John Speirs Email & Phone Number

Falkirk, Scotland, United Kingdom

• Lead Process Engineer – detailed design of the UK’s first unconventional gas (CBM) project including wellheads, gathering network and central processing facility. Gas compression, dehydration, water treatment, power.
• Lead Process Engineer – FEED, detailed design, commissioning for £5m expansion project in emulsion polymerisation facility of blue-chip company. Flowsheeting, P&ID preparation and equipment specification. 2 x 50m3.
• Process Engineering for various projects at FEED and detailed engineering stages in Oil & Gas, Pharmaceuticals and Fine Chemicals batch processes, including: toxic liquefied gas feed system, liquid product container.
• Many DSEAR risk assessments and Hazardous Area Classification studies including Scotch Whisky facilities, flammable dusts, bulk solvent storage, flammable liquid spraying, LPG.
• Technical Authority and Process Engineering Lead within Clark Eriksson, including management and development of Process Engineers.
• Resource planning, budget control and development of shared systems, including BSI audited ISO quality system.

• Lead Process Engineer (client site-based) for various capital projects (>£3m total), Polymers. Option selection, CAPEX estimating, process risk assessment, detailed design.
• Process Engineering - Transfer of agrochemical process from Kokkola, Finland, to Grangemouth UK. Designed major reconfiguration of existing manufacturing unit. In-depth liaison with process chemists, Finnish site.
• Commissioning Leader - £1m project for new Catalytic Oxidiser at polymers site.
• Process Engineering - £1m new clean room installation at a cGMP facility for milling of APIs.
• Management of junior Process Engineer and contract Process Engineers.

• Detailed design and Safety, Health and Environmental compliance activities for Fine Chemicals projects, e.g. pressure relief, emissions for PPC application.
• Instrumentation criticality assessment - cGMP facility prior to FDA audit, which was successful.
• Process Engineer and interim on-site client liaison - utilities systems design, Semiconductor facility, Madrid, Spain.

• Design of process systems for batch Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient manufacture.
• Preparation of cGMP process documentation including processing instructions, technical reports.
• Technical support, troubleshooting of unit operations including solid-phase synthesis, Liquid Chromatography, membranes and freeze drying in clean room and glovebox environments.
• Preparation of User Requirement Specifications, Equipment Qualification documents for equipment including stirred tank reactors, heat/cool units and pumping systems.
• Pressure relief studies & calculations. Input to HAZOP, Area Classification.
• Flowsheeting, P&IDs for various Pharma, Fine Chems batch processes - pilot to production scale.

• Supporting Hazard Analysis (QRA) and Hazard & Operability studies.
• Preparation and execution of commissioning procedures.
• Equipment design, safety relief flow calculations using various software applications.

• World-class training programme providing varied chemical industry experience during 6 consecutive 6-month placements in various departments. Part time HNC study.