Alumni profile: Art Looi

Degree: BE(Hons1), PhD (Chemical Engineering)
Graduating Year: 1995, 2001

The 12-week vacation employment with the Strategic Research Division of Generation Victoria at the end of my third undergraduate year had stimulated my interest in engineering research. I subsequently undertook a research project as an elective in my final year. Then, I successfully co-developed a prototype high-pressure-low-flowrate coal feeder, which was made an essential part of a drop tube furnace research facility, for the Cooperative Research Centre for New Technologies for Power Generation from Low-Rank Coal [CRC].

Prior to completing my undergraduate program, I had already decided to pursue my PhD. I accepted a generous scholarship & the opportunity to work with Prof Martin Rhodes. Coupled with my interest in energy resources, Prof Rhodes & I developed a project to investigate the prospect of pressurised steam-fluidized bed drying. As part of my PhD work, I designed & supervised the construction & commissioning of a pressurised steam-fluidized bed coal dryer pilot plant & a full-size pressurised cold model of the dryer. The ambitious project, unfortunately, had to be scaled down & the pressurised cold modelling component subsequently became a separate PhD project. Art Looi

Not wanting to simply complete a “traditional academic” PhD, I accepted the CRC’s offer to fund my project. Consequently, I joined a larger research program to improve the efficiency of power generation from low-rank coal. The commercially focussed collaborative program had provided me with the opportunity to learn the intricacy of intellectual property protection & project management. Beside qualifying for my PhD, I also gained the knowledge of developing commercialisation potential of new technologies.

It is essential for a young engineer to gain as much practical experience as possible during the early stage of his/her career. South East Asia was the ideal place to acquire the hands-on experience I needed when I completed my PhD in 2000. I was subsequently appointed a Process Engineer by MEMC, a multi-national silicon wafer manufacturer, in Malaysia. As a principal engineer, I was in-charge of the final cleaning & inspection of silicon wafers. I was also given the responsibility to transfer technology from a sister plant in Japan to the labour intensive Kuala Lumpur plant. The exercise successfully raised the production yield from 84% to 90% within the first 6 months. Personally, I have been enriched by the cross-cultural experience.

Having delivered all the key performance targets, I left MEMC to return to the chemical/process engineering sector. I joined Trident Consultants Far East (Malaysia) [TCFE], a safety & risk management & dynamic simulation service provider to the oil & gas industry, as a Lead Consultant. This proved to be a significant career move; as I developed my technical specialist competencies, I also acquired the essential business management skills at TCFE. In addition to supervising up to 10 engineers in multiple concurrent projects, I was also involved in pre-contracts & budget management. I have always been passionate about process safety & TCFE was the ideal launching pad for my career in risk management. However, the company valued my process modelling skills more highly, so I was predominantly charged with the responsibility to manage & execute projects in the niche dynamic simulation market. TCFE was a small consultancy when I joined the company & my professional growth was tremendously accelerated by the diverse project exposure. I recall managing a project to simulate the surge protection of a compression system designed for a gas field in the Middle East. The job was executed in Kuala Lumpur while the clients were located in Italy (the compressor manufacturer) & Korea (the EPCC company).

After returning to Melbourne, I was appointed a Risk Engineer by the Metropolitan Fire & Emergency Services Board [MFESB]. I started to assume significant roles in general & corporate management since my promotion to the position of the Dangerous Goods Department Manager. As a senior technical strategy leader, I provide safety & sustainability expert advice. My pragmatic approach, which I attribute to my engineering training, influences senior regulatory policy makers not only in Victoria but also in other jurisdictions of the Commonwealth. My current role also includes quality management of deliverables, performance assessment, personnel supervision & resource allocation.

The autonomy I enjoy has allowed me to put in place very rewarding organisational changes to the business unit which I manage. I have introduced knowledge management principles to the department & also established a staff development program to facilitate effective succession planning & business continuity. On the technical front, I have successfully established & implemented a risk management framework to evaluate emergency plans & fire protection adequacy of dangerous goods sites. The outcome of these initiatives significantly enhance operational risk management of the organisation & community safety at large. Since the change in the Victorian dangerous goods related legislation in 2000, the MFESB has retained the associated responsibilities without the authority to enforce. Losing the status as a regulator, coupled with the shift from the formerly prescriptive regulatory regime to the current performance based laws, was extremely challenging for the MFESB. It was, therefore, inevitable to transform the Dangerous Goods Department to adopt partnership & relationship management philosophy. To effect this cultural change, mentoring & staff capability development became the main focus of my current role.

To perform my executive role effectively, I have to continually acquire non-engineering skills, such as financial management, corporate risk management & corporate governance. Having equipped myself with these competencies, I decided to expand my horizon by assuming a governance role as I sit on the Board & the Audit, Finance & Risk Committee of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (Victoria).

My career has evolved across a wide range of industries. The geographical & cultural diversity experience is priceless. My experience in the public sector has helped me to appreciate the “human side” which is rarely seen by an engineer. Am I still a chemical engineer or have I become a public administrator? Despite my career progression to general management, I remain a keen chemical engineer. My technical knowledge is regularly updated by participating in IChemE & IEAust activities & contributing to these professional bodies is very rewarding, & I encourage all engineers to do the same. It was a very fulfilling experience to be Treasurer of the highly successful Chemeca 2007 & I look forward to my first assignment as an IChemE course accreditation assessor.