People in Energy

OMNI INTEGRITY DIRECTOR

William McLean

With over three decades of experience in sourcing the best talent in the upstream market, Prodrill are driven by people, passion and potential. Experts in human capital; Prodrill have a wealth of experience in providing tailored contractor management and staffing solutions for the global upstream & E&P industry.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

Without doubt, engaging with my parent company (ICR Group) to design, build and launch a new integrity management software product. It is only the start of our journey, so hopefully we are able to build on our current achievements to hit new heights!

How has your job changed in the last 5 years, what do you do more for and what do you do less off

Over the past 4 years where I have moved into the innovation space. I now find that I no longer do any “hands on” engineering/management work, as my role has shifted more into developing technology solutions that are both effective and simple to use for integrity engineers.

What ambitions have you still got to fulfil professionally in your career?

Professionally my main ambition is to establish our software product on a Global level.

If you were inviting guests to a dinner party, which 4 people you invite and why?

How did you get into the Energy sector and how long have you been working in it?

I came from the construction industry, where I spent the first 7 years of my career working as a Mechanical Engineer. My experience in pressure system design, installation and commissioning provided a strong foundation for moving into the energy sector, where I have now been working since 2011. Tony Robbins: I’m a massive fan of Tony Robbins and meet the legend in person for one night would be a dream come true! Elon Musk: we all like to learn from the best! Especially if you’re in the innovative space, who better than the person that is quite literally changing the World! Ricky Gervais & Joe Rogan: we need the evening entertainment, and who better to provide the sharp-witted humour than Rick Gervais and the only person to keep the conversation flowing across intellectual topics than Joe Rogan?

What does your job involve on an average day? Who has been the most influential person in your life professionally?

I have had many “mentors” over my career, that have been hugely influential to me As we are a Technology company operating in a mature that I have never met in person. Hard to choose, so I’m going to have to go for the energy sector, my average day consists of working with a “collective mentor”. cross-industry team such as Corrosion & Integrity Engineers, Software Developers, Data Scientists to continually design and build innovative solutions that allows organisations to leverage Over the next 10 years what do you see will be the key challenges in the latest advancements in technology to manage the energy sector in the UK? their integrity lifecycle much more efficiently. More generally speaking, my job involves directing Coping with the transitions that we are currently facing. I see there all parts of the business, from product being two key transitions that we are undertaking as a sector which development, to liaising with existing and Technology such as is only going to accelerate over the next 10 years in my opinion. potential clients. How have you coped personally and as a company with the pandemic? cloud computing, AI, internet of things (IoT) and blockchain are going to revolutionise The first transition is that of moving from traditional to cleaner (greener) methods of producing energy and the second is the rise in digitalisation. Going from traditional to greener methods of producing energy, and will no doubt involve an explosion of new innovation, technologies, and processes for generating the new supplies to power the planet. Although there will be a the way that lot of cross-pollination in experience and expertise that can be Personally, I always try to focus on the positives. Yes, the pandemic has brought everything is done. gained through our history of producing energy, people will have to adapt is the new methods are to be sustained. Technology such many challenges, such as slow progress due as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, internet of things (IoT) to remote working and not being able to meet in and blockchain are going to revolutionise the way that everything is person with clients. On the other hand, I now have done. The key challenge here will be the battle between understanding the more time where I am not travelling and now able to advancements in technology and being able to create solutions that are fit-forspend much more time at home with my family, which is great purpose, and that is easy for even the matures of industries (and workforce) to use. as I have a 3-year-old and a new addition back in November. The rise in digitalisation is something that I personally am hugely interested in and hence why I have moved into this space. We have actually coped really well throughout the pandemic, which has seen us become heavily reliant on technology for collaboration and keeping on top of our business targets. The pandemic has actually forced us to look at our own software product, and what can we do to support with remote working. As a result, we have built in an innovative Communications Hub to the software to allow for organisations to collaborate digitally and minimise the restrictions placed on teams by having to work remotely!

Given the experience you have now, what advice would you have given yourself when you were just starting out in the Energy sector?

To always keep an eye on the wider landscape, as it is rapidly changing on many fronts. Look out for emerging technologies, industries, and new ways to do things, but more importantly – do not stop learning. Embrace the new ways of working because if you stand still, you’ll get left behind!