PhD student Saeed Khalaj is part way through a three-month internship with Sydney-based Covaris, a leading engineering and technology consultancy which works with clients to solve maintenance engineering and asset management challenges.

A self described ‘ knowledge company’, generating innovation through applied and fundamental research, the Covaris internship opportunity is the result of the relationship forged by membership of The Asset Institute. The Asset Institute is also a RIIS Hub industry partner.

Introducing RIIS Hub Higher Degree Research student Saeed Khalaj

  • Based in RIIS Hub’s Queensland University of Technology (QUT) node, as part of Prof Tommy Chan’s team. Saeed began his PhD at the school of Mechanical, Medical, and Process Engineering, QUT in December 2022. His academic qualifications span Civil and Geotechnical Engineering. He published six papers in peer-reviewed journals that were cited 129 times in Google Scholar.
  • Saeed’s thesis topic is ‘Degradation Modelling and Maintenance Strategies for Railway Surface Defects Through a Machine Learning Approach’. This research project aims to combine machine learning approaches and engineering knowledge to develop a degradation model quantifying uncertainty sources, which will result in optimal maintenance and inspection strategies for railway track surfaces. QUTQUTQUTQUT
  • Saeed has presented different levels of his Ph.D. project progress in symposiums and was awarded the HDR Excellence award at the School of Mechanical, Medical, and Process Engineering, QUT, in November 2023.

All aboard!: Saeed shares internship insights

  • The internship at Covaris is allowing me to work closely with the Covaris team in Sydney, specifically with its data science group. After performing literature surveys to investigate failure modes and inspection techniques in renewable energy, I am developing models to predict fault arrivals due to different system conditions.
  • Key learnings so far: Working with real-world data is challenging! However, the collaborative environment at Covaris really helps us all to work as a team to better understand and address challenges, and deliver meaningful insights and results. Although we are working with industrial datasets, taking into account the engineering perspective to analyse the results is crucial at Covaris. This leads to delivering meaningful and practical solutions for the clients.

Some of the innovative solutions to keep data insights ‘on track’

Saeed has been very involved in the development of the Bayesian statistics capability at Covaris, and is applying it to two client case studies covering fixed plant and mobile fleet.

  • Group meetings with the Covaris’ data team and industry experts are important- the ideas sharing has helped solve some of the data challenges we initially faced. Happily, ‘unstructured’ data and limited access to plant expertise are no longer barriers to research progress.
  • Where raw data sources to inform the research were challenging, we implemented a Bayesian statistics approach (a theory in the field of statistics based on the Bayesian interpretation of probability, where probability expresses a degree of belief in an event) to test correlations and drivers of reactive maintenance.

RIIS Hub: delivering on wide-ranging education and training experiences

RIIS Hub is training to a cohort of highly competent and motivated professionals through research and development programs, carried out in partnership with participants from all sectors of the infrastructure industry. Internships are a part of this approach, and enable RIIS Hub research insights and practical solutions to directly address infrastructure challenges facing industry. Internships also enable researchers to experience ‘real world’ research and development (R&D) activities related to their research.

Prof. Nasser Khalili, RIIS Hub Director, is pleased that the Asset Institute membership is already connecting RIIS researchers to a community of research, industry and infrastructure/asset management experts, and spurring student learning opportunities.

“There is real value to being immersed in a working environment, with all of its very unique opportunities and challenges. It allows students to stretch their experiences and apply their knowledge to solve asset management and infrastructure problems, as well as build close connections with industry.

About Covaris

  • Covaris (Australia) delivers asset management solutions to Australia and the world. Its clients reflect a range of areas including asset systems establishment, asset systems renewal, auditing and assessment, policies and standards, training and education, new technologies and software, and research projects to solve complex problems.
  • Based in Sydney, it applies practical and fundamental research to develop innovation to support their clients to optimise cost, risk and performance as they manage their assets.

Covaris Managing Director Bob Platfoot recently shared that Covaris’ primary goal, since the company’s inception more than 24 years ago, is, “to help organisations and people in the discipline of asset management”.

Saeed’s internship experience certainly delivers on this, and we thank Covaris, and the Asset Institute, for their highly collaborative approach.