Ben Vermaak

Experience

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  BHPB Bayside Aluminium

  Jan 1991 - Dec 1997

  Projects Engineer / Leader

  Commenced career at Bayside Aluminium, a South African primary aluminium smelter.Developed from Engineer in Training to a fully registered Professional Engineer over a period of 7 years. Led a team of 4 technicians as Projects Leader, handling multiple projects from Identification study phase through to handing over fully operational plants. A total of 20 small and medium capital projects were completed during this time at a total cost of ZAR127M.Primary area of responsibility was Casthouse projects, as well as some plant wide projects. This included for projects like:• Site alumina conveying system: The replacement of a plant wide alumina conveying system with Swiss technology (Alesa) that was new at the time, supported by a new turbine compressor station;• Conversion of Bayside aluminium from coal producer gas to ‘Natural’ Gas (Sasol gas): This involved replacement of the full gas reticulation system and all burner applications on the aluminium smelter. This was done well within schedule, without unplanned outage or incident. Show less

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  TSB (Pty) Ltd.

  Jan 1998 - Dec 2001

  Manager Refinery Front End & Factory Engineer

  Transvaal Sugar Limited is a sugar milling and refining company in eastern South Africa.Led the Development and Delivery of 27 small projects over 2 years as Plant Mechanical Engineer, as well as managing the drawing office of TSB’s Malelane Mill.Led the Operations and Maintenance teams of the Refinery Front End following appointment at the start of 2000 as Manager of that area.Following automation of the Refinery Front End, the Operations team was responsible for commissioning and ramp-up to capacity.The full set of performance targets were achieved in the year 2000, with the best historical results at the time, despite challenging conditions, which included a cyclone. Plant availability was improved from a historical 84% to 97% in that year. The operations focus was on the successful implementation of a new SCADA system, which provided a wealth of process information to support rapid and accurate decision making. The system was a key enabler of availability improvements. Show less

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  BHP Billiton

  Jan 2002 - Dec 2015

  Group Project Management was a functional group providing support across all Businesses in BHPB with a mandate to establish optimum frameworks and capabilities to deliver safe, predictable and competitive projects. Provided an independent view to Business Presidents and BHPB’s Investment Committee of the status, expected outcomes, key issues and recommendations to enable successful outcomes on major capital projects. The role also included for the ongoing improvement of Major Project processes and rolling out training to project teams.Focused on the Coal projects portfolio, with an investment portfolio of US$11B of projects in Execution and with Studies adding a further US$20B of Capital under Management at its peak in 2012. This included the following projects: Daunia, Caval Ridge, Caval Ridge Southern Circuit, Broadmeadows Sustaining Operations, Goonyella Complex Optimisation Study, Appin 9, Crinum M-block, Hay Point Expansion stage 3, Newcastle Infrastructure Group’s stage 3 expansion, Caroona, Kipanya, Klipspruit extension, Leandra, Indomet and Mine Closure studies. Also provided regular governance support to Iron Ore, Copper, Potash, Aluminium, Oil & Gas businesses.Participated in multiple Group Level Document updates (BHPB mandated study & project processes) and internal governance procedures to improve the way studies and projects are done and to capture lessons learnt;Participated in multiple global roll-out of process updates to create awareness amongst study and project teams and then embedded via ongoing engagement;Identified projects in distress via early warning metrics covering all project disciplines to enable turn-around of projects in distress.BHPB major project Cost and Schedule outcome ranges improved significantly from 2010 to 2015, with the mean cost outcome improving by 8%. The IBC 2015 report reflected an improvement in BHPB major project cost and schedule performance from 4th to 5th quintile to 1st to 2nd quintile in this period. Show less A complex brownfields expansion of a mine, power station, refinery and associated infrastructure from an alumina output capacity of 3.5Mtpa to 4.6Mtpa at a cost of US$3.5B. The project involved multiple process facility upgrades which required 18kt of steel, 180km of piping, 1.2 million km of cabling, 3,200 tie-ins, etc.Led the delivery of the core Refinery expansion and associated Infrastructure, linking from Mine to Refinery to port. Managed the Implementation Contractor with a direct team of 4 Area Managers and 2 Functional Managers at peak.Key challenges included a heated resource market in Australia, a complex, bespoke process design, with challenging accessibility issues on a continuous operation in a high cost environment. Various strategies were developed and implemented to address these issues, for example:• Multiple global engineering centres were accessed and manufacturing of pre-assembled modules in China and South-East Asia was maximised;• Full modular construction of a 1,100t facility on an adjacent green-fields site, then transported into position with special motorised transport platforms;• Resolving ongoing complex design development changes and issues as key arbiter;• Close coordination with the Operations leadership team to ensure that output capacity and revenue impacts were kept to a minimum while executing 3,200 complex tie-ins.The project required deep seated resilience, but successfully delivered the 1.1Mtpa capacity increase and is presently viewed as the crown asset of South32. Show less Led 3 study teams developing mine, refinery with infrastructure expansion and energy supply (steam and electricity). Initially reported to the Growth Director and then to the Asset President, with the 3 study streams integrated into one Feasibility Study.One of the challenges was a late change to the energy strategy in terms of both fuel and agreement type due to structural shifts in energy costs and operational security considerations. The initial strategy was for energy supply via a 3rd party Build, Own, Operate (BOO) agreement, however this was changed to 3rd party Build & Own, with Worsley leasing as Operator. The fuel type was changed from gas to coal, with multi-fuel capability. The late changes resulted in complex negotiations with both the 3rd party and their financiers to enable timely agreement and financial close-out.The studies were completed in time and results were presented to both BHPB Business executives in London and Joint Venture Partner executives in Tokyo. The investment was duly approved to proceed to Execution.Significant study experience during this period:• Led the development of an attractive direct investment opportunity through innovative designing, optimising and integrating complex elements of mining, refining and infrastructure;• Led the development of a 3rd party agreement for power and steam supply;• Led the development of Execution Strategy and Plans for the above, including for directly contracting and mobilising a major Engineering, Procurement, Construction Management (EPCM) contractor;• Developed and presented a compelling vision and entrepreneurial investment case to senior business executives in BHPB and Joint Venture partners to enable a positive investment decision;• All of this in an environment beleaguered by skills shortages and high costs. Show less This study contemplated further expansion of both the Mozal and Hillside smelters, known as the Mozal 3 and Hillside 3+ at Pre-feasibility study level.Led the study areas of Reduction, Production Services, Power and Automation facilities as Area Manager.The local utility and other sub-Saharan electricity supply solutions could not be developed within a suitable timeframe and cost expectations. It was therefore decided to shelve the study at the time.The study created an opportunity to engage the national utility company with accomplished negotiators to develop a potential agreement, while investigating various international power supply solutions and engaging with government officials. Show less The Hillside 3 project was a 25% expansion of an existing smelter, adding capacity to the Reduction, Casthouse, Bake Furnace and Anode Rodding facilities, as well as associated Production Services. The project budget was US$0.5B.Canadian SNC Lavalin and South African Murray & Roberts were employed as EPCM contractor in a Joint Venture relationship. Various South African construction contractors were contracted and a construction workforce of 3,200 people were mobilised at peak. French Pechiney smelter technology was applied.Led the areas of Reduction & Production Services, forming part of a small Owner’s Team of 3 Area Managers and a Construction Manager, reporting to the Project Manager.The Reduction plant constituted the project’s critical path and the Target schedule represented the western world record at the time of 23 months to 1st metal. Through relentless focus on construction processes and contractor performance, this record was smashed to deliver 1st metal in 18 months. This was done without compromising safety or cost outcomes, with a project cumulative LTIF of 0.66 and a TRIF of 1.65, while finishing the project on Budget. Show less

  • Senior Manager Projects - BHP portfolio governance (US$31B Coal program focus)

    Aug 2010 - Dec 2015

  • Projects Manager - US$3.5B Refinery & Infrastructure

    Dec 2008 - Jul 2010

  • Study & Project Leader – US$3.5B Mine, Infrastructure, Power Station & Refinery Studies

    Dec 2004 - Nov 2008

  • Study Area Manager - US$1B Smelter Pre-Feasibility Studies

    Jan 2004 - Nov 2004

  • Area Manager - US$0.5B Smelter Expansion Project

    Jan 2002 - Dec 2003
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  Rio Tinto

  Sept 2016 - now

  Projects Manager

  Leading a team of Project Leaders to develop a portfolio of small and medium size projects ($2M to $200M) covering aluminium smelter and alumina refinery closure projects. The projects range from value driven to safety and integrity risk driven, e.g. Value Added Products, Rio Tinto’s Occupied Buildings Programme (a range of Process Safety projects), specialised vehicle fleets replacement, etc. In 2019, the portfolio covered 19 projects with a value of circa $300M.Full accountability for development of projects from Order of Magnitude phase onwards, covering all disciplines and coordinating support from Rio Tinto Controls and Procurement teams, as well as a range of external Engineering Service Providers. Show less