KIEFNER - Key Persons
Alex Distel earned his BS in Materials Science and Engineering from The Ohio State University. After graduating, he worked in the steel casting industry for four years as a materials engineer.
During this time, he gained experience in lost-wax investment and sandcasting processes. He was also heavily involved with heat treatment, chemical and mechanical testing, and metallography of castings.
Since joining Kiefner in 2022, he has continued to provide technical experience in metallography, testing, and analysis of specimens for the oil and gas industry.
He has been involved in integrity evaluations on pipelines with stress corrosion cracks and seam weld corrosion. Mr. Distel also manages and tracks laboratory testing at Kiefner and coordinates progress with project engineers.
Job Titles:
- Business Development Director
- Role of Business Development Director
Amy Fotenos assumed the role of Business Development Director at Kiefner in June 2023. Commencing her career in the Oil and Gas sector in 2011, she has progressively held various leadership positions in engineering and construction. Demonstrating a consistent ability to foster growth and enhance profitability. She boasts a successful track record with startup ventures and established enterprises in various industries.
Ben Wright earned his BS in construction engineering from Iowa State University. He joined Kiefner & Associates, Inc. in 2013 with a focus on pipeline integrity management, including ILI evaluation and performance validation, reassessment interval determination, assessment planning and execution, pipeline integrity, and corrosion growth assessment on corroded pipe. Ben also holds credentials as a Project Management Professional. He has previously published and presented a paper at PPIM on Validating ILI Accuracy Using Spatial In-Ditch Scanning Measurements.
Job Titles:
- Certified Corrosion Specialist
- Technical
I am a NACE certified Corrosion Specialist #3742. I have forty-two years of experience in oil and gas pipeline and station integrity, corrosion control, operations, and construction. I have conducted numerous Integrity assessments, ILI, ECDA, cathodic protection and close interval survey projects. I have developed, implemented and managed several internal corrosion programs.
Job Titles:
- Mechanical Engineer
- Technical
Brian Hart is a mechanical engineer with over twenty-eight years' experience in the Oil and Gas industry. His primary focus has been in NDE, welding, materials evaluation, failure analysis, third party vendor surveillance and external audits.
Mr. Hart holds API 510, API 570 and API 653 certifications as well as being an AWS Certified Welding Inspector since 1999. As an ASNT Level III, he develops NDE procedures and qualifies personnel within Kiefner as well as assisting clients with their NDE programs. He has been involved in several sub-committees and training courses for ASNT over the last ten years.
As a Technical Authority for Kiefner, his work is divided between working in the Columbus test lab and performing field investigations of failed components. Mr. Hart has been involved in failure investigations of pipelines, pressure vessels, structural steel components, LNG equipment, refining and aboveground storage tanks. Mr. Hart was co-author of the PRCI, Updated Pipeline Repair Manual published in 2006.
Job Titles:
- Director of Programs
- Engineer
Mr. Chaney is a metallurgical engineer with over 40 years' experience in the energy industry conducting a wide range of failure analyses, material selection, structural mechanics, corrosion studies and corrosion mitigation projects. Over the last 22 years, he has worked on integrating his engineering expertise to assist oil and gas operators with the compliance of federal integrity management rules. He was an early developer of pipeline integrity management plans, external direct assessment, and internal direct assessment procedures. The frameworks laid out in these programs are still widely used today in pipeline integrity management programs.
Job Titles:
- Project Manager
- Project Manager / Project Controls
Job Titles:
- Admin
- Director of Operations
Dyke Hicks earned a BS in Mathematics and Economics from University of Iowa as well as a BS in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State. He joined Kiefner in 2015 after nearly seven years with Koch Pipeline LLC and 13 years with Baker Hughes. His career began working in the energy sector recording and interpreting information from oil and gas wells on land and offshore. He then moved into pipeline integrity helping to develop a new inspection system for difficult pipelines. He was involved in tool design, data interpretation and the managing the U.S. operations of this division. He then moved to Koch Pipeline LLC and worked within the integrity group. There he managed the daily integrity operations, development of a data integration system and focused on some of the more challenging problems pipeline operators face. He also took a field assignment to help develop project managers.
He currently works with Kiefner as Operations Director for the Ames, Iowa and Sugar Land, Texas office centers. His main focus currently is on In-Line Inspection, Project Management, and improving collaboration across the company to increase the efficacy of our efforts to improve integrity management for pipeline systems and developing projects.
Job Titles:
- Sales Strategy Manager / Commercial
Job Titles:
- Engineering Consultant and Technical Authority
- Technical
Lucy Smart earned her BS and master's degree in mechanical engineering from Iowa State University. During her time at Iowa State University, she supported a student led competitive academic agreement program (CAAP) research project in tandem with PHMSA, which led to a better understanding of the principle relationships associated with material properties for non-destructive evaluations. Ms. Smart joined Kiefner after working with Applus RTD (now Aegeus Inspection Services) in Houston for two years, where she performed numerous ILI validation projects using state-of-the-art proprietary software while supporting dig programs working directly with field technicians and operators.
After joining Kiefner in 2012, the primary focus of her career has been on pipeline integrity management, including ILI performance validation, reassessment interval determination, assessment planning and execution, corrosion growth assessment on corroded pipe, and material verification projects for MAOP reconfirmation. She has been involved with studies utilizing ILI data for stress corrosion cracking susceptibility and dig prioritization. She is experienced in carrying out audit programs for integrity management programs for large and small operators, encompassing both regulatory and industry best practices, for both US and Canadian regulatory requirements. She has published papers on the topic of ILI validation, corrosion growth rates, interaction criteria for burst pressure predictions, and material verification using NDE. These papers have been presented at conferences including QNDE, IPC, PPIM, and NACE Corrosion.
Job Titles:
- PMP, Fellow ASME / Principal Engineer
Mr. Brongers has more than 25 years of professional experience in materials and corrosion engineering, asset integrity management, failure investigations, metallurgical forensic analyses, fitness-for-service reviews, and engineering critical assessments. Major clients served include pipelines, chemical and petrochemical process, oil & gas, power generation, and manufacturing companies. He holds a Masters degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Delft University in The Netherlands.
Job Titles:
- Principal Engineer
- Principal Engineer With over Ten Years of Integrity Management
Mr. Rick Sugden is a Principal Engineer with over ten years of Integrity Management experience working for small, mid-sized, and large operators. Mr. Sugden joined Kiefner and Associates in 2022. He has extensive hands-on experience with hydrostatic testing and in-line inspections of natural gas, hazardous liquids, and HVL pipelines of both legacy and modern design. He has served as vice chair and chair of the API Pipeline Integrity Group and has contributed significantly to developing Recommended Practices for the pipeline industry since 2014.
Mr. Sugden has extensive experience executing operator integrity management plans (IMP's) and integrity assessments while demonstrating compliance with regulations and safety expectations. Mr. Sugden also has experience in corrosion control and greenhouse gas emission regulations, supports operators in evaluating their processes and procedures for regulation compliance, and presents regularly at industry conferences on these topics.
Rick Sugden has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Mathematics and holds NACE certification as Cathodic Protection Level 2 as well as having received training from ASME in Defect Assessment, In-Line Inspections, and Integrity Management and is actively involved in API Pipeline Information Exchanges, Pipeline Integrity Groups, Forums, and technical trainings.
Thomas Eckardt earned his BSc in Welding Engineering from The Ohio State University. He joined Kiefner in 2019 after 4 years of working as an asset integrity engineer for a specialty chemical operator. Mr. Eckardt has 13 years' experience in the Oil & Gas industry, performing asset integrity management, welding engineering, and failure analysis services. His background includes working for field construction contractors, manufacturers, and petrochemical operators. He has led asset integrity programs for facilities in the U.S. and Europe.
As a Principal Engineer for Kiefner, his primary tasks involve pipeline integrity assessments, failure analyses, and code interpretations, as well as inspection and repair planning for facilities and pipelines. Other responsibilities include managing Kiefner's geotechnical monitoring and welding services. Mr. Eckardt is a member of the American Welding Society A5 Committee for Filler Metals and Allied Materials and the A5D Subcommittee for Stainless Steel. He holds several industry certifications, including the AWS Certified Welding Inspector, API 653 Aboveground Storage Tank Inspector, API 510 Pressure Vessel Inspector, and API 570 Piping Inspector certifications. Mr. Eckardt is also a licensed Professional Engineer in Ohio, New York, and New Jersey.
Mr. Miller is the current Chief Engineer and President of Kiefner and Associates, Inc. He was appointed in October 2018. Miller studied electrical engineering at the United States Naval Academy and was later honorably discharged from the Naval Service. Mr. Miller went on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University and was subsequently graduated to the degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence from Loyola University, New Orleans.
Currently, Miller is a licensed Professional Engineer in the states of LA, TX, IA, OH, and KY. Miller is also a licensed attorney-at-law in Texas and Louisiana and holds credentials as a Certified Safety Professional, Project Management Professional, and Program Management Professional. Mr. Miller has held various executive roles for both operating companies and services companies alike. Miller served as Vice President, Technical Services for American Midstream Partners, LP; Vice President Midstream for CDI Corporation; was Manager of the PMO for the El Paso Corporation, and was Manager of Pipeline Integrity for TransCanada. Mr. Miller also served as Director, Engineering for Allpax Products where he oversaw an ASME pressure vessel shop, among other tasks.
Tristan is a dedicated engineer at Kiefner and Associates, Inc., having been a valuable team member since 2019. His academic journey began at Iowa State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering in 2011. Tristan's professional career kicked off in 2012 at Applus RTD, where he honed his skills as a field engineer specializing in pipeline integrity field evaluations.
Zahra Lotfian earned her PhD degree in Computational Mechanics and her MS degree in Structural Engineering both from State University of New York at Buffalo. Prior to joining Kiefner in 2019, she worked for ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company in Spring, TX and Princeton University as a Research Associate. Zahra has more than 9 years of experience in modeling and analysis of various new and existing assets covering stress and pressure analyses, fitness-for-service and ECA, pipe-soil- interactions, fatigue analysis, and fracture mechanics.
Dr. Feng earned his PhD degree in Materials Science and Engineering from The Ohio State University. His PhD thesis is galvanic corrosion of coated Aluminum alloy and bare stainless steel. Dr. Feng has published over 10 technical papers in peer-review journals during his time in graduate school.