I also represented KOP on the steering committee of IWIS “Intelligent Well Interface Standardisation” JIP international forum comprising of Oil companies, Subsea and Downhole suppliers, recommending standards to be included in ISO 13628-6. Further details at www.iwis-jip.com

Member of the board with overall responsibility for all engineering functions (staff of 20): consisting of Design & Development, Manufacturing and Support including full budget control. On average 20 projects are on going with values from £10k to £250k and turnkey control system projects to £2.5m. Driving high profile projects with requirements for certification from national bodies, including CENELEC, CSA & FM for Zone 1 and EMC and LVD for CE marking of products. Also responsible for expanding the companies design capabilities by identifying new technologies and introducing them into current and future projects. To allow this to be effective the engineers have to be trained and provided with the appropriate tools to apply the technologies. As part of this process I am also responsible for identifying funding support and investigating any support schemes available in conjunction with Universities and DTI. This is also the case when new development projects are being considered.