Testimonials

MasterClass Foundation Training in Systems Completion & CSU

I am very glad you were able to deliver the program as planned. It’s not about business but the robustness of the package, the passion you have for this, and the willingness to share what you know with others. For me this is the differentiator. That is what makes your workshop better than others.

~ Uzoma Ignatius Nwokorie, SPDC Senior Manager, responsible for Project Delivery and for putting 50 Systems Completion and Commissioning Engineers through this course between 2013-2015

MasterClass CSU Foundation training is absolutely essential to anyone learning about Systems Completion.

I wish this course had been around when I started on my first project and that’s why I’m delighted to sponsor the initiative of building these skills with our young talent in Kazakhstan.

~ David Touhey, Managing Director, Kent PLC, Houston, responsible for putting 20 people through this course between 2020-2022

“I had the pleasure of spending the week with Alan leading MasterClass CSU Foundation. He is friendly, knowledgeable, a great teacher, and keeps his lessons engaging. He is quick with a joke as well – which contributed to my enjoyment of the course.

When I started this week, I did not expect that I would walk out with such a comprehensive knowledge of commissioning – nor that I would be disappointed when it was over. Though there is no replacing true field experience, I can safely say that this course is the next best thing. I would recommend this course to anybody who is looking to quickly acquire a high-level understanding of Commissioning reinforced with an in-depth understanding of its impact, processes, pitfalls and more.”

~ Jared Laubacher, CP Specialist, Shell Sparta Project, Houston, Texas, February 2024

“As an experienced engineer, this course was very relevant with good real-world examples of the impacts of proper CSU and processes which are imperative to safe and effective facility startup.”

~ Patrick Younes, CSU Engineer, Shell Sparta Project, Houston, Texas, April 2025

I would recommend this course to other engineers, technicians, and operators new to commissioning.

 ~ James Sayers, ExxonMobil, Houston TX, November 2013

I received a much deeper understanding of database systems at a higher level than what I expected.

~ Chris S, Course attendee, Houston TX, November 2013

Enjoyed class discussions on commissioning procedures and commissioning plans

~ Rich Goulden, ExxonMobil, Houston TX, November 2013

This course was very beneficial, the course content was great, and having this group in attendance, all in one room together for discussion was invaluable

~ Anon, Course attendee, Houston TX, November 2013

All the course material was very well laid out, and our instructor was very knowledgeable

~ Anon, Course attendee, Houston TX, November 2013

Great course I really enjoyed the material and class discussions

~ Anon, Course attendee, Houston TX, November 2013

I know it was a mixed audience and this required you to be flexible in the instruction and agenda times.  I think you did a great job of recognizing the diversity of experience in the class and adjusted accordingly.

I believe the course should be part of any project management training.

I learned several things in this course.  The most important for me was the emphasis on early introduction of a knowledgeable commissioning manager to a project.  If you have a knowledgeable CSU manager they can affect the contract and ensure CSU requirements are embedded in those contracts.

If we can get the project world to understand we want a ‘working TV set’ and not just Mechanically Complete, the cost of Operations and the availability of those projects will pay off any perceived excess cost.

~ Joe Cunningham, Shell, Singapore, February 2014

It was definitely a course worth attending and I recommend it.

I think projects, especially those with complex arrangements and technology such as ours, would benefit from

the discussions during the course are very valuable and would not come up otherwise.

I believe this provided a good kick start to the commissioning efforts on our project.

~ Andrew Pearson, Shell, Singapore, February 2014

Thank you very much for your well organized training and knowledge sharing.

~ Manivannan. V, Shell, Singapore, February 2014

I took a lot of positives from the course

The benefits of getting the Commissioning Manager in to the project early became very apparent during the course, this is something we have missed the boat on regarding our current project and are now feeling that lack of foresight with numerous late deliverables.

~ Commissioning Manager, Singapore, February 2014

You did well as a speaker! I found the content very interesting and useful.

“You put the right focus at the right time.

Overall, it was satisfying and I thank you for sharing your knowledge”.

~ Nur Islam Nur Iskandar, Commissioning Engineer, MMHE, Kuala Lumpur, March 2014

Many thanks to you as my instructor in this event. I really got a lot from the course … the attendees were great as well with their sharing knowledge and experiences about commissioning.

In the class, there’s  so much qualities knowledge from Alan and it can be implemented in my day to day activity particularly the API recommended practice 1FSC and the Completion Pyramid is very useful for me as Commissioning & Operational team in the PHE ONWJ project department.

I am glad to join there from the beginning until the end of the course.

~ Agus Purbaya, Commissioning & Operational Readiness Manager, Pertamina, Kuala Lumpur, March 2014

Very well organized course material and the instructor, Alan, was really good with the pace of the course progress.

~ Akash Roy, Technical Superintendent, SBM Offshore, Houston, January 2015

Alan is very knowledgeable in the CSU of onshore and offshore facilities.

The training provided us with much required info to prepare us for safe commissioning of our new system, step by step approach, planning processes, required resources. Trainer provided best industry practices and project lookbacks. This valuable information gave us the opportunity to improve and re-look into our execution plan.

~ Azhar Amin, Maintenance Supervisor, Chevron Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, March 2015

As Commissioning & Start-Up continues to grow recognition in its importance and value, I realized that immersive training classes would be needed to gain a better understanding”.

“To manage my novice understanding, Alan kept ensuring the content was clear and the brainstorming/discussions in the room were relevant to all attendees.”

“On top of that, the customer service made me feel warm and welcomed. Overall, the training class was intuitive and it was clear that Alan and company had invested a lot of resources in developing the content and facilitation process.

If it is feasible to attend this I highly recommend this course. It has been integral to my development in this space!

~ Aadel Sarfani, CP Supply Chain Lead Vito – Offshore Installation & Commissioning, Shell Exploration & Production Company, Houston, February 2019

MasterClass CSU gave me an understanding of the capabilities of current Completions Management Systems, the role they can play in providing organization and structure for the Completions process, and the value that the good ones like Zenator provide as a tool for assuring complete documentation packages for turnover to Operations.

~ Jerry L McAfee, Process Plant Startup Director, Process Technical Services, Houston, February 2019[1]

The course met my expectations,

I had more than enough of detailed materials including references and video clips from past commissioning projects.

The one-to-one tutorial with Alan after completion of each Phase module has been very helpful.

I would give this course a 5 star and would highly recommend it to anyone interested.

~ Lawrence Imonigie, Lead Commissioning Engineer, Aberdeen, Scotland. May 2019

“The eLearning course is insightful with well-developed material …

It was a seamless and hitch free learning experience …

The instructor gave detailed explanations and shared his wealth of experience.

MasterClass CSU has broadened and expanded my knowledge, it is an eye opener, capturing every aspect of Systems Completion and CSU … and has given me a better understanding of how I can approach Systems Completion on my next job.”

~ Adebayo Fetuga, Systems Completion Engineer & Zenator Power User, Lagos, Nigeria. June 2021

Footnote: I was honored to have Jerry McAfee attend the Foundation MasterClass recently in Houston. Jerry teaches what until publication of API RP 1FSC was known in the US as the “Bill Tillman method“. Bill Tillman is the grand daddy of Systems Completion methodology and with it CSU training, and Jerry took over the role from DuPont’s Bill Tillman in the 1980s. It was DuPont and Bill Tillman that gave birth to the concept of progressive Systems Completion and with it, Systemization, Checksheets and Certification. DuPont exported their know-how to their UK technology partner, ICI in the 1970s. British Engineers working in the North Sea industry during the 1970s deployed what was known as the “ICI Method”. By the 1980s every major Operator working in the North Sea had adopted the “Bill Tillman method” as their own, without recognizing or crediting its origins.

API RP 1FSC has helped bring this story full circle and I feel very proud to have had the great Jerry McAfee attend my class.