Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Accomplishments
Affiliations
Software
Certification
Timeline
Publications
Generic
AMR GAAFAR

AMR GAAFAR

NPI Project Manager and R&D Design Engineer in Switchgear
Manchester, UK,UK

Summary

A sharp high-performing certified Project Manager and R&D Design Engineer with solid multi-disciplinary background in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering having distinctive knowledge in electrical contacts, magnetic actuators and materials. Amr has exceptional CAD skills for designing and simulating, small to large number of components products, in multi-physics and is considered a creative and innovative individual with strong problem-solving skills who comes up with unique unconventional out-of-box solutions to deliver reliable, compact and cost competitive products, with several products of his own already in field. He has a strong practical understanding of the development process, from concept through to after-sales, and a proven ability to work individually, as part of a team or to lead cross-functional teams in the design, development, prototyping, testing and implementation of complex projects with critical focus on projects' timescale and budget. His keen eye for detail allows him to manage priorities effectively and handle multiple projects simultaneously with a high degree of accuracy.

Overview

11
11
years of professional experience
14
14
years of post-secondary education
6
6
Certificates
3
3
Languages

Work History

PROJECT MANAGER AND R&D DESIGN ENGINEER

SECHERON SA
MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM
01.2018 - 08.2023
  • Responsible for research, design and full development of a range of new and customised cutting-edge electromechanical products for AC/DC Railway Equipment, taking projects from initial conceptualisation right through to detailed design, industrialisation, prototyping, testing, production, FAIs, delivery and after-sales support. List of products include AC Vacuum Circuit-Breaker with Grounding-Switch (MACS-GS), Load-Break-Switch (LBS), Roof Switch (RS), Disconnector Switch (SWS), Earthing Switch (BTE) and Indoor Switch (IS).
  • Designed detailed CAD models for full products', subsystems, components and structures, worked with Audros & Oracle, carried numerous engineering calculations and simulations such as fault-level, magnetics, BIL withstand, temperature rise, FEM mechanical stress analysis and electromagnetic short-circuit force simulations.
  • Led electrical contact and interlocking systems development as well as multi-physics simulations and OpenProject within the company's offload department and assisted onload department.
  • Evaluated projects feasibility based on design requirements and challenges against expected lead time with consideration to estimated NRC budget, RC and potential ROI.
  • Initiated, managed and delivered projects with detailed technical and operational direction in project challenges, identified plans and resources required to meet project goals and objectives, managed costs and monitored performance actively to identify risks, areas of improvement and necessary corrective actions.
  • Tracked project and team members performance closely, suggesting and implementing actionable improvements with aid of automated processes and project model strategies to increase research, design, production, quality and testing efficiency as well as widening project team capabilities to meet business objectives; helping reduce costs and improve efficiency of engineering teams.
  • Communicated directly with customers' engineering technical board, managed and completed project phase reviews, meeting project deliverables according to deadlines and ensuring successful execution.
  • Collaborated with cross-functional teams to conceptualize and refine product concepts, leading numerous design reviews, coordinated to resolve project issues and mitigate risks, conducted technical evaluations of engineering designs and test results, trained/mentored junior engineers providing guidance & direction.
  • Met design specifications for functional prototypes, assisted production with preparing prototypes and developing efficient production processes.
  • Led several investigations and completed product type-tests at the company's premises in Manchester, Czech Republic and Switzerland and externally at other test facilities i.e. IPH, Berlin.
  • Communicated at all levels across multiple sites, collaborating with other departments to facilitate successful project completion, coordinated and maintained relationships with Procurement team and internal/external suppliers to facilitate timely delivery of high-quality components.
  • Initiated & managed ECR/ECOs, liaising with several departments to accelerate the process, provided technical support to Quality team, leading failure assessments, assisting with NCs, coming up with and actioning rapid reliable long-term solutions and implementing QC processes.
  • Drafted documentation detailing design requirements, technical specifications, procedures, risk analysis, decision matrices, project outcomes and assisted with MTBF/MTTR and device manuals.
  • Developed and documented comprehensive engineering procedure and processes for all projects in compliance with engineering standards.
  • Presenting to board members, executive management and stakeholders, in UK & Switzerland, detailed reports and presentations on engineering activities and findings, scheduling and facilitating meetings to discuss deliverables, deadlines and conflicts, identifying outcomes, insights, lessons learnt and future suggestions.

EM / RPA DESIGN ENGINEER - KTP ASSOCIATE

INNOVATE UK
SHEFFIELD & LEEDS, UNITED KINGDOM
01.2015 - 01.2018

The Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) is a European leading programme helping businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills that reside within the UK knowledge base. Under Innovate UK, I have had two roles:

  • Electromechanical Design Engineer to design and develop medium-voltage Contactors and Circuit Breakers from concept to delivery at Baldwin and Francis Ltd in partnership with Materials & Engineering Research Institute, Sheffield Hallam University, 2,5 years contract (01/2015 to 06/2017).
  • Robotic Process Automation Engineer to introduce lights-out CNC machining capability at Produmax Ltd in partnership with The Institute of Design, Robotics and Optimisation, University of Leeds, 6 months contract (07/2017 to 01/2018).


Electromechanical Design Engineer


The aim of this project is to design and manufacture reliable, innovative, compact/slim and efficient medium-voltage Contactors and Circuit Breakers. Main duties included:

  • Conducting a wide research to select the optimum cutting edge materials for the electrical contacts (low chopping current, low contact resistance with expected contact force, high erosion resistance, low probability of welding and sticking, and, last but not least, good mechanical strength throughout its electrical life), conductors (High conductivity), insulators (High electrical resistivity, dielectric strength and arc resistance) and actuators with the aid of CES GRANTA Material Selector and investigate the impediment of using modern manufacturing techniques i.e 3D Printing & DMLS (Direct Metal Laser Sintering).
  • Developing optimum configuration of the electromagnetic and mechanical elements to achieve the most compact actuation mechanism in respect to the vacuum interrupter geometry; This includes magnetic circuit design, coil design and associated control and sensing circuitry, magnetic material specification and a compatible mechanical actuation components to achieve a force displacement profile consistent with the characteristics of the vacuum interrupter selection to give optimum performance.
  • Designing and modeling the various ratings of the contactors and circuit breakers using CAD facilities and interfacing the 3D CAD models with SolidWorks and ANSYS Multi-physics (Maxwell and Mechanical) to undertake transient FEA/Fatigue, thermal and vibration analysis to ensure reliability under thermal, electrical & actuation loads.
  • Manufacturing prototypes, developing testing protocols with due regard to the British Standards i.e BS EN 62271 and other relevant standards.
  • Performing various tests on the built prototypes to ensure product’s reliability for one million operations; Tests include; Short Circuit, Making & Breaking, Mechanical Endurance, Temperature Rise and Vibration Tests.


Robotic Process Automation Engineer


The aim of this project is to help partner business introduce lights out technology for their CNC Machines in line with Industry 4.0. Main duties included:

  • Characterisation and analysis of current manufacturing processes and techniques of measurement, using this outcomes of this review to suggest changes to be tried and implemented.
  • Developing and evaluating additional sensing technologies, methods for coding operations on CNC machines and techniques to interface with external signals and sensors.
  • Data collection from new sensors; Qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate the success of the new sensing methods and processes.
  • Directing changes on site, reporting results and preparing future planning for site management.

TECHNICAL ENGINEER

UNATRAC LTD
SLOUGH, UNITED KINGDOM
09.2013 - 03.2014
  • Designed single-line diagrams for small/medium Power Generation projects and examined all CAT’s heavy machines technically including Excavators, Loaders, trucks, Generators, etc as I was involved in inspecting several hands-on operations on both mechanical and electrical applications.
  • Visited customers sites and wrote technical reports based on customer's technical requirements (Load increase, maximum allowable current, etc.) and current plant functionality & conditions.
  • Reformed surplus parts inventory based on technical specification by introducing a database software designed to decrease volume of inactive stock held by the company, reduce provisions made for holding stock, draw new and returning customers and produce a virtuous marketing material using product bundling technique.

DESIGN AND QC ENGINEER

ELMECH ELECTROMECHANICAL WORKS L.L
ABU DHABI, UAE
07.2012 - 08.2013
  • Worked with Engineering department in designing shop drawings prior to submission to Consultant and issuance to site using AutoCAD Software.
  • Inspected MEP installation and adherence to the approved shop drawings, Directed Construction personnel to rectify defective works and presented at inspection with Engineering Consultant and instructed construction personnel accordingly.
  • Examined the Drainage system, water supply network including booster pump and water tank, HVAC system including packed unit installation, split A/C and Liquefied Petroleum Gas systems.
  • Checked the sub-main distribution board and final distribution board installation with roof cable containment, Lightning system, Extra Low Voltage (ELV) system for automatic reading (AMR) for power and water utilities and Optical Network (ONT) system; Ethernet & phone.

Education

Ph.D. - Switchgear Systems

Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield, United Kingdom
02.2015 - 04.2024

M.Sc. - Sustainable Electrical Powers

Brunel University London
London, United Kingdom
09.2013 - 09.2014

B.Sc. - Electromechanical Engineering

Alexandria University
Alexandria, Egypt
09.2007 - 06.2011

Skills

    New product introductions strategies

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Accomplishments

  • Awarded Dean's Prize for Innovation and Impact in a Master's Dissertation within the Electrical/Electronic and Computer Engineering Area, Brunel University London, 2014.
  • Awarded The Year's UK Power Networks Prize which is awarded for the Best Overall Dissertation in Sustainable Electrical Powers, Brunel University London, 2014.
  • Awarded Best Final Graduation Project in Special Scientific Programme (SSP), with highest grade (A+), Alexandria University, 2012.

Affiliations

  • MIET, Member of The Institution of Engineering and Technology.
  • MIEEE, Member of The Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
  • MIET, Member of The Energy Institute.

Software

SolidWorks

AutoCAD & Inventor

ANSYS Workbench

Comsol Multiphysics

CES Material Selector

Microsoft Project & OpenProject

Microsoft Office & Excel VBA

Certification

Prince2 Certified Practitioner, AXELOS PEOPLECERT, Effective from November 2017

Timeline

PROJECT MANAGER AND R&D DESIGN ENGINEER

SECHERON SA
01.2018 - 08.2023

Ph.D. - Switchgear Systems

Sheffield Hallam University
02.2015 - 04.2024

EM / RPA DESIGN ENGINEER - KTP ASSOCIATE

INNOVATE UK
01.2015 - 01.2018

M.Sc. - Sustainable Electrical Powers

Brunel University London
09.2013 - 09.2014

TECHNICAL ENGINEER

UNATRAC LTD
09.2013 - 03.2014

DESIGN AND QC ENGINEER

ELMECH ELECTROMECHANICAL WORKS L.L
07.2012 - 08.2013

B.Sc. - Electromechanical Engineering

Alexandria University
09.2007 - 06.2011

Publications

  • ECONOMICAL DESIGN OF A TWO-AXIS TRACKING SYSTEM FOR SOLAR COLLECTORS, 5th Renewable Power Generation (RPG™) Conference, IET London, 2016.
AMR GAAFARNPI Project Manager and R&D Design Engineer in Switchgear