Progressive TSL today announced promotions within their ever-expanding EAM team, which will help in achieving the Company's exciting plans for growth. 

Jon Barker has been promoted to Head of EAM, whilst Laurent Graziano will take on the role of Director of EAM. This change recognises the subject matter expertise and dedication Jon and Laurent have demonstrated over their years at Progressive and the part they have played in many successful client EAM projects.

We have taken this opportunity to include profiles of Laurent and Jon that originally featured in KeyFacts Energy.

Progressive TSL Profiles: Laurent Graziano

Laurent discusses the challenges of implementing EAM and what he enjoys most about working in Progressive TSL's tight-knit London team.

Tell us more about your role at Progressive TSL?

I am in charge of the Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Department. I manage all the EAM consultants and project managers – The EAM team make up 2/3rds of the company’s headcount. We are implementing Infor EAM, IBM Maximo and Infor OS to our oil and gas, mining and engineering clients.
I ensure that we deliver to the client’s expectations, on budget and on time. I also look at how we can improve ways in which we implement so that the clients can get the most out of their system.

What path had your career taken before joining Progressive TSL?

I started along this career path in 1997 after I graduated from Ecole des Mines in Douai, a technical university, a French equivalent of MIT in the USA. I graduated in Energy and Processes, but it was the maintenance module that really interested me. After that, I started working at Cray Valley, a subsidiary of Total, supporting the implementation of Maximo. Then, in 2002, I moved to Datastream, whose software became Infor EAM after Infor’s acquisition in 2006. During my time there, I progressed from Functional Consultant, through Pre-sales to Consulting Manager. I left Infor in 2010 to try something a bit different working for a retail solutions company on PLM (Product Lifecycle Management). But when the opportunity came to join Progressive TSL in 2014 to launch their EAM business, I jumped at the chance.

What Attracted You to Work at Progressive TSL?

From a personal view, I wanted to stay and live in London (Laurent is from the North of France). I wanted my children (now teenagers) to be native English speakers – it opens up so many opportunities for them. Although our children still speak French at home, that is non-negotiable!

From a professional point of view, I saw a company that was expanding rapidly.  My first two EAM clients at Progressive were multinational Glencore and independent Nigerian oil company Seplat.  After that, we began to acquire more and more clients that required EAM implementations – it was a busy time!

What’s it like working at Progressive TSL/what do you enjoy most about working here?

With Progressive, I never feel bored; with each client/project comes new challenges, we are always looking for improvements and new technologies – these improvements are then redistributed to our other clients.

I also love the fact that as a relatively small company, Progressive TSL is agile and can make decisions quickly. Progressive is happy to invest in the longer term to provide the best solution to our clients. We enjoy seeing our clients grow through time and enable that growth.

I’m also fortunate that I get to travel to some exciting places with Progressive TSL. Particularly to areas like West Africa, where the energy market is relatively new and growing, and Progressive can be a part of that. It’s great to meet our end users face to face and hear about their challenges and work – it’s a very good experience, and our presence is always well received by our clients.

The rest of the EAM team are also keen to travel, and as a company, we have the right processes in place to manage travel and logistics to these often remote places, e.g. Chad, Gabon and Burkina Faso. It’s not common for technology companies to travel to these countries.

What do you like to do to relax?

I play squash on almost a daily basis, often with Progressive colleagues – it’s a brilliant way to relieve stress!

One of the great benefits to living and working in London is that there are opportunities to catch live concerts and theatre productions. My wife and I go to see shows on most weeks.

As the Head of EAM Business for Progressive TSL, what do you see as the next big thing for asset management?

IoT, in general, is making big waves in the future of Asset Management. With AI and Big Data, we are able to identify trends and make better decisions.  It’s all very exciting.

The extraction industry is only really starting with modern asset management technology. There are a lot of robust older machines and assets that don’t have electronics and indeed in some places that we go to (like the deserts in West Africa) electronics do not fare well.

But newer equipment is being made with IoT built-in, so eventually, the trend will move from the classic maintenance approach to modern, predictive maintenance – by capturing vast amounts of historical data to help better maintenance decisions.

Areas such as West Africa need to think ahead, skill up and start to prepare now for changes five years from now. 

Progressive TSL profiles: Jon Barker

Jon shares some of the unique experiences he has had while working for Progressive TSL.

1. Tell us more about your role at Progressive TSL?

I am part of the EAM (Enterprise Asset Management) Team implementing Infor EAM and IBM Maximo for our clients.  Though I understand the full breadth of the EAM solution – Purchasing, Inventory, Maintenance and Finance, my specialism is Maintenance of Assets or CMMS.

2. What path had your career taken before joining Progressive TSL?

Originally, I trained as a Mechanical Engineer, and then I previously worked on the other side of the fence as the system manager for IBM Maximo, with 400 users.  This was at Green Energy company, Infinis; I was heavily involved in the implementation of the system, projects, upgrades and bespoke configuration to meet the needs of that business. So, when I came to Progressive, I had all that knowledge of what challenges end-users face during and after a system is implemented.

3. What Attracted You to Work at Progressive TSL?

The opportunity to travel again.  I stopped travelling with work when I got married and started a family.  Now my boys are older and have left home; I once again have the freedom to go abroad and experience other countries.

4. What’s it like working at Progressive TSL?

There’s a real family feel to the company, their size and culture mean we can be responsive and quick reacting to any changes in technology or business.  I’ve learned a lot since starting to work with them over five years ago, and the learning never stops, every project is a new experience to learn and improve on our services and help businesses to achieve their next phase of growth.

5. What do you enjoy most about your work?

Progressive TSL has given me plenty of opportunities to travel.  I have worked on projects in Cote d’ Ivoire, Chad, Cameroon, Lagos and Canada – I really enjoy working with people from different cultures and visiting new countries.

My travel experiences have really broadened my mind, for example, I loved Chad, it was a beautiful country right by the Sahara Desert. Travelling by road, I saw so many new sights, for example, a guy on a motorbike carrying a goat to market on his back and a family travelling by minibus with all their worldly goods balanced on the bus including livestock perched on the roof.  Everyone is so friendly there. During my time in Chad, I stayed in a remote camp with shipping containers for accommodation, attached to an onshore plant, which was an experience in itself!

Another project I really enjoyed was for Endeavour Mining in Cote d’ Ivorie. They mine for Gold and the process for extracting tiny slivers of gold is fascinating; the time-intensive process helps you to appreciate why gold is so expensive.

5. What do you like to do to relax?

I enjoy getting in the garage and doing a bit of carpentry to make things for the home. Often, I find that making furniture can be very relaxing and you get unique, one-off pieces that can’t be found in the shops. I also enjoy photography and taking off for a spin on my motorbike.

When I get a chance, I also catch some Formula 1. Silverstone isn’t far from my home, so I often go to the track – I’ve met many of the greats including David Coulthard, Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button.

6. As an Asset Management Consultant, what do you see as the next big technological advancement?

Two technologies that are going to be massive and transform the oil and gas asset management industry in the next few years are IoT, which is already seeing a lot of pick up from larger oil and gas businesses, particularly for CMMS.

The other is wearables. When it comes to health and safety benefits for lone workers, wearables will be a great benefit.  When people are working on their own, often in remote places, their colleagues can check their wellbeing by monitoring their heartbeat, temperature etc. This can identify whether they have been injured or are sick, and help can get to them quicker.

I’m excited to see where Asset Management technology will take us in the next five years – it’s an interesting time to be doing this job!

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Progressive TSL