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Alan Mills is a globally recognised authority on Systems Completion and Commissioning & Start-Up (CSU) in safety-critical industries, including Oil & Gas, Nuclear, Petrochemicals, and Renewables. A Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST), Alan has over 40 years of hands-on experience in some of the world’s most complex and high-risk industrial environments.
His career began offshore in the North Sea and was profoundly shaped by the Piper Alpha disaster in 1988 — an event that ignited his lifelong mission to improve safety outcomes through structured project completions and operational readiness. That mission led him to found Falcon Global in 2000 and later develop Zenator, a digital platform that transforms the way large infrastructure projects are completed and handed over.
Alan is also the creator of MasterClass CSU, a globally delivered, ECITB-approved training course that has upskilled over 400 professionals across leading firms like Shell and Kent. He has served as an expert witness in arbitration cases and is widely regarded for his ability to make complex technical subjects engaging, accessible, and inspiring.
Alan brings clarity, credibility, and urgency to the conversation about project safety and performance — and why CSU training must become the standard, not the exception.
About Their Talks...
The topics of my talks are all about serious subjects, except I doubt people would queue up to hear me talk about safety or the need for discipline and rigour in Systems Completion and Commissioning & Start-Up (CSU). So I bring in my real world experiences with some humour in the hope people will find my storytelling and “lessons from failure” to be more far compelling than abstract concepts like “CSU” or “Systems Completion.”
The Serious Stuff
1. After Piper Alpha, Safety Became My Why – Why CSU Training Can’t Be Optional
A powerful, personal account of how the Piper Alpha tragedy reshaped one engineer’s professional purpose — and why Systems Completion & Start-Up (CSU) is essential to preventing history from repeating itself. Ideal for leadership summits, safety forums, and industry conferences.
2. Making the Invisible, Visible – Digital Transformation for Safer Project Delivery
How software like Zenator is helping global energy and infrastructure companies deliver faster, safer, and more cost-effective projects — even in the most remote and high-risk environments.
3. From the North Sea to Net Zero – Lessons in Operational Readiness
Insights from four decades on the front line of major capital projects, showing how robust CSU processes support energy transition goals while preserving safety and efficiency.
4. Leadership Lessons from Systems Completion
A practical, thought-provoking talk on what project leaders must do to avoid failure, build capable teams, and embed a safety-first mindset — from design to handover.
5. Train or Pay the Price – CSU Training for Safety-Critical Projects
Explores why cutting corners on CSU knowledge and training costs more in delays, incidents, and arbitration than investing in skills from the outset. Backed by real-world case studies.
And What I Talk About
1. “Everything Was Fine … Until It Wasn’t” – What Really Happens When You Skip CSU
With a dose of dry humour and real-life near-misses, Alan unpacks the hidden chaos behind glossy project dashboards. Expect tales of missing bolts, misunderstood handovers, and managers who insisted, “It’s good enough.” Spoiler: it wasn’t.
2. “We Skipped the Training — What Could Possibly Go Wrong?”
A light-hearted but hard-hitting talk that shows how skipping CSU training is like skipping parachute lessons before your first jump. Alan shares cases of expensive lessons learned the hard way — and how the audience can avoid the same fate.
3. “The Moment We Knew We Were in Trouble” – Real Red Flags from Real Projects
A talk built around that sinking feeling every experienced engineer or manager has had. Alan walks through a series of “uh-oh” moments — all true, all avoidable — and reveals the CSU fixes that could have saved the day.
4. “Trust Me, It’s Ready” – Famous Last Words Before the Alarms Go Off
Alan draws from decades of experience to share examples of what happens when you trust, but don’t verify. From late-stage fire-fighting to cover-ups and corner-cutting, this talk delivers big laughs — and big takeaways.
5. “Safe, Late, or Broken – Pick Any Two?”
A tongue-in-cheek look at the project manager’s eternal dilemma, with real case studies showing how CSU is the lever that lets you break the triangle — and have all three.
Fee:
Speaking fees typically range from £500 to £2,500 depending on the audience, event format, preparation required, and travel. I’m open to discussion for non-profit or industry association events.