Lessons from the Front Line of Innovation

Join us on Wednesday 25 March for a special session with guest speaker Shawn Fernando, as we explore how emerging technologies are solving real operational problems in one of WA’s key sectors.

As Head of Technology at Woodside Energy, Shawn has spent the last 10 years leading and shaping the energy sector’s operational landscape. In this session, Shawn will share practical insights gained from the delivery of several innovative technology initiatives in an asset intensive environment.

Some of the transformative projects we’ll learn about include:

• Executing the running of an LNG plant with a remote operations central control room — a world-first achievement.
• Evolving sensor deployments over the course of seven years, and lessons in building scalable and reliable sensing platforms.
• Implementing drone technology as a structured operational platform, including practical use cases across onshore and offshore facilities.
• Evolving 3D printing and bringing this capability into business-as-usual.
• Deploying inspection and maintenance technologies to support integrity management.
• Applying robotics and automation to solve very specific operational challenges, demonstrating that impactful automation does not always require complex or expensive solutions.

This session is about what actually works when new technologies meet the realities of operations: what supporting capabilities you need to consider, how you measure value, and how to truly enable high-tech innovation.

As usual, there will be time for Q&A at the end, followed by networking over drinks and pizzas.

Registration is essential for this one, and we hope to see many new and familiar faces on 25 March.

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Thank you to our supporters who make these events possible: our venue supporter Spacecubed, and our principal sponsor Rmkble, the home of JourneyOne, ProcessPath and DataDivers.
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Meet the speaker:

Shawn Fernando is the Head of Technology for Woodside Energy.

He has over 20 years of industry experience spanning the military, aerospace and the resource sector. At Woodside, Shawn held roles including Engineering Team Leader, Offshore Installation Manager, Head of Robotics, Operations Manager and Remote Operations Delivery Manager.

He has a BSc (Hons), BE (Hons) and an MBA (Distinction) from the University of Western Australia. Shawn is a Chartered Professional Engineer, Engineering Executive and Fellow of Engineers Australia. Shawn also sits on the Resources Advisory Board for AROSE (Australian Remote Operations for Space and Earth) and is a Board Director for SPRINT Robotics.