Chris Fleming

Cyberhawk is a technology company that uses drones, data and software to help energy companies answer questions quickly. Our software platform, iHawk allows a high resolution version of the physical asset from which we tie in other layers of data. A bit like google maps for industry... My role as CEO is to provide a clear vision (when nobody really knows what the future will look like) and to make sure that everyone who works at Cyberhawk has fun whilst we build it. We work in some of the most complex environments, carrying out inspections of cargo oil tanks, transmission towers, wind turbines and gas flares on refineries. Our job is to digitise what we find and share it with our clients in an intuitive way. Our asset data management software called iHawk has been adopted by some of the worlds premier energy companies to manage their assets and visualise construction projects saving many millions of dollars.

I joined the Lothian and Borders Police force and worked at Leith and St Leonard’s police stations. In uniform, I attended call-outs that allowed me to see an entirely different part of Edinburgh. The L&B police was a refreshingly welcoming organization with many officers who are openly gay and lesbian. Not sure how it’s changed since becoming a national force but many organizations could learn from their inclusive hiring policy ( WA Police for instance). I wasted way too much time trying to process offenders at the cells. How do you bring down arrest rates and have fewer people in prisons? Make the system more cumbersome for police officers so that they will do anything to avoid arresting someone. When I started this role I worked offshore and had plenty of time to enjoy being a part-time cop but when Cyberhawk kicked off there was no way I could maintain the commitment.

Representing LR I was responsible for the integrity management on two offshore assets. The Captain WPP/BLP and the Captain FPSO produced 50,000 typical cargo of heavy, acidic, viscous oil. I lead the team that inspected all of the equipment, tanks and pipes to ensure they were operated within the design parameters. I learnt how to manage conflicts amongst people and how to get people to do their best work without treating them like servants. Confined space inspection was a big part of my job as the cargo oil tanks on the FPSO were inspected regularly. I made sure that safety was foremost in my role there as a lot of the spaces we worked in could be potentially lethal as they were confined or contained hydrocarbons.

Completing inspection activities on offshore installations for 3 years. The position involved training regional Inspectors to the levels expected by Shell. I visited over 200 assets and was offshore when Champion 7 caught fire. That was my third experience of a fire on an offshore asset. I learned how a comprehensive inspection program and campaigns can be run on a huge scale and how anomaly classification and prioritization works. I learned how to do Pulsed Eddy Current inspection of many hundreds of risers and got pretty good at swinging a hammer and knocking lumps of scale off pipes. I became friends with people from Brunei, Malaysia, India, The Philippines, Indonesia, and the UK. The UK guys told me all about the North Sea and I decided I wanted to learn about the harsh environment and the effects it has on carbon steel, so that's where I headed next.

As the eyes and ears of the North, the Pilbara Regiment of the Australian Army Reserve protects the vast North West region, An area of 500,000 square kilometres. Working in small 6 man patrol units we carried out reconnaissance missions in remote areas both inland and on the coast. Basic training was completed in Queensland and then specific training in The Pilbara.

PNDT (since bought by Applus RTD) was the premier provider of advanced inspection solutions for the Oil and Gas industry in WA. I worked on every offshore asset on the North West Shelf and spent a lot of time on the Burrup LNG Plant for Woodside. I had the pleasure of visiting mine sites, power stations including renewable, gas, and coal-fired assets, the Ord River Dam project, and all the islands like Barrow, Thevenard, and Varanus. I was one of the only Rope Access Inspectors in the 90's in Oz and so got involved in many of the first rope access projects for inspection and commissioning. I learned a lot about asset inspection, visual inspection, confined space inspection, and visualization of industrial assets. The reporting system then was handwritten, to begin with, but later we used computers to create more dynamic reports. I did my first flare stack inspection on the Burrup plant. I carried out confined space tank inspections both offshore and onshore for the energy industry. I left PNDT when I got the job in Brunei which PNDT was also bidding for but lost to Intico. They were supportive of my decision to leave.

I had the absolute pleasure of running the Summer Camp from 92-94. I hired the staff, did the staff training and ran the program over the summer months for 120 kids and 30 staff. We had kids from mainland USA, The Hawaiian Islands, Mexico and Taiwan. Staff came from all over the world. I was 22 and staggered someone would trust me to do this. I started as a summer councillor and when the then current director resigned suddenly I applied for the job. For the rest of the year I looked after the groups who rented the camp for events and conferences. It had 340 beds so it was busy. We also had 30,000 kids come every year for outdoor education so every 6th grade kid on Oahu has been there. i learnt so much from this job and ofter look back to the amount we did in such a short time to make the kids lives more fun. After 3 years there I felt the need to go back to Australia and buy a house and knew that i would never be able to afford it working at Camps. I had to get a proper job!

Whilst I worked full time at Camp Erdman I volunteered at this hospital once a week. I worked in the aged care ward and helped run activities for the old folk who lived there. I would set up activities for them which they would mostly do sitting down. It struck me that the activities were similar to ones that you might do with toddlers. Very simple painting with sponges and templates. Their favourite game was magnetic fishing where small metal fish in a pond were pulled out with magnetic "hook" on a fishing rod. I think we can do better for our senior people.

This was a job I got during my travels when working my way around Europe. I met a guy on canary wharf construction site where I was working as a security officer. I was an aussie and he a kiwi and he explained that he was doing snagging work on the curtain walls, which is what modern glass buildings are made of. It was more money than I was getting doing security and he spent an hour with me explaining what he was doing. The next week I was a window fixer and started in a factory in the east end. We assembled the windows that arrived from Germany which eventually became the windows and walls of the home of MI6 on building on The Thames. We got the assembled frames called profiles and like a giant lego set put them all together. Some of these units would cover two floors. I learnt how to read drawings and understand written german. I operated the cranes and like kids we put together these massive bomb proof configurations. When I did my last shift in the factory I sat in the sling of the mag crane and hoisted myself up above the factory floor. I then slid my legs up and hung upside down and did a length of the workshop to applause from the mostly Aussies, Kiwis and South Africans who worked there,

Before the internet, casual jobs could be found in shop windows and this job was advertised in a window of a shop near the Australian Embassy. I needed a job after traveling for a couple of months and started work for Argus Shield. It was mind-numbingly boring but in the '90s London was regularly bombed by the IRA so security was a high priority. I worked at the Daily Mail, The old London Mint, Canary wharf (which was then still under construction), and a hospital which was by far the scariest as there was always someone deranged showing up to be treated. I learned how to work 12 hrs per day, 7 days per week on minimum wage, and budget accordingly.