Introduction

TechDev Engineering Ltd. is a Scottish company with a global reach, providing independent services in technology development, engineering and innovation. The company's core competencies are driven by the skills, knowledge and over 30 years of professional experience of its founder, Dr. Andrew Jaffrey CEng FIET.

Dr. Jaffrey is a Technology and Innovation leader with extensive experience in the global delivery of multi-million dollar physical and digital programmes and solutions. As an internationally recognised innovator he is known for conceiving, leading and delivering products, concepts and solutions, including disruptive ideas for the subsea industry. He is a Chartered Engineer with technical, engineering, software, research, analytical, product, leadership and mentoring skills along with commercial acumen, strong communication and presentation abilities and an aptitude for aligning customer and business requirements with pragmatic technology solutions.

Through exposure to, and involvement in, financial, marketing, sales, service and business process tasks, Dr. Jaffrey has a broad skillset that can be applied to a wide range of challenges within fields such as Aerospace, Defence, Oil and Gas, Medical Engineering and Renewable Energy.

A common theme throughout Dr. Jaffrey's career has been 'joining the dots', thereby delivering the right information to the right people at the right time to support informed decisions. This is closely coupled to his recent work involving condition based monitoring and looking at data analytics for predictive maintenance in operational and life of field scenarios for critical equipment.

Although the responsibilities and achievements outlined on this site are focused on technical capability and delivery, none of these results could have been achieved without the ability to work with people, to understand, motivate, compromise, learn from, collaborate with and share the ups and downs of joint endeavours.

Value Proposition

TechDev Engineering's value proposition can be summarised as:

Technology Development & Innovation Consultancy that extends capabilities, reduces risks and delivers new ideas and data insights as pragmatic, cost-effective solutions to strategic challenges.

Benefits

Dr. Jaffrey delivers:

• Commercial acumen driven by need to maximise margin and minimise solution and service costs while demonstrating value to stakeholders in ways compelling enough to support financial commitment.
• A problem solving approach used to address product, process and service issues while maintaining the dual perspective of the supplier and the end-user
• Unique cross-discipline experience that provides one-stop coverage of inter-dependent systems and requirements that are frequently considered in isolation rather than holistically, both as technologies and development programmes
• Holistic approach to solving problems such as cost reduction and doing more with less
• The ability to talk to, and bridge the gap between, clients and technical teams in ways that ensure clarity of purpose, accuracy of detail, understanding of objectives, agreement of constraints and alignment of expectations
• The vision and passion to develop technology strategies informed by corporate priorities
• The ability to rapidly assimilate new technologies and be highly creative in considering where they might be applied
• A team player philosophy complemented with a proven ability to lead, through experience gained managing cross-functional, national and globally distributed teams
• Highly proficient at, and with extensive experience of, managing multiple external vendors and consultants concurrently to achieve project objectives
• In summary: an experienced, highly qualified Chartered Engineer with an innovative but safe pair of hands who delivers results through understanding business drivers, customers' objectives and having the skills, gravitas and determination to achieve success

Beneficiaries

• Companies where the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) role and the Chief Innovation Officer (CINO) are not formally recognised but the main business of the company is centred around technology and the development and supply of innovative products and services
• Group companies where each company or division in the group operates autonomously, leading to unrecognised and unrealised opportunities for synergy of technologies, techniques and sub-systems. Identifying such cases across the group can lead to benefits for all parties such as lower development, certification and support costs, reduced time to market and better staff utilisation
• New-start companies requiring oversight, mentoring and advice on questions such as: structure, product development routes, commercialisation of new product offerings and technology priorities
• Venture Capital and Private Equity companies requiring support for technical due diligence investigations, advisory board support, an Operating Partner or requiring particular experience or skillsets to support specific investment decisions

How are these benefits achieved?

• By viewing requirements from fresh perspectives, utilising transferable skills and experience and rejecting 'me too' thinking and traditional approaches to the solution of problems
• By identifying where else new ideas could be applied
• By taking a holistic approach to design and product issues encompassing the re-imagination of existing solutions and the combination of old and new parts and technologies to create novel systems addressing end-user priorities
• By never losing sight of the fact that company costs must be minimised and client benefits maximised

Examples of tasks:

• Assessing the value and credibility of new technologies
• Advising how new ideas and technologies could or should be applied
• Managing the development and commercialisation of new products
• Mentoring and guiding young companies
• Defining priorities for development
• Providing oversight and review of projects, products and technology strategies
• Idea generation targeted at product differentiation

How are these capabilities delivered?

• Services are available through both short-term or long-term contracts, with full-time or part-time options
• Approaches regarding Non-Executive Director appointments are welcome
• Approaches regarding senior staff positions are also welcome

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Qualifications and Accreditations

Dr. Jaffrey holds the following qualifications and accreditations: Qualifications PhD by Research and Application Automation, Systems Integration, Robotics, Machine Vision University of Edinburgh (1989 - 1992) His PhD thesis can be downloaded from the Edinburgh Research Archive here BSc (First Class Honours) Mechanical Engineering Paisley College of Technology 1986 Accreditations Chartered Engineer (CEng) Fellow of the Institution of Engineering & Technology (FIET) Member of the British Computer Society (MBCS) Associate Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (AMIMechE)
BSc (Hons)	PhD	CEng	FIET	MBCS	AMIMechE

Awards

The following are subsea oil and gas industry awards for which Dr. Jaffrey was responsible while working with other companies OTC Spotlight on New Technology 2009 - NASMUX OTC Spotlight on New Technology 2010 - SeaPAR Being responsible for winning two prestigious industry awards illustrates: An understanding of industry requirements The ability to conceive new ideas of benefit to industry The ability to devise pragmatic, cost effective and potentially game-changing solutions for industry The ability to communicate the value of new ideas These awards recognise the innovative thinking and clarity of presentation that are an essential part of the work ethic of TechDev Engineering Ltd. In addition to the global subsea industry, these traits can be brought to bear on a wide range of tasks within fields such as Aerospace, Defence, Medical Engineering and Renewable Energy.

Back to Awards

OTC Spotlight award - NASMUX This award was presented in 2009 under the Spotlight on New Technology Awards scheme run annually by OTC (Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas). NASMUX is an acoustic system providing full control of subsea Blow Out Preventer (BOP) equipment and offers an alternative to traditional multiplexed (MUX) control systems. The BOP and control system were from Cameron, the acoustic controls were from Nautronix, with whom Dr. Jaffrey was then serving as Technology & Development Manager. The Offshore Technology Conference recognises a limited number of innovative technologies each year with the Spotlight on New Technology Award. This awards programme is designed to showcase the latest and most advanced technologies that are leading the industry into the future. As the architect and author of the award submission, Dr. Jaffrey demonstrated an understanding and insight into the industry and the ability to communicate the benefits of this new technology to a knowledgeable audience.

Back to Awards

OTC Spotlight award - SeaPAR This award was presented in 2010 under the Spotlight on New Technology Awards scheme run annually by OTC (Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas). SeaPAR (Sea Power Acoustic & Radio) is the world's first subsea wireless data and power unit that incorporates short-range high bandwidth radio-frequency (RF), mid-range low bandwidth RF and long-range low bandwidth acoustic communication and navigation/location capabilities. The unit is further distinguished by an inductive charging function. The unit is from WFS Technologies, with whom Dr. Jaffrey was then Vice President of Engineering. The Offshore Technology Conference recognises a limited number of innovative technologies each year with the Spotlight on New Technology Award. This awards programme is designed to showcase the latest and most advanced technologies that are leading the industry into the future. As the architect and author of the award submission, Dr. Jaffrey again demonstrated an understanding and insight into the industry and the ability to communicate the benefits of this new technology to a knowledgeable audience.

Intellectual Property

The following lists identify granted, published and filed patents where Dr. Jaffrey is a named inventor. In the majority of cases he is the only individual. Note: most applications are filed in the US, the UK and typically Norway and Brazil.

In addition to the following, there are several patents in preparation for filing that cannot yet be listed here. Although Dr. Jaffrey is responsible individually or collectively for the intellectual property listed here, he is not the owner: the rights to these inventions belong to the parties for whom he was working at the time of the disclosure of the ideas.

Patents are usually Published (made available in the public domain) 18 months after they are filed. The time taken to Issue (or reject) a patent is variable and can be very short or be many years. Typically a patent will be Granted between 3 and 5 years after initial filing.

In the following lists, Dr. Jaffrey's patents which have been Granted and Published can be downloaded by selecting the corresponding image.

Granted Patents

	Assembly and Method for Monitoring Position of Blowout Preventer Rams US 10,273,774 B2 Issued 30-Apr-2019		System for Communicating Data via Fluid Lines US 10,246,994 B2 Issued 2-Apr-2019
	Cable Monitoring System and Method Using Noise-Domain Reflectometry US 10,175,287 B2 Issued 8-Jan-2019		Seals with Embedded Sensors US 10,161,225 B2 Issued 25-Dec-2018
	Drilling Fluid Measurement System US 10,151,160 B2 Issued 11-Dec-2018		Piezoelectric Generator for Hydraulic Systems US 10,103,652 B2 Issued 16-Oct-2018 Note: Divisional application from US 9,634,581 B2 which issued on 25-Apr-2017
	Bore Object Characterisation System for Well Assemblies US 10,087,745 B2 Issued 2-Oct-2018		Subsea Electronic Data System US 9,970,287 B2 Issued 15-May-2018
	Blowout preventer with inflatable element US 9,970,254 B2 Issued 15-May-2018		Smart washer for pre-load monitoring US 9,964,135 B2 Issued 8-May-2018
	Blowout Preventer Status Assembly US 9,957,771 B2 Issued 1-May-2018 Note: Continuation application from US 8,978,699 B2 which Issued on 17-Mar-2015		Subsea Electronic Data System US 9,879,526 B2 Issued 30-Jan-2018 Note: Divisional application from US 2014/0064029 A1 (Published on 6-Mar-2014)
	Systems and Methods for Monitoring Blowout Preventer Equipment US 9,869,404 B2 Issued 16-Jan-2018 Note: Continuation application from US 9,587,461 B1 which Issued on 7-Mar-2017		Sensor Assembly for Monitoring a Fluid Extraction Component US 9,732,879 B2 Issued 15-Aug-2017
	Subsea Equipment Pendulum Arrestor & Method for its Use US 9,719,330 B2 Issued 1-Aug-2017		Measurement System (Accumulator Piston Position by Rheostat Method) US 9,677,573 B2 Issued 13-Jun-2017
	Piezoelectric Generator for Hydraulic Systems US 9,634,581 B2 Issued 25-Apr-2017		Systems and Methods for Monitoring Blowout Preventer Equipment US 9,587,461 B1 Issued 7-Mar-2017
	Wireless measurement of the position of a piston in an accumulator of a blowout preventer system US 9,410,392 B2 Issued 9-Aug-2016		Blowout Preventer Status Assembly US 8,978,699 B2 Issued 17-Mar-2015
	Subsea transfer system providing wireless data transfer, electrical power transfer and navigation US 8,577,288 B2 Issued 5-Nov-2013		Wireless auxiliary monitoring and control system for an underwater installation US 8,305,227 B2 Issued 6-Nov-2012

Published Patents (Pending)

	Systems and Methods for Cutting a Tubular Member US 2018/0010411 A1 Published 11-Jan-2018
	Subsea Navigation Systems and Methods US 2017/0284806 A1 Published 5-Oct-2017		Systems and Methods for Engaging Subsea Equipment US 2017/0191334 A1 Published 6-Jul-2017
	Apparatus and Method for Monitoring Valve Operation US 2017/0138151 A1 Published 18-May-2017		Smart Seal Methods and Systems US 2017/0130575 A1 Published 11-May-2017
	Subsea Hydrocarbon Extraction System WO 2017/044852 A1 Published 16-Mar-2017		Annular Blowout Preventer with Radial Actuating Member US 2017/0058623 A1 Published 2-Mar-2017
	Wire cutting Blowout Preventer US 2016/0348459 A1 Published 1-Dec-2016		Seabed Drilling System WO 2016/154348 A1 Published 29-Sep-2016
	Fluid Monitoring Systems and Methods US 2016/0215608 A1 Published 28-Jul-2016		Smart Material Coupler US 2016/186516 A1 Published 30-Jun-2016
	Cable Monitoring Apparatus US 2016/0131692 A1 Published 12-May-2016		Pipeline instrumentation and control system US 2011/0308796 A1 Published 22-Dec-2011
	Downhole signal coupling system US 2011/0308795 A1 Published 22-Dec-2011		Signal coupling system US 2011/0304218 A1 Published 15-Dec-2011

Patent Map

The following is an alternative view of the patent portfolio showing applications grouped by general topic to illustrate the distribution of ideas and their broad applicability. Download a PDF version of the Patent Map

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Bibliography

The following are selected Papers, Publications, Articles, Interviews and Conference Activities prepared and/or delivered by Dr. Jaffrey (while working for other organisations). Note: owing to the confidential nature of much of the work undertaken with Cameron, public presentations were not given between July 2010 and January 2015

Download a PDF version of the Bibliography

• US National Academy of Sciences Committee dissemination workshop on final report regarding the Application of Remote Real-Time Monitoring to Offshore Oil and Gas Operations for US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), Houston, Texas, 22 Sep 2016. "Some factors to consider in establishing a pilot programme for Blowout Preventer (BOP) Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM)". (Invited speaker)
• Transportation Research Board Special Report 322, "Application of Remote Real-Time Monitoring to Offshore Oil & Gas Operations", US National Academy of Sciences. ISBN 978-0-309-36978-7. Most cited individual contributor in report commissioned by US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)
• US National Academy of Sciences Committee meeting on Remote Real-Time Monitoring of Subsea Equipment for US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), Houston, Texas, 26 Aug 2015. "Blowout Preventer Monitoring"
• 2015 IADC Advanced Rig Technology Conference, Amsterdam, 13-14 Oct 2015. "The Challenges, Consequences and Opportunities of Making Subsea Equipment Smarter"
• "Opportunities, hurdles line industry's path to making subsea equipment smarter". Invited article published in Drilling Contractor magazine (Vol. 71 No. 5) to co-incide with Advanced Rig Technology Conference in Amsterdam, 13-14 Oct 2015
• Cameron Intranet. Authored and presented innovation video made available to all staff worldwide on 20-Apr-2015
• API Inspection Summit, Galveston, Jan 2015. Presentation: "Integrity Management: The need for a more holistic approach"
• "Under the Sea", Oilfield Technology, 14 Aug 2014
• Invited by IBC Asia Pte Ltd to be Keynote Speaker at Subsea Operations and Technology conference in Singapore (22-23 Sept 2010). [Forced to decline owing to travel costs]
• SUT, Subsea Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Conference, 2-3 Jun 2010, Newcastle "Subsea Wireless - An Enabling Technique" [Owing to illness, paper was delivered by a colleague]
• Offshore Technology, February 2010 issue, "Subsea Radio - A Commercial Reality"
• IADC Well Control Asia Pacific Conference & Exhibition, November 2009, Bangkok, Thailand, "MUX Control of BOP without Umbilical" [Paper was delivered by Sales Director owing to travel budget limitations]
• IADC Well Control Conference of the Americas, 25-26 August 2009, Denver, Colorado, Presentation: "MUX Control of BOP without Umbilical"
• API Exploration & Production Standards Conference on Oilfield Equipment and Materials, 22-26 June 2009, Westminster, Colorado, Presentation: "Acoustic Controls and their applications for Drilling Well Control Equipment"
• IMCA Annual Seminar 2008, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 5/6th November 2008. Presentation: "NASNet^® field-wide positioning technology for deepwater construction and drilling applications"
• At invitation of MTS/IEEE, reviewed and scored abstracts for Oceans 2008 MTS/IEEE Conference, Quebec
• SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Perth, Australia, 20/22-Oct-2008, "Subsea Wireless Communications: a Balancing Act" [Alternate Paper]
• EIC Energy Focus, Issue 10 (OTC 2008),"Wireless Control and Monitoring of subsea equipment through the application of advanced acoustics"
• Sea Technology, Feb 2008 issue, "Wireless Control and Monitoring of subsea equipment through the application of advanced acoustics"
• Subsea til himmels, FFU, Stavanger, 31-Jan-2008, Presentation: "Subsea Wireless Communication - What Benefits Can Low Data Rates Bring?"
• International Well Control Conference & Exhibition, IADC, Singapore, 28-Nov-2007, "The Case for Subsea Controls without Umbilicals" [Alternate Paper]
• Television interview on subsea oil & gas industry for Subsea UK. Broadcast on CNBC Europe, 20-Jul-2007
• Roustabout, 'Nautronix is cutting the umbilical', October 2007
• Oceans '07, Subsea UK, Aberdeen Conference and Exhibition, Aberdeen, 18-Jun-2007, Presentation: "Wireless Control and Monitoring of subsea equipment through the use of advanced acoustics"
• Oceans '07, Subsea UK, Aberdeen, Session Chair - Session 2.5 (Sonar: Systems/Analysis)
• Nautronix plc newsletter, Spring 2007, "Wireless control of subsea equipment"
• Subsea til himmels, FFU, Stavanger, 25-Jan-2007, Presentation: "High reliability acoustics applied to the wireless control and monitoring of subsea equipment"
• Society for Underwater Technology, Houston, 9-Nov-2006, Presentation: "High reliability acoustics subsea"
• Jamieson P.M., Jaffrey A., 'Advanced Wind Turbine Design', proceedings of the 1995 14th ASME ETCE Wind Energy Symposium, Houston, Texas
• Jamieson P.M., Jaffrey A., Wei J., Gow G., 'Advanced Wind Turbine Design', proceedings of the 1994 European Wind Energy Association Conference, Thessaloniki, Greece
• Jamieson P.M., Jaffrey A., Wei J., Gow G., 'Advanced Wind Turbine Design', proceedings of the 1994 Sixteenth British Wind Energy Association Conference, MEP Ltd., London, 1994. ISBN 0 85298 9199
• Jaffrey A., 'The Development of an Automatic Discharge System for Small Filter Presses', PhD thesis, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Edinburgh, 1994
• Jaffrey A., Macleod N., 'The Development of a Laser-Guided Robotic Discharge System for Filter Presses', IChemE Research Event, UMIST, Manchester, 9/10-Jan-1992. ISBN 0 85295 290 2

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Contact

To contact Dr. Jaffrey at TechDev Engineering, please call or send an e-mail using the following details: e-mail : aj@techdeveng.com Tel : +44 (0)7824-636022

Industry Adviser

On 26th August 2015 Dr. Jaffrey (while employed as Director of Technology and Innovation at Cameron) appeared in front of the Committee on the Application of Remote Real-Time Monitoring of Offshore Oil and Gas Operations. This committee, established by the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS), was conducting the investigation at the direction of the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) which was established after the Macondo / Deepwater Horizon incident in 2010 as the US government body responsible for the Gulf of Mexico. Details of the committee, its remit, personnel etc. can be found here The committee consulted widely prior to preparing its final report, which included its Findings and the Recommendations it was making to BSEE. (Note, contributors / witnesses did not have sight of the final report prior to its publication.) Dr. Jaffrey is the most-cited individual contributor in the committee's report. Several of those citations relate to his statements made to the committee on the day, others relate to his article in the Sep-Oct 2015 issue of the Drilling Contractor journal where he highlighted the need not just for smarter subsea systems, but for the urgent need for the development and improved availability of sensors suitable to the task. The journal article is available from the Drilling Contractor site here. The final report of the National Academy of Sciences committee submitted to BSEE (ISBN 978-0-309-36978-7) is available here. September 2016 Following his redundancy from Cameron, Dr. Jaffrey received a personal invitation from the NAS committee to travel to Houston (at US Government expense) to participate as an independent adviser in a dissemination workshop on 22nd September 2016 to lay the groundwork for defining and establishing a BOP CBM pilot programme for the industry. This included setting the scene and shaping the discussion for the workshop participants (which included all industry stakeholders such as Operators, Contractors, OEMs, standards agencies, trade associations and senior personnel from BSEE). Details of the workshop and a link to Dr. Jaffrey's presentation are available here.

Volunteering

• In January 2018 Dr. Jaffrey joined Elevator UK in Aberdeen as a Mentor to Accelerator Programme co-founders. The Accelerator Programme aims to help business founders and entrepreneurs test, research, develop, launch and refine their product or service-led business to quickly become pitch and investor-ready.
  
  Details of this programme are available here.
  



• In August 2017 Dr. Jaffrey joined the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Offshore Achievement Awards committee as a judge for the 2018 awards which recognise innovation, emerging technologies, collaboration & outstanding contribution in the UK offshore sector.
  
  Full information about these prestigious awards, including the other categories, is available here.
  

WordCloud Spotlight

The following word-cloud / tag-cloud is a representation of Dr. Jaffrey's skills and experience.

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