Awards
2010 summit award® recipients
THE CENTENNIAL LEADERSHIP AWARD
This award is presented to a Member of APEGGA who has attained the highest distinction relating to the science of engineering, geology or geophysics as an executive or director of an outstanding project or continuing enterprise in which the Member has conducted, guided or directed or was responsible for the practice of the specific profession. The recipient may have also attained the highest distinction because of invention, research or original work, or an outstanding or exemplary career in teaching the professions. an outstanding or exemplary career in teaching the professions.
Mr. E. Alan Taylor, P.Eng.
Mr. Alan Taylor, P.Eng., is recognized in the natural gas industry as one of the top authorities in gas compression. Over the past 38 years, his vision, perseverance and passion have made him an industry leader in his field.
After graduating with distinction from the mechanical engineering program at the University of Alberta in 1971, one of his first projects was to optimize a small fleet of natural gas compressors. With no analytical tools available at that time to diagnose compressor problems he worked through the issues by hand using standard formulae. The process was very onerous and time consuming and after performing hundreds of calculations and tests he noticed that the equations and formulae were too simplistic. This realization sparked his journey to develop an accurate system to diagnose problems and identify opportunities in gas compression equipment.
Through the 1970s, he wrote programs in FORTRAN running on main frame computers testing his equations in industry along the way. In the 1980s, with the advent of the personal computer, he started programming in BASIC, with the vision of creating a non-invasive compressor diagnostic program. He worked long days and weekends, researching and programming on his own time. In the 1990s, the mass adoption of the internet allowed programs and systems to be run from anywhere in the world. Mr. Taylor assembled a small team of engineers and software developers to launch a compressor optimization and fleet management company, Detechtion Technologies, with the goal of managing and diagnosing compressor problems over the internet. The first several years posed many challenges as this software concept had never been done before using the internet as the delivery platform.
Concurrently, Mr. Taylor pioneered the use of programmable logic controller panels on reciprocating compressors. The panels are now considered mainstream technology in the industry. He has presented papers at symposia in Canada and Europe on the non-invasive diagnostic technology that he continues to develop.
In addition to developing a first-of-its-kind online compressor fleet management system for gas producers around the world, Mr. Taylor created a mentoring program for all technical staff in Detechtion’s North American offices. He has taught over 2,000 engineers, mechanics, supervisors and managers on the safe use, operation and optimization of compressor equipment.
His leadership at Detechtion has made it one of the fastest growing companies in Canada according to Profit 100. He successfully established Detechtion in the United States in 2002 and in 2004 he expanded Detechtion’s operation to include Australia, West Africa and Brazil.
Honours, Awards and Distinctions
-
Detechtion Technologies named 70th fastest growing company in Canada, Profit 100 (2006)
Professional Affiliations and Activities
-
Member, Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (APEGBC), (2004-present)
-
Member, Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS), (2004-present)
-
Member, APEGGA (1971-present)
-
Member, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (1970-present)