MIPAC senior systems engineer Tim Hausler (pictured alongside) has won the AusIMM New Professional Award 2012.
The award recognises a new professional’s contribution to the minerals industry through operational, academic, service or other notable achievement.
Hausler joined MIPAC in 2003 as a student engineer while undertaking a bachelor of engineering (electrical and computer engineering) with honours at the Queensland University of Technology.
He became a graduate engineer in 2004 and his career has flourished as a hands-on operator and developer of tankhouse products.
“Tim is extremely highly regarded by clients, with good reason,” MIPAC managing director Eddie De Rivera says. “He is very innovative but conscious of the need for proper engineering practices.
“He relishes intellectual challenges and was instrumental in the development of MIPAC’s cell voltage monitoring system, CellView, which detects or predicts short circuits and monitors the overall health of a cell, making a refining or electrowinning operation realise its full potential.”
Over an 18-month period, Hausler dedicated himself to all aspects of its development and was responsible for the successful deployment of the first CellView system for Kazzinc in Kazakhstan.
“Tim was absolutely key to CellView’s success,” MIPAC director Tony Mathison says. “He contributed positively to decisions and targets were set with maturity and confidence. There were many challenges but Tim worked through problems professionally — few people could have pulled it off as elegantly as Tim did.”
Based in Kazakhstan for the past year, Hausler started on the project as a commissioning engineer, advancing to senior MIPAC engineer on site.
His role saw him cover all aspects of commissioning:
• DeltaV control system configuration, testing, tuning
• investigating problems with VSD control on pumps and implementing solutions
• diagnosing problems and instigating solutions for multiple and varied equipment packages
• implementing a control solution on a large, high-voltage blower package when the vendor was unable to achieve required outcomes
• commissioning the greenfield copper refinery
• commissioning MIPAC’s wireless cell monitoring system (CellView) in the copper refinery
• diagnosing problems with the Emerson DeltaV engineering station (10,000 tag system).
Now back in Australia, Hausler is devoting himself to developing MIPAC’s tankhouse product suite, and assuming more of a leadership role within the company, especially as mentor to engineering students and graduate engineers.
“I’d like to thank all the engineers I’ve worked with as their advice and mentoring is really what enabled me to win the award,” Hausler says. “Really, it’s an award for everyone at MIPAC.”