JP PIETERS

Key technical lead overseeing critical infrastructure projects, compliance with regulatory standards, and performance optimization at one of New Zealand’s largest geothermal power stations. Trusted with full lifecycle responsibility for mechanical engineering projects, from design to commissioning and compliance, including PECPR, piping certification, CAPEX management, and asset improvement.

Key Responsibilities & Achievements

📌 PECPR Compliance & Asset Integrity

· Led PECPR (Pressure Equipment, Cranes and Passenger Ropeways) compliance program across steam piping systems both inside and outside station boundaries.

• Conducted technical audits including stress analysis, pipe supports and hanger assessments, support gap and any corrections needed.
• Implemented structured asset numbering and preventive maintenance scheduling in Maximo, ensuring alignment with ASME/EN and Asset Management standards while enabling accurate tracking and complete compliance history."
• Updated and implemented the site-wide Test & Inspection Plan, ensuring alignment with regulatory standard and creating a comprehensive shutdown scope of work.

📊 Financial Stewardship & CAPEX Management

• Responsible for the CAPEX budget at Kawerau site; updated forecasts and ensured all projects remained within financial constraints.
• Presented financial reports to senior management monthly.
• Managed contractor selection and procurement through a quality and budget elimination process.

🚧 Major Projects Delivered

• Installation of two new steam vent systems (HP and LP) including seismic platform upgrades and drainage design.
• Designed, engineered, and coordinated FRP piping support investigations and upgrades to enhance long-term system reliability.
• Executed a complete redesign of the incoming steam isolation system, ensuring the station can be fully and safely isolated from the steam supply.
• Designed and installed stubbin connections for burst disks to ensure positive isolation during maintenance activities.
• Optimized cooling tower performance and led the installation of custom insulation blankets.

· Led the installation and live switchover of new air compressors, ensuring seamless operation without plant downtime.

· Reviewed designs and led the fabrication and installation of multiple platforms, ensuring full compliance with safety and engineering standards.

· Redesigned level transmitter piping to eliminate a single-point failure, ensuring redundancy and preventing unnecessary station trips due to blockages.

🛠 Engineering Excellence

• Conducted pump performance evaluations to ensure operation at best efficiency point (BEP).
• Led the design and remediation of piping and support systems affected by subsidence and corrosion.
• Provided technical leadership in process safety meetings, failure investigations (e.g., FRP pipe failures), and Management of Change (MoC) documentation.
• Investigated and proposed long-term FRP maintenance and replacement strategies.
• Ensured all critical equipment spares were identified and stocked onsite to minimise operational downtime.

🤝 Stakeholder & Compliance Leadership

• Served as the technical liaison for external inspectors, engineers, and contractors.
• Led shutdown scopes including inspections, contractor management, and close-out reports.
• Ensured all projects adhered to asset management standards and ASME compliance.
• Built strong relationships with suppliers, contractors, and third-party certifiers to enhance operational excellence.

Key Skills Demonstrated

• Engineering Compliance: PECPR, ASME standards, and asset integrity inspections.
• Project Management: Budget forecasting, contractor coordination, design review, and commissioning.
• Technical Troubleshooting: Stress analysis, vibration issues, piping failures, cooling tower optimization.
• Process Safety: Risk assessments, incident investigations, and compliance close-outs.
• Asset Reliability & Maintenance Strategy: Root cause analysis, predictive maintenance, condition monitoring.
• Cross-functional Leadership: Collaboration with operations, procurement, finance, and external stakeholders.

📌 Key Responsibilities

• Conducted pre-feasibility studies and delivered expert engineering input to scope, evaluate, and plan major plant and infrastructure upgrades.
• Provided hands-on production support and process troubleshooting to minimise downtime and maintain plant performance during critical phases.
• Led technical reviews for designs and modifications, ensuring alignment with ASME standards, asset management guidelines, and operational requirements.
• Drove project execution for capital initiatives, overseeing scope, timelines, and stakeholder coordination to ensure successful outcomes.
• Benchmarked Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), identified performance gaps, and implemented corrective actions to boost reliability and throughput.
• Ensured compliance with PECPR regulations, coordinating inspections, stress analysis, and documentation updates in collaboration with certified inspectors.
• Maintained technical oversight of contractor activities, ensuring project and safety compliance across all stages of engineering work.
• Supported the development of shutdown scopes, managed contractor performance, and ensured timely execution and completion of inspection and maintenance tasks.
• Collaborated cross-functionally with Engineering, Maintenance, HSE, and Finance teams to integrate technical solutions with business strategy.
• Managed and updated technical documentation, including drawings, specifications, and inspection records to support long-term asset integrity.

💡 Key Skills & Achievements

• Project Management: Delivered multi-disciplinary capital and maintenance projects, including steam vent installations, structural platform upgrades, and pipework modifications.
• Design Review & Compliance: Reviewed engineering designs to meet seismic standards and asset management policies; ensured compliance with national codes and internal guidelines.
• PECPR & Regulatory Assurance: Supported piping certification and integrity assessments through inspections, NDT, and stress analysis to maintain legal compliance.
• Process Optimisation: Identified and implemented performance improvements such as cooling tower adjustments and header flow enhancements to increase efficiency and reduce costs.
• Asset Management: Monitored equipment condition, managed refurbishment of critical assets (e.g., vacuum pumps, FRP piping), and ensured availability of spare parts to minimise downtime.
• Technical Leadership: Provided expert guidance on materials, design standards, and system upgrades; supported the selection and implementation of engineering solutions.
• Health & Safety: Maintained full compliance with the Health & Safety at Work Act and internal protocols; led process safety meetings and contributed to incident investigations and closeouts.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Built trusted relationships with inspectors, contractors, suppliers, and multidisciplinary teams to drive project outcomes and continuous improvement.

📌 Key Responsibilities

• Managed complex, high-risk assets including boilers, pressure vessels, and high-pressure steam systems, ensuring regulatory compliance, reliability, and safety.
• Oversaw the end-to-end delivery of capital and maintenance projects, from scoping and budgeting to execution, contractor management, and handover.
• Proactively led major plant shutdowns, ensuring alignment of resources, spare parts, and safety compliance while minimising downtime.
• Acted as Maintenance Manager for 9 months, leading daily operations across utilities, steam, recovery, and chemical plants.
• Conducted comprehensive maintenance planning and inspection programs, including RBI (Risk-Based Inspection), predictive maintenance, and long-term asset strategies.
• Led contractor management for both local and international vendors, including a Long-Term Service Agreement with a Finland-based OEM.
• Executed detailed design reviews and internal engineering solutions, reducing the need for external contractors and achieving significant cost savings.
• Developed and implemented 5-year maintenance and budget plans, aligning resources with operational risk and lifecycle cost optimisation.
• Investigated and optimised plant processes, including sootblower sequencing, to eliminate boiler shutdowns and improve uptime.
• Ensured strict adherence to PECPR, ASME, and company safety standards for all repair and upgrade activities.

💡 Key Skills & Capabilities

• Project & Shutdown Management: Delivered high-value shutdowns and capital projects (up to R175 million) with up to 10 contractors on-site; ensured timely execution and safe completion.
• Financial Oversight: Secured project funding, managed multi-million-dollar budgets, and aligned procurement with strategic plans to control costs and maximise ROI.
• Strategic Asset Management: Implemented proactive and predictive maintenance strategies to extend equipment life and prevent failures.
• Code & Regulatory Compliance: Maintained full compliance with national engineering codes (PECPR, ASME) and ensured safe, auditable documentation and execution.
• People & Contractor Leadership: Led mixed teams of permanent staff and contractors, fostering high-performance culture, accountability, and strong working relationships.
• Process Optimisation: Led investigations into root cause failures and efficiency opportunities, delivering cost-saving solutions with measurable impact.
• In-House Engineering Design: Successfully completed engineering design tasks internally, saving on external costs and improving delivery timelines.

🏆 Major Achievements

• R175 million in total project value managed during major shutdowns — all delivered on time and within budget.
• Eliminated boiler shutdowns through sootblower optimisation, increasing plant availability and saving substantial costs.
• Established a full 5-year asset and inspection plan for boilers and steam systems, securing long-term reliability and compliance.
• Maintained strategic international contracts, such as with Finnish OEMs, ensuring effective service delivery and long-term alignment.
• Reduced unplanned downtime significantly via predictive maintenance implementation and component upgrades.
• Delivered all projects to code, achieving full compliance with safety and engineering standards.
• Acted in a senior leadership role (Maintenance Manager) and received recognition for people management, reliability improvement, and strategic foresight.

📌 Key Responsibilities

• Managed a highly complex asset base, including 17 coal-fired boilers (400T/H), 4000 kPa steam networks, coal pulverisers, feeders, HRSG boilers, deaerators, and feedwater systems.
• Led Root Cause Analysis (RCA) investigations following failures and incidents, ensuring lessons were captured and improvements implemented to reduce recurrence.
• Developed and implemented predictive and preventive maintenance strategies, reducing MTTR and improving reliability during planned shutdowns and unexpected breakdowns.
• Conducted detailed technical reviews and system performance analyses, introducing engineering solutions to optimize availability, thermal efficiency, and safety.
• Managed shutdowns and plant outages, ensuring all contractors worked within scope, safety standards, and compliance frameworks.
• Created and executed Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) plans, focusing inspection resources on high-risk assets to prevent unplanned outages.
• Provided hands-on technical guidance to site teams (fitters, technicians, supervisors), enabling safe and effective execution of maintenance and modifications.
• Developed inspection schedules and failure statistics reports to inform replacement timelines and asset strategies.
• Contributed to and facilitated Risk Assessments (RAs), ensuring engineering input led to safe, practical work execution.
• Designed new components and parts using SolidWorks and Inventor, and built custom tracking/analysis tools in Excel, PI ProcessBook, and Power BI to enhance decision-making and maintenance forecasting.

💡 Key Skills & Capabilities

• Engineering & Maintenance Strategy: Delivered tailored predictive and preventive maintenance plans, improving boiler and mill uptime.
• Project & Outage Management: Managed shutdowns, contractor performance, and internal change processes to reduce downtime and increase plant availability.
• Design & Analysis: Engineered custom components and modifications, applying SolidWorks and Inventor to improve equipment reliability and extend asset life.
• Data-Driven Optimization: Built dashboards and tools for monitoring and analysis (Power BI, PI ProcessBook), enabling smarter planning and historical benchmarking.
• Technical Leadership: Provided expert guidance across multi-disciplinary teams, embedding engineering best practices and safety compliance into daily operations.
• Risk Mitigation: Applied RBI principles and led technical inputs during Risk Assessments to enhance asset integrity and operational safety.

🏆 Major Achievements

• Boosted mill and boiler availability within the first year, contributing to increased output and operational resilience.
• Successfully reduced downtime through the introduction of RBI-based maintenance and optimized repair scopes.
• Designed and implemented custom engineering solutions that lowered project costs during constrained budget periods.
• Fostered a strong, collaborative work culture by building trusted relationships with operators, stakeholders, and contractors.
• Developed comprehensive scopes of work for breakdowns, outages, and upgrades, ensuring seamless execution and predictable outcomes.
• Delivered insights and efficiency gains through custom maintenance tracking and failure analysis tools, aiding long-term planning.

📌 Key Responsibilities

• Oversaw a complex portfolio of critical assets including 17 coal-fired boilers (400T/H), 4000 kPa steam networks, HRSG boilers, coal pulverisers, feeders, bunkers, ducting, deaerators, and feedwater systems.
• Led Root Cause Analysis (RCA) of equipment failures and plant incidents to prevent recurrence and inform smarter maintenance planning.
• Developed and executed predictive and preventive maintenance strategies, significantly reducing Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) during shutdowns and breakdowns.
• Conducted in-depth system performance evaluations, identifying inefficiencies and implementing targeted repairs, upgrades, and design modifications.
• Designed and implemented inspection schedules, integrating failure rate data to improve component lifecycle planning and optimize replacement timing.
• Managed outages and contractor operations, ensuring full compliance with scope, safety, and engineering specifications.
• Delivered technical guidance to frontline personnel (supervisors, fitters, and technicians), ensuring accurate, efficient, and safe execution of all maintenance work.
• Applied Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) principles to proactively reduce unplanned outages and boost plant availability.
• Provided engineering expertise during Risk Assessments (RA), ensuring safe and reliable operations aligned with statutory and internal compliance requirements.
• Designed mechanical components using SolidWorks and Inventor, and built predictive maintenance and analytics tools using Excel, PI ProcessBook, and Power BI.

💡 Core Skills & Capabilities

• Maintenance Engineering: Developed MTTR-reducing maintenance strategies; led predictive and corrective planning based on operational trends and RCA outcomes.
• Project & Shutdown Management: Coordinated multi-disciplinary teams and contractors through outages and upgrades, ensuring scope, schedule, and safety goals were achieved.
• Technical Design & Tools: Created custom components and predictive tools, integrating real-time and historical data to support long-term maintenance strategies.
• Risk Mitigation & Compliance: Championed RBI implementation and participated in RAs to enhance plant safety, integrity, and regulatory compliance.
• Collaborative Leadership: Acted as a key technical liaison across engineering, operations, and external contractors, fostering alignment and trust.

🏆 Key Achievements

• Engineered an innovative method to inspect and plug heat recovery boiler tubes, reducing expected downtime by 4–6 months during major failures.
• Improved boiler and mill availability within the first year by implementing smarter inspections and maintenance strategies.
• Optimized project designs under tight budgets, maintaining performance while reducing capital and operational expenditure.
• Developed detailed scopes of work for breakdowns, opportunities, and planned outages, leading to improved reliability and streamlined project delivery.
• Built strong partnerships with site personnel, leadership, and contractors, fostering a collaborative and performance-focused culture.

I’m a hands-on Mechanical Engineer with 10+ years of experience managing complex industrial equipment, leading shutdowns, and delivering high-value engineering projects. From boilers and steam networks to plant-wide maintenance and reliability programs, I’ve helped reduce downtime, improve efficiency, and save costs across heavy industry and power generation.

I bring a mix of technical know-how and real-world leadership—whether it’s planning a project, optimising maintenance with predictive tools, or managing international contractors on tight deadlines. I'm big on continuous improvement, safety, and building strong teams that get things done.

I’m now looking to bring this energy and experience to a role where I can keep making a real impact on plant performance and project delivery.