Volunteer Profile

Neil Pittman                                    July 2008 – Present
Lake Superior Consulting

Senior Coatings Specialist, July 2008–Present

Internationally recognized coating engineer with broad experience in formulation, testing, manufacture, application, inspection, specification writing, and root cause failure analysis with an emphasis in field-based coating issue resolution. Has developed and implemented coating strategy for both quality control and quality assurance of multiple billion dollar, large-diameter pipeline projects.

CenterPoint Energy, 2012–Present

Provide Coating Engineering consulting to CenterPoint Energy. Write coating specifications, provided input on coating philosophy, audit integrity digs and pipe replacement projects. Inspect pipeline replacement and integrity dig coating application for below grade service. Customize and deliver training to CenterPoint Engineers and Technicians on coating basics, and CenterPoint specifics of coating application and inspection.

Enbridge Energy, 2010–Present

Developed a training class and delivered a two-day coating class to the inspectors/foremen/management of the Flanagan South Project. Audit all Flanagan South Project spreads for conformance to the project specifications for coatings. Audit and inspect at multiple coating applicator facilities including, FBE, above grade, and liquid epoxy. Assist in the design and auditing of coating applicators to create an approved coater list for the United States. Perform an investigation of patch stick repairs leading to FBE applicator removing all repairs and replacing with two part liquid epoxy in the field at the applicator’s expense. Investigate horizontal directional drill coating damage and provided input for how to improve coating performance. Provide technical advice and training to the Eastern Access Project, Southern Access, Line 78, and GTA projects.

Universal Pegasus, 2010–Present

Projects for UPI clients such as Kinder Morgan, Integrated Pipeline Projects, TransCanada, Access Pipelines, Gaz Metro, and others: Perform root cause analysis of cracking on FBE application. Write, edit and signed off on coating specifications for UPI clients. Provide unique solutions to coating related inquiries. Audit coating applicators for their abilities to meet safety, quality and production needs of UPI’s clients.

PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE
TransCanada, 2003–2008

Senior Engineer

Responsible for coatings program at one of North America’s largest natural gas pipeline companies. Provided decision making input and construction support to $5.2B Keystone Crude Oil Pipeline Project in both US and Canada. Provided technical support for the maintenance of up to 56,000 miles of high-pressure natural gas piping, 77 offshore platforms, one LNG facility and $100,000,000 annual expenditures on coatings, saving money, time and effort by having correct technical knowledge available to decision makers. Developed and delivered a four-day classroom and hands-on training course on coating testing, evaluation and application. Performed forensic failure investigation for below ground and above ground coatings validating specifications and approved coatings. Conducted laboratory testing for >100 above and/or below ground coating systems while qualifying coatings for an Approved Coatings List. Audited fusion bonded epoxy coating plants, liquid applicators and a coal tar enamel plant for adherence to corporation standards with regards to safety, capacity, delivery, and quality. Joined NACE Technology Exchange Group #349X Coatings-Immersion and Buried Service: Cathodic Disbondment Test Methods. Performed a gap analysis on newly acquired asset’s coating specifications and wrote consolidated coating specifications valid for all company assets in North America.

ASC, Inc., 2001–2002

Plant Manager, 2002

Responsible for all manufacturing activities for the Tier I automotive supplier of top-coated body panels. (100 employees). Launched the 2003 Dodge Viper VGX. Program includes all fifteen painted exterior body panels, SMC, RIM, RRIM and GTX. The program is valued at $12.5MM / yr. Launched the 2002 / 2003 Pontiac Grand Am SR hood. Delivered over 3000 painted low pressure SMC hoods in four months without one returned for a quality problem. Transferred the $10.6MM program to another facility without any missed shipments or quality concerns. Finished the 2002 Dodge Viper to zero obsolescence over a seven-color scheme / 13 panel matrix. Successfully defended a union organizing effort by the UAW.

Manufacturing Engineer, 2001–2002

Responsible for all process, project, safety and environmental engineering duties at an automotive paint facility. (Three employees, one Co-Op). Implemented Lean Manufacturing concepts, including labor leveling, increasing number of parts produced by 50%. Maintained the plant's safety system during the record period without any lost time accidents. Operated the environmental program including waste management and air permits without incident. Performed design, safety, installation, sub-contractor management and startup / debug of a $500,000 retrofit to the existing paint line ovens. Installed the upgrades over a five day shutdown and managed the project to an on-time, on-budget status.

Henkel Surface Technologies, 1997–2001

Manufacturing Development Engineer, 2000–2001

Responsible for implementing Lean Manufacturing techniques at five QS9000 Tier I automotive chemical manufacturing sites. Led teams of plant management and staff to change entrenched ideas and work flows that reduced late shipments at one plant from 2500 in 2000 to 300 for the year 2001. Implemented Kaizen change teams which reduced overtime from 14% of Labor Hours to less than 5% of Labor Hours at one plant saving over a million dollars.

Process Engineer, 1997–2000

Change agent responsible for Continuous Improvement Projects. (2 Co-ops) at an international pretreatment chemical manufacturer. Met quality, safety, scale up and economics standards. Ensured that formulas for batch manufacturing of pretreatment and lubricants resulted in products that were manufactured with first pass quality. Capital project management and Process Hazard Analysis in an ISO / QS9000 environment that kept new construction safe and efficient. Developed processes for project management which were adopted by all Corporate Engineering and increased productivity and accuracy of communication with upper management. Performed process engineering to balance manufacturing locations for batch products saving $2.4MM annually. Received the Director's Award for this project. Developed a first ever Cooperative Engineering program whose first student graduate was hired as a Process Engineer.

ACHIEVEMENTS
Education & Training

·         University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, Master of Business Administration

·         Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, Bachelor of Science – Chemical Engineering

·         NACE CIP I and II Instructor

·         Purdue Corrosion Short Course (East Lafayette, IN)

Certifications & Licenses

·         NACE Certified Coatings Inspector, Level III #9975

Presentations

·         2011 – Purdue Corrosion Short Course – “Case History of Lab Testing and Underground Coating Testing”

·         2012 – NACE Duluth Section – “Surface Preparation”

·         2012 – NACE Detroit Section – “Cathodic Disbondment”

·         2012 – North Central States Consortium – “The Importance of Specification Writing”

·         2013 – NACE Detroit Section – “The Importance of Specification Writing”

·         2014 – NACE 10,000 Lakes Section – “The OTHER Coating QC”

·         2014 – Purdue Corrosion Short Course – “HDD Coatings”

·         2014 – NACE Detroit Section – “Corrosion Under Insulation”

·         2015 – NACE 10,000 Lakes Section – “Why do Coatings Fail?”

·         2015 & 2016 – Purdue Corrosion Short Course – “Hands on Coating Inspection Session”

·         2017 – NACE 10,000 Lakes Section – “Socialized Deviance” 

Organizations & Affiliations

·         NACE Detroit Section

·         NACE Twin Cities

·         North Central States Consortium