Team Vanguard

It’s the people that pushes a good company to great

;

Vanguard Solutions exists because our people believe that the work they do makes a difference.

Risk & Safety is our calling.

For the Vanguard team, working in risk and safety engineering is a vocation. With a total of some 100 man-years’ diverse experience, our leadership team inspire us with their passion for this work.

It is easy to advocate for improved process safety, but to deliver it requires determination, tact and pragmatism as well as technical expertise. These are the skills we build in our next generation of consultants. We also give back to the business community by helping them further knowledge and expertise through our specialised Training Programs.

Brendan Fitzgerald

Managing Director

Co-Founder and Managing Director of Vanguard Solutions, Brendan has over 40 years experience in Risk and Safety Engineering, Process Design and Process Simulation.

Brendan is well-regarded in the industry for his technical expertise and for his leadership on risk and safety issues. Brendan’s specific expertise lies in an ability to apply safety analysis / risk assessment techniques to any operation, activity or equipment, with a pragmatic understanding of the context, whatever the industry.

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Hilary Fitzgerald

Business and Finance Director

Hilary is an accomplished and strategic Business and Finance Director with a proven track record of driving financial growth and operational excellence across diverse industries. Adept at leading cross-functional teams, formulating and executing financial strategies, and optimizing business processes to enhance profitability. Proficient in financial planning, budgeting, and analysis, with a keen ability to identify opportunities for cost reduction and revenue enhancement.

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Dr. Martin Bardsley

Technical Director (Process, Safety & Risk)

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Okky Octaviani Goh

Associate Director (Team Lead)

Okky has more than 15yrs of experience in the Business, Investments and Energy Sector. She is highly skilled in Business Administration, Leadership, Sales Management, Client Liaison, Bowtie, HAZOP/HAZID/LOPA Facilitation and Risk Management.

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Leanne Gordon

Human Resource Advisor

Leanne is our Human Resource Advisor at Vanguard Solutions, helps specialists navigate organizational change in high-stakes decommissioning and process safety. Through facilitation, coaching, and consulting, she equips the team with strategies to stay agile, resilient, and future-ready amidst industry shifts and leadership transitions.

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Craig Brown

Principal Engineer (Safety & Risk)

Craig has worked on the detailed design and operations phases of both platform and FPSO projects. Craig’s passion for safety and risk engineering, coupled with his in-depth technical knowledge, make him an invaluable asset for any project in need of top-notch safety assessments and risk management solutions.

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Scott Cresswell

Lead Process Safety Engineer

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Mark Egan

Environmental Specialist

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Yong Keng Chin

Senior Process Safety Engineer

Yong Keng is an accomplished Senior Process Safety Engineer with 8 years of experience, primarily in the oil and gas industry. Her expertise lies in safety and loss prevention design for diverse projects, including onshore gas plants, offshore facilities, FPSOs, mining plants, and LNG plants.

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Daryl Paculanang

Senior Process Safety Engineer

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Ahsan Qayum

Senior Process Safety Engineer

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Daniel Summerton

Senior Process Safety Engineer

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Nelson Voon Sze Wui

Senior Process Safety Engineer

Nelson is a qualified Chemical & Process Engineer with almost 10 years experience in process safety engineering within the Oil & Gas industry. His key experience includes hazard and risk assessments, safety cases, project management, client liaison, and technical report preparation.

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Keith Castro

Process Safety Engineer

Keith is a dedicated and skilled Process Safety Engineer. He has been a key contributor to projects in oil & gas and mining industries, with experiences in safety case development, as-built documentation on-site, stakeholder coordination, budget tracking, and client liaison.

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Hau Chin Sim

Process Safety Engineer

Hau Chin is an agile, hardworking Graduate Process Safety Engineer with experiences in managing a team in his previous role. His selfless attitude has contributed to the team in Vanguard Solutions as he works independently but also as a team support.

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Brendan Fitzgerald

Managing Director

Co-Founder and Managing Director of Vanguard Solutions, Brendan has over 40 years experience in Risk and Safety Engineering, Process Design and Process Simulation.

Brendan is well-regarded in the industry for his technical expertise and for his leadership on risk and safety issues. Brendan's specific expertise lies in an ability to apply safety analysis / risk assessment techniques to any operation, activity or equipment, with a pragmatic understanding of the context, whatever the industry. This stems from his wide experience of different industry sectors, including mining/mineral processing, chemical, petroleum refining, oil and gas, nuclear, maritime, manufacturing and defence.

Brendan has a track record of providing key strategic input to clients’ decision-making in projects and operations. This advice often addresses wider project management and operations management issues, in addition to risk and safety.

Brendan’s passion for Process Safety was forged by his role in supporting a legal team at the Piper Alpha Inquiry, where he led the work that disproved one of the two main theories for the cause of the disaster.

Achievements and Past Experience

Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers and Professional Process Safety Engineer;
Team leader providing detailed design input, FSA and Safety Case development of eight major projects in Asia Pacific and Africa;
HSE manager on four major projects, including two through construction phase;
Assisted counsel representing a major equipment supplier at the Piper Alpha Inquiry;
Effective liaison with regulators in multiple countries;
Renowned workshop facilitator & qualified HAZOP & SIL/LOPA Chair;
Expert witness in legal arbitration;
Renowned as expert in Safety Case application and regimes;
Author of many technical papers, presented at international conferences.

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Hilary Fitzgerald

Business and Finance Director

Hilary brings a wealth of commercial management experience to her role as Business and Finance Director. As a senior leader, Hilary guides the team in integrating the general business functions across technical engineering services to ensure Vanguard’s ongoing success. With a background in project finances, contracts and risk management, and having established Vanguard’s administration and accounting systems, she leads the Accounting and Administration team, and oversees governance, HR, IT, and QMS functions.

Achievements and Past Experience

Hilary joined Vanguard in 2000 and has been instrumental in developing the company’s governance, commercial, finance and administration systems, ensuring they are fit for purpose to serve both company and client needs.;
Responsible for all aspects of the company's financial and business systems, and corporate compliance, and as financial controller she has responsibility for all banking, payroll, and taxation aspects of the business. Hilary manages HR and IT issues and handles commercial aspects of both projects and the business in respect of contracts and insurance;
With an MA in Economics from St Andrews University in Scotland, and a Diploma in Business, Hilary has worked with a number of large corporations in the UK. She gained contract management experience dealing with project finances and contractual matters for GEC HV Switchgear in the UK before joining the international insurance group, Sedgwick. Specialising in political risks, she led a team working in both domestic and international credit insurance, and rose to the position of Assistant Director, responsible for retaining and developing a portfolio of corporate clients worth $2million brokerage income, arranging export, political risk and insolvency insurance cover. She regularly operated at board level with major companies exporting to the Middle East, Africa and Asia;
Outside her role in Vanguard, Hilary is an active member of numerous community organisations, and over the years has taken on many voluntary leadership roles. Her sporting passion is hockey and as a Life Member and Past President of Newman Knights Hockey Club, she has been instrumental in growing the Club’s profile with member participation now above 350 players. A founding member of the Women’s Masters team she continues to play, umpire and coach, and remains on the Club Executive where her continued involvement fosters a strong sense of belonging and community spirit.

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Dr. Martin Bardsley

Technical Director (Process, Safety & Risk)

Martin is a highly experienced Process Safety Engineer and is widely respected for his expertise across all aspects of risk and safety engineering in the oil and gas industry. Martin is regarded as an expert in risk assessment, particularly in fire and explosion modelling, reliability assessments, FSA studies and Safety and Integrity Level (SIL) studies and verification. Martin has developed his own fire and explosion model, several innovative risk assessment models, as well as a combined HAZOP and SIL assessment workshop methodology.

Achievements and Past Experience

LOPA workshops and SIL determination for topside and marine systems, HAZOP workshops for topside and marine systems, SIL verification and FSA studies.
Safety studies and safety case for FPSO and WHP.
Safety study studies for FSRU.
Onshore risk assessment using PHAST and PHAST risk for OOCEP Block 60 development.
HAZOP and SIL workshop of the topside process (12 weeks of workshops) and subsea HAZOP.
HAZOP and SIL workshop of the onshore facility (16 weeks of workshops).
Topside process modifications HAZOP/SIL (4 weeks of workshops).
Risk and safety engineer during the detailed design stage for the NBSS.
HAZID workshop facilitation for pipeline de-commissioning concept selection.
Reliability and availability model for offshore facilities.
FPSO development project, including SIL determination and SIL verification to IEC61508/IEC61511.

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Okky Octaviani Goh

Lead Process Safety Engineer

She has experience in a variety of projects, including FPSO, onshore gas plants, mining specialising in remote area projects.

Achievements and Past Experience

Leading a Team of Engineers
Focussing in Training and Development of a team of Engineers
Business Development and expansion
Facilitated Marine Risk Analysis
Remote area project management
Contracted on a project involving FPSO scale inhibitor installation on site (6 months secondment). Developed workpack for installation, organized HAZOP with vendors and FPSO operators.
Process safety risk assessment (HAZOP/LOPA Facilitation) for multiple projects;
Communications manager for a gold mine expansion project, coordinating between multiple offices. Developed and managed equipment list for the project.
Risk management for large scale projects.

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Leanne Gordon

Human Resource Advisor

At Vanguard Solutions, where high-stakes decommissioning and process safety require adaptability, change isn’t just inevitable—it’s essential. That’s where Leanne Gordon comes in. As our Human Resource Advisor, she specializes in helping Vanguard Solutions' Team of specialists navigate transformation with confidence. Whether it’s organizational shifts, leadership transitions, or evolving industry demands, Leanne equips our team with the mindset and strategies to embrace change, not resist it. Through facilitation, coaching, and consulting, she ensures that our specialists—who thrive in complex, ever-changing environments—stay agile, resilient, and future-ready.

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Craig Brown

Principal Engineer (Safety & Risk)

Craig has worked on the detailed design and operations phases of both platform and FPSO projects. Craig's passion for safety and risk engineering, coupled with his in-depth technical knowledge, make him an invaluable asset for any project in need of top-notch safety assessments and risk management solutions. His dedication to delivering excellence and fostering safety cultures has earned him a reputable standing within the industry. He is a Certified TapRooT® (Root Cause Analysis) Incident Investigator and a qualified HAZOP Leader.

Achievements and Past Experience

Operations support for CPF, FPSO, and GEP on a project.
Offshore FSA and safety case development for CPF and FPSO on a project.
FSA and safety case development for a project.
QRA and safety case development for a project.
FSA and safety case development for FPSO and WHP on a project.
QRA support for a project.
Safety case, HSE support, and FSA studies for an FPSO project.
HSES case support for a project.
Development and construction of a production reliability model for a platform using the reliability modelling package SPARC.
Workshop scribe for HAZOP and HAZID studies.
Full literature review to investigate the cost-benefit associated with fitting health usage monitoring systems to existing field support helicopters.
Legislative compliance review for an offshore facility's temporary refuge.
Development of Vanguard Solutions risk modelling software package on Excel.

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Scott Cresswell

Lead Process Safety Engineer

Scott is a focused and result driven Chartered Professional Engineer (MIEAust CP Eng) with more than 12 years of experience working in the oil and gas, utilities, and mining sectors. Scott has strong leadership qualities and has led projects and personnel across international offices operating in different time zones. In addition, he has led audit teams for Safety Case and compliance audits and facilitated several high priority technical investigations for Major Hazard Facilities.

Achievements and Past Experience

Project Manager and Lead Engineer for a fired equipment venting arrangement audit. The scope included a review of existing dispersion studies completed for fired equipment across all assets (onshore & offshore) to identify gaps and provide solutions to make cold venting inherently safer.
Project Manager and Lead Engineer for a baseline HAZOP and LOPA quality review. Produced a quality assessment report and key decision log to highlight HAZOP and LOPA gaps to be rectified during the 5-yearly revalidation.
Led a team (Project Manager) to update operations safety case and associated safety studies for a complex. The scope included the development of an ALARP decision assessment to review the impact of removing specific lifeboats.
Provided process safety operations support for several oil and gas assets during a 4-month secondment. Support included assisting with the close-out of audit actions, providing peer review, updating risk assessments, developing locked valve registers, and leading technical incident investigations.
HAZOP consolidation & revalidation for a complex. Consolidated multiple HAZOP studies and updated baseline HAZOP minutes with findings from MOCs, action closeouts, and lessons learned. Highlighted gaps and improved the quality of existing minutes to make fit for LOPA.

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Mark Egan

Environmental Specialist

Mark Egan is an experienced environmental specialist with a distinguished career spanning twenty-five years. He has demonstrated expertise in environmental engineering, management, and social performance, primarily in major resource and infrastructure development projects. Mark's focus lies in the oil and gas, mining, and water sectors, with a particular emphasis on the upstream and midstream oil and gas industry.

Achievements and Past Experience

Environmental engineering, management, and social performance in the oil and gas, mining, and water sectors.
Conducts impact assessments, ensures regulatory compliance, provides engineering support, implements environmental management systems, and delivers training.
Contributes to significant projects globally, including FPSO facilities, offshore and onshore gas pipelines, and construction and pre-commissioning HSE management.
Holds qualifications in Environmental & Geographical Science and Environmental Biology & Geography.
Coordinates development of environmental and social action plans to adhere to Equator Principles and IFC Environmental and Social Performance Standards.
Expertise and dedication contribute to sustainable project development worldwide.

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Yong Keng Chin

Senior Process Safety Engineer

Achievements and Past Experience

Fire water system design including demand calculation, equipment sizing, line sizing, PFD and PID
Hydraulic analysis and transient flow (hydraulic surge) analysis
Safety engineering designs include design basis, hazardous area classification, fire zoning, safety layouts.
Firefighting equipment and safety equipment data sheets and specification
Handled firefighting equipment and safety equipment packages.
Consequences modelling
Formal safety assessment (QRA, FEHA, NFHA, HFE, HAZOP, ALARP and noise study)

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Daryl Paculanang

Senior Process Safety Engineer

Daryl has over 10 years of experience in the Oil & Gas Industry working as Process Design/ Process Safety Engineer. Daryl’s key experience is in process design, process safety management, management of change, HAZOP, LOPA, and incident investigation. His key strengths include the ability to effectively engage with internal and external stakeholders for successful delivery of outcomes. His work around a demanding HAZOP and LOPA workshops over a significant period is a good illustration of his work ethic and ability to achieve effective outcomes.

Achievements and Past Experience

Prepared and issued a baseline HAZOP and existing LOPA, issuance of assessment reports aligned with latest procedures, key decision log preparation, coordination support, preparation of revalidation nodes, HAZOP/LOPA minutes and workshop assistance for a large onshore facility.
Prepared Terms of Reference, marked up P&IDs, provided coordination support to the HAZOP team, scribed for the workshop, and prepared the HAZOP report for an onshore facility.
Worked on a remote FPSO topsides HAZOP as a scribe, provided workshop support to facilitators, and prepared the HAZOP report.
Contributed to the secure functioning of a refinery through overseeing process safety management and risk management on-site. Responsibilities included management of change, documentation maintenance, closure of HAZOP/LOPA actions, collaboration with onsite teams, redundant equipment efforts, participation in risk assessments, adherence to operating limits, and leadership training in HAZOP and LOPA.

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Ahsan Qayum

Senior Process Safety Engineer

Ahsan is a Senior Process Safety Engineer, with over 12 years’ experience in Oil & Gas industry as a Development, Design, and a Project Engineer for both onshore and offshore facilities, including FPSOs and FSRUs. He has worked and lead in multi-faceted and multi-cultural teams to execute international projects. He has practical plant experience gained whilst working as an Operations Engineer in the chemical industry and has extensive knowledge of international design guidelines and codes.

Achievements and Past Experience

Developed bowties from scratch for Western Australian assets of a business.
Organised and facilitated technical validation workshop sessions with operations, maintenance, and engineering personnel to develop cause lines, determine inherent frequencies and consequences for LOCI events. Development of recommendations to implement additional barriers and/or improve existing protective or safety critical barriers to reduce baseline operational risk to ALARP/SFAIRP.
Provided valuable support in marking up P&IDS for remote FPSO topsides HAZOP.
Facilitated preliminary HAZID analysis workshops and effectively managed the hazard log.
Served as the key engineer on an AGRU project expansion study, benchmarking existing AGRU and proposing a new AGRU with acid gas disposal unit.
Contributed to a critical project (study) for modelling a gas plant, determining maximum capacity, identifying key areas affecting contractual obligations and skilfully supported the development of a de-bottlenecking plan and provided expert witness report sections.

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Daniel Summerton

Senior Process Safety Engineer

Daniel is a qualified Chemical & Process Engineer with over 5 years of experience in the Oil & Gas Industry. Daniel’s key experience is in process safety management, management of change, maintenance engineering and integrated activity planning. His key strengths include the ability to effectively engage with internal and external stakeholders on a range of technical and non-technical topics. His work around a demanding HAZOP and LOPA programme over a significant period is a good illustration of his work ethic and ability to achieve effective outcomes.

Achievements and Past Experience

Management of Change for a Trunkline Onshore Terminal (TOT) & Flare Systems on an onshore facility;
Maintenance Engineering for the TOT & Flare Systems, including ensuring forecast OpEx and CapEx costs remained accurate and current year costs were managed within approved budgets;
Provided process engineering support to other system engineers, operations and maintenance as required;
Process Monitoring and Optimisation for a number of processing units at onshore facility, including two domestic gas trains, five stabilisation units and utility systems;
Management of Change for the Acid Gas Removal Unit (AGRU), Dehydration Unit, Mercury Removal Unit and Refrigerant Storage Spheres for onshore facility.

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Nelson Voon Sze Wui

Senior Process Safety Engineer

Nelson, a highly skilled workshop scribe, excels in supporting facilitators across diverse HAZOP and LOPA workshops. With a proven track record, he has contributed to notable projects, including a Baseline LOPA for a major complex, FPSO Management of Change HAZOP, and an Initial Start-up Procedural HAZOP. Demonstrating leadership in previous roles as a team leader, his offshore platform experiences highlight a range of inspection techniques, emphasizing his commitment to excellence and adeptness in navigating complex challenges. Nelson's rich experience positions him as an invaluable asset for projects of varying complexities.

Achievements and Past Experience

Project Management – Budget Tracking, Client Liaison, PHA Pro Expert
Worked as a scribe to provide comprehensive support to facilitators which included preparing a Terms of Reference, marking up P&IDs, providing coordination support to the HAZOP and LOPA team and preparing the HAZOP/LOPA report for onshore and offshore facilities.
Served as a scribe in FPSO Management of Change HAZOP.
Provided ad-hoc support to projects and played a pivotal role in preparing numerous comprehensive reports including a Formal Safety Assessment.
Undertook the role of a team leader, responsible for training and guiding new team members.
Conducted extensive offshore work on ultrasonic testing using Verkade technique for corrosion under pipe support.
Utilized GF320 infrared camera to inspect for any gas loss of containment and prepared detailed reports outlining possible solutions and countermeasures.

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Hau Chin Sim

Graduate Process Safety Engineer

Hau Chin is an agile, hardworking Graduate Process Safety Engineer with experiences in managing a team in his previous role as well as recently developing a safety case. His selfless attitude has contributed to the team in Vanguard Solutions as he works independently but also as a team support. He is highly regarded in Vanguard Solutions as someone who will put others’ needs before his own to ensure the projects run smoothly.

Achievements and Past Experience

Multiple HAZOP & LOPA experience - Scribed for workshops and produced detailed HAZOP reports for use.
Managed a premise of 20 staff with effective communication skills to coordinate daily management operations, resulting in greater productivity and higher levels of customer satisfaction. Strived to think out of the box to achieve KPI without compromising service.
Safety Case development for Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) unit

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It’s the people that pushes a good company to great

Vanguard Solutions exists because our people believe that the work they do makes a difference.

Brendan Fitzgerald

Hilary Fitzgerald

Dr. Martin Bardsley

Okky Octaviani Goh

Leanne Gordon

Craig Brown

Scott Cresswell

Mark Egan

Yong Keng Chin

Daryl Paculanang

Ahsan Qayum

Daniel Summerton

Nelson Voon Sze Wui

Keith Castro

Hau Chin Sim

Join Team Vanguard

Brendan Fitzgerald

Hilary Fitzgerald

Dr. Martin Bardsley

Okky Octaviani Goh

Leanne Gordon

Craig Brown

Scott Cresswell

Mark Egan

Yong Keng Chin

Daryl Paculanang

Ahsan Qayum

Daniel Summerton

Nelson Voon Sze Wui

Hau Chin Sim

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