Speakers
Day 1: Tuesday 12 November 2024
Andrew West, SCADA Communication and OT Cybersecurity Consultant, Integral SCADA Pty Ltd
Andrew West holds the position of SCADA Communication and OT Cybersecurity Consultant at Integral SCADA Pty Ltd, a software company dedicated to control system automation and device management.
He has worked on SCADA system and device software for 35 years, with a particular focus on SCADA protocols and control system cybersecurity. He represents Australia on three IEC standards working groups and Chairs the DNP Technical Committee.
His primary job responsibility is to have and express an opinion about everything to do with SCADA.
Andrew has chaired the OT, ICS & SCADA Automation plus the National SCADA Conference for 16 years.
Anna Carpenter, Integrated Service Hub Lead, Logan Water
Anna Carpenter has extensive experience in the Water Utilities sector, the past 18 months leading the Integrated Services Hub for Logan Water.
Prior to this role, Anna spent five years at the Urban Utilities Control Room, where she honed her skills in operational management and control systems.
Before transitioning to the water industry, Anna served 12 years in the British Royal Navy, primarily working in a range of different Control Rooms with different Technology and SCADA systems.
One of Anna’s most notable achievements is leading the Integrated Services Hub at Logan Water, into an operational environment and successfully coordinating various teams to achieve their goals. Her expertise lies in ensuring efficient and reliable sanitisation services, leveraging her strong background in utility
James Brodie, Technical Lead of Software Defined Automation, Schneider Electric
James Brodie holds the position of Technical Lead of Software Defined Automation within Schneider Electric’s Industrial Automation business in the Pacific Zone. In his role, he takes charge of offering technical guidance for Schneider Electric’s cutting-edge automation solutions, focusing on the transition of industries towards the vendor- neutral concept of “Universal Automation”. His responsibilities encompass facilitating this shift and ensuring seamless implementation of next-generation automation technologies.
James has a wide-ranging experience in the industrial controls field. He has worked in various roles, starting as a site-based control systems engineer, then transitioning to project delivery and technical sales. Throughout his career, he has been enthusiastic about exploring how software advancements from the IT realm can be applied to the hardware-focused OT domain.
Scott Clarke, Application Engineer – EcoStruxure™ Automation Expert CoE, Industrial Automation Business, Schneider Electric Australia
Scott Clark is a seasoned expert in water management and technology, with over three decades of experience in the industry. He founded his own systems integration business in 1992, pioneering innovative solutions for water utilities. Notably, Scott developed the ProDef software product, which is currently utilized by Sydney Water to efficiently manage their sewage treatment plants. In 2000, he collaborated with Sydney Water to create the Sydney Water Control and HMI Standards, which are still in use today, reflecting his commitment to advancing operational excellence in water management. Scott’s insights and expertise make him a valuable contributor to discussions on sustainable water practices and the adoption of new technology.
Ronan McInerney, HMI Specialist, Metro Trains
Ronan McInerney is a Human-Machine Interface (HMI) Specialist at Metro Trains Melbourne, which means on any given day he wears the hats of a Human Factors specialist, software engineer and/or graphic designer. When not designing or advising on user interfaces, Ronan spends his days attempting to convince the rail industry that operators actually do their best work when provided with modern, usable, well-designed software.
Ronan holds degrees in Cognitive Science, Computer Science and Psychological Science (Hons) and in his previous role spent almost eight years as a Human Factors scientist for the Department of Defence, primarily working in the aviation domain. He is currently seconded to the Rail Network Alliance (RNA) to build the new SCADA system that will operate Melbourne’s five new underground stations and tunnels as part of the Metro Tunnel Project.
Willliam Brennan, Team Lead SCADA Environment Support, SA Water
William has over 12 years of experience in the Technology world and a solid understanding and involvement in Operational Technologies and Automation in the last 7 years. He manages a team of talented people who ensure that South Australia’s water and wastewater infrastructure is remotely manageable and secure.
In his downtime, William has been known to play a round or two of Disc Golf.
Phil Bath, Senior SCADA Environment Analyst, SA Water
Phil has had over 43 years’ experience in the water/wastewater industry as a plumber and in construction and maintenance, work planning and SCADA.
For almost 39 years Phil has worked for SA Water, with the last 28 years working with a team that manages the SCADA environment across South Australia.
In his downtime Phil plays guitar and listens to classic rock.
Ray Lock, Technical Director, Westermo
With over 25 years of experience in industrial communication, Ray Lock is considered a subject matter expert in the design of secure industrial communications solutions deployed in critical infrastructure applications such as marine, rail, power, subsea and utilities.
In the last 2 years, Ray has taken on the role of Global Remote Solutions Architect guiding the R&D and manufacturing units towards providing devices that are fit for the environment they operate in with a push towards a cybersecurity focus.
As part of that role, Ray continues to drive the cybersecurity message to a wider audience and promote a defence-in-depth strategy, based on IEC 62443, but tempered with a pragmatic view of realistic user operation.
Mike Wassell, Managing Director, Operational Technology Services
A thought leader in Operational Technology (OT) and digital transformation, Mike is a customer focused executive with a passion for innovation and change.
He has more than 30 years’ experience in the design, installation, commissioning, operation and optimisation of Operational Technology in the Water Industry.
Mike worked for a group of international consulting engineers on major projects in the UK, Europe, the Middle east and Hong Kong prior to coming to Australia to deliver a world leading WAN automation system for Sydney Water. He remained at Sydney Water for many years ending as the Head of Operational Technology.
Since leaving Sydney Water, Mike set up his own consultancy providing strategic advice to a range of clients on OT, IoT and Digital Transformation.
Joshua Mendez, Integration Engineer, Endeavour Energy
Joshua Mendez is a Secondary Systems Integration Engineer at Endeavour Energy. He is responsible for the design artefacts of SCADA database builds and the development of automation schemes and new projects.
During his time at Endeavour Energy, Joshua has been involved in identifying and improving end-to-end processes, liaising with internal stakeholders, and developing tools for process automation. He also contributed to the development of a new process that can pre-emptively and remotely identify the need for battery replacement in Load Break Switches. This innovation helped shift maintenance from a reactive approach to a proactive one, ensuring devices do not fail when needed.
Joshua holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). Before joining Endeavour Energy, he gained five years of experience in the robotics and advanced manufacturing industry.
Glenn Hoggan, Technical Lead for Systems Development, AusNet
Glenn is the Team Leader of Systems Development in Energy Networks at AusNet Services. He began his career in the electrical industry 37 years ago with SECV, when SCADA systems operated on mainframe computers.
Throughout his career, Glenn has worked across both hardware and software, contributing to many aspects of SCADA systems, including RTUs, communications, databases, displays, commissioning, and system management. He is now recognized as a subject matter expert in the SCADA field.
In his current role, Glenn is responsible for maintaining and enhancing system code, supporting upgrades, and developing engineering applications that run on AusNet’s SCADA and AEMS systems.
One of his notable achievements is architecting and developing several of AusNet’s engineering applications, including the fully autonomous Distribution Feeder Automation (DFA) system.
Day 2: Wednesday 13 November 2024
Dr Kenneth Radke, Critical Infrastructure and Operational Technology Environments (CIOTE) Section, Australian Signals Directorate
Dr Ken Radke is a cyber-security professional, with a background in both IT systems and engineering systems.
Ken specialises in critical infrastructure and has worked with many of Australia’s critical infrastructure and systems of national significance.
Anthony Colebourn, Operation and Emerging Business Partner | Technology | Customer Assets & Digital, Ausgrid
Anthony is the Business Partner for Operations and Emerging Business with Ausgrid. His role is accountable for the long term stewardship of Ausgrid’s Operational Technology Environment used to connect and integrate Operational Technology devices to derive business benefits and enable emerging business capabilities including DSO, CER/DER, EVCI and REZ.
In this role Anthony has been working with key business stakeholders on the development and implementation of Ausgrid’s Operational Technology Strategies and Security program
Over the last 20+ years Anthony has worked across a diverse range of Engineering and Operational roles within Ausgrid with key experience as an asset ratings and reliability SME, Field Operations, Secondary Systems and Operational Technology Manager.
Warrick Tan, SCADA Program Delivery Manager, Urban Utilities
Warrick is an IT/OT specialist focussed on the successful delivery of complex digitally enabled infrastructure Programs. He has successfully managed muti-disciplinary teams within multiple 100M+ Programs in the 6 utilities, infrastructure and healthcare sectors.
Creator of the ‘Advanced Operations’ Transformation Roadmap, Warrick is currently leading an important territory-wide SCADA transformation that has improved the way Urban Utilities manages water quality, environmental impact and how the organisation responds to climate change. The multi-year territory-wide transformation has significantly reduced Urban Utilities unplanned maintenance and increased operational reliability.
Warrick also has extensive experience in the development, implementation and adoption of enterprise-wide Analytics, Big Data and AI Strategies and has helped many organisations realise the value of the Data Asset and how to leverage actionable insight to optimise business operations and performance and manage risk.
Neil Stephens, Senior SCADA Specialist in OT Solutions, Ausgrid
Neil brings two decades of experience in the electrical industry. He started his career in generation, HV plant and protection, but quickly honed in on control systems and software. Drawn by the promise of the ‘smart grid’, Neil made the switch to poles and wires, embracing the challenges of integrating new technology with existing infrastructure.
As a self-described ‘specialist generalist’, Neil excels at bridging various aspects of traditionally separate domains. This multifaceted expertise led him to become the primary author and maintainer of opendatacon, which aims to be a SCADA integration ‘swiss army knife’, reflecting Neil’s vision for flexible and interoperable systems.
Recently, Neil served as the SCADA lead for Ausgrid’s ADMS project, successfully managing the migration of their legacy MOSAIC SCADA configuration to the new Ecostruxure ADMS.
Scott Ellis, Operational Technology and Control System Specialist, Ausgrid
Scott Ellis brings 35 years of cross-domain expertise in electrical engineering and industrial control systems. As the founder of Novatex Research, he has delivered innovative software and hardware solutions across diverse sectors including mining, energy, building maintenance, and industrial automation. His portfolio includes developing SCADA protocol drivers for AusGrid, designing CanOpen-based RTUs for Caterpillar Mining, and creating award-winning industrial measurement systems.
Scott’s work spans ultrasonic inspection systems for wind turbines, ground penetrating radar for BHP Research, and satellite-enabled data collection systems for marine applications. His practical experience implementing legacy protocols like MD3, Conitel, and Baker positions him as a valuable authority on SCADA system integration and industrial automation challenges.
Scott specializes in bridging technical domains to deliver practical, innovative solutions.
Haranath Pindiprolu, ADMS Manager, Endeavour Energy
Highly accomplished professional with over 20 years of experience, Haranath has held critical leadership roles in the utilities sector, managing Endeavour Energy’s Network Control Centre operations and playing a vital role in their ADMS Transformation program. At present, Haranath is leading the ADMS strategy, program delivery, application support, and model management functions at Endeavour Energy.
Ratna Geddam, Operational Technology Manager, Unitywater
Ratna Geddam is an experienced Operational Technology (OT) leader with over 15 years of experience in Mining, Oil& Gas and Water & Waste Water operations. Specialising in Automation, Cybersecurity and Data Analytics, he has successfully led projects that enhance efficiency and safety. Holding a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Sydney and certifications in Project Management and Cybersecurity, he excels in uniting cross-functional teams to implement advanced automation and analytics that boost operational performance. A strong advocate for continuous improvement, Ratna Geddam fosters a collaborative work environment and employee development to navigate evolving challenges. Outside of work, he is passionate about new technologies and enjoys playing badminton and spending time with his family.
Dr Tuan Vu, Project Director, Transmission Infrastructure Modelling., Renewable Energy Zone
Dr. Tuan Vu is an experienced Technical Project Director with over 28 years of expertise in the electricity supply industry and energy consulting, both in Australia and internationally.
His areas of expertise include high-risk, high-value, and complex HV projects, network planning and modelling, Renewable Energy Zones (REZ), integration of wind, solar, and BESS, voltage stability, reactive power control, power quality and harmonic studies, HV substation and operational technologies, National Electricity Market connections, power system studies, and network fault investigation. He is also an expert in SVC and STATCOM projects, secondary systems, SCADA, digital assets, asset management, Wide Area Monitoring Protection and Control (WAMPAC), special protection schemes, big data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML).
Tuan is an active contributor to Standards Australia, IEC Standards, and CIGRE Working Groups.
Thomas Hughes, Strategic Asset Planner, Asset Management Unit, Water Authority of Fiji
Thomas holds a Bachelor of Science degree (Electrical/Electronics/Information systems) from The University of The South Pacific.
Thomas Started with Water Authority of Fiji as a Graduate Engineer. In June 2016 he was appointed as Team Leader SCADA, then Acting Manager Mechanical Electrical and Technology in March 2021 before taking up the role of Strategic Asset Planner in Jan 2024. Thomas was tasked with leading the team in WAFs vision of full automation of all of WAFs water and Wastewater operations. Thomas brings with him a wealth of experience in implementation of innovative technologies such as SCADA in a Pacific Island country whereby resources such as materials, man power and expertise’s are lacking.