A graduate of mechanical engineering from Trinity College Dublin, William Fyans has built a notable career and reputation for pushing innovation through the development of novel technologies. Notable projects he has worked on include the structural design of principal elements of the lifting equipment aboard the world’s largest ship, the 'Pioneering Spirit'. 

Fyans also played a lead role in the mechanical design of tidal turbines with Openhydro and led the design of super-precision mechanisms for scientific instrumentation. 

William Fyans.

He is currently the engineering manager with SiriusXT, leading the design and regulatory approval of the world’s first laboratory-based soft X-ray microscope. This technology enables the generation of a through-thickness 3D image of a single cell and represents a significant development in disease and drug research. 

He is also the director of Fyans Engineering, which offers consultancy services. Recent projects include the development of a new system of multi-storey modular construction on behalf of Suretank, which has been implemented in the data industry.

1) You have achieved the award of Chartered Engineer of the Year with Engineers Ireland recently. What does it mean to you, and why did you pursue the title ‘Chartered Engineer’ in the first place?  

I applied for my Chartered Engineer title to attain an industry-recognised certification of competence. Not only is it necessary for compliance issues, the title of Chartered Engineer has become a shorthand introduction to others that you have demonstrated your engineering competence throughout your career and have continued to develop your skills. To be awarded the tile of Chartered Engineer of the Year was a great honour and wholly unexpected. It will always remain a highlight of my career. 

2) Can you tell us about when you have had to face a particular challenge or manage a project outside of your experience range. How did you tackle it and what was the outcome?   

This has been a common feature of my career and in broad strokes I would describe my approach to such challenges as: A/ Establish what it is you’re trying to achieve; it is important to be as specific and comprehensive as possible here and to describe the actual specification/requirements rather than the solutions. B/ Research the field/problem in as much detail as is of value. This can include reading academic papers, researching related technologies, devising tests, informal conversations and everything in between (there are no prizes for reinventing the wheel). C/ Apply your newly acquired knowledge in concert with your experience and your knowledge of engineering first principles to the challenge.

An example of this would have been designing a system for the on-deck handling of undersea ploughs. These ploughs are used to bury gas pipelines under the seabed and weigh approximately 200t.

A system was required to safely move and reorient these ploughs on the deck of a vessel in the North Sea that could not use any wheels or exposed lubricants. The system was deployed successfully and is in use today. 

3) You’ve built a career and reputation for pushing innovation through the development of novel technologies. Notable projects that you have worked on include the structural design of principal elements of the lifting equipment aboard the world’s largest ship, the Pioneering Spirit. Can you tell us about this?

This was a project I worked on while I was working with a consultancy in Norway. The Pioneering Spirit is a catamaran made by combining two VLCC hulls (each approximately the size of an aircraft carrier).

The Pioneering Spirit.

The vessel is used to decommission fixed-platform oil rigs and is designed to pick up the entire platform and the undersea structure respectively and transport them to shore.

Allseas approached us with a project to develop their design concept for the mechanism that lifts the oil platform. This project involved evaluation of the concept from a structural, assembly and fabrication perspective along with associated redesigns. The vessel was successfully commissioned and is in use around the world today.

4) Who is your engineer hero, or the nearest you have to one?

Burt Rutan.

I tend to admire innovative engineers the most. Once a certain level of prominence in history is reached, the lore surrounding somebody can often overtake the person themselves but aircraft designer Burt Rutan and Nikola Tesla spring to mind as particularly accomplished. 

5) Have you travelled widely workwise – is there any country or experience that stands out?  

I have been lucky enough to work in several countries throughout my career but the one that stands out most is Norway. It was eye-opening for me to see a country with a similar population as our own with such a broad and industry-leading engineering field.

Their oil deposits naturally led to a thriving engineering industry to support it but their fields of expertise and involvement extend far beyond this.

It showed me that once a culture of developing technologies is inculcated in the industry, it becomes self-perpetuating. Ireland does some great work that we can be rightly proud of but I believe we have farther to go in recognising our abilities and applying them to a broader spectrum of industries. 

6) What are your favourite engineering feats – either in Ireland or globally?

My favourite engineering feats range from grand masterpieces like the SR-71 'Blackbird' aircraft (a design feat that beggars belief for its time) to much simpler things like the humble and under-appreciated nut and bolt. Modern foiling sailboats would have to get a mention too, I think. 

7) You’ve played a lead role in the mechanical design of tidal turbines with Openhydro and led the design of super-precision mechanisms for scientific instrumentation. And you are leading the design and regulatory approval of the world’s first laboratory-based soft X-ray microscope: can you elaborate about any of these projects, what the technology will achieve etc?

Sirius XT has developed and CE-marked the first laboratory-based, soft x-ray imaging microscope. Soft x-ray imaging allows us to generate through-thickness 3D images (akin to a CT scan) of an individual cell and its internal structure.

This imaging modality was previously only available at particle accelerators, which severely limited biologists’ access to it. The development of a laboratory-based system will facilitate important research into the subcellular mechanisms of diseases such as cancer.

8) What is the one piece of advice you would give to somebody starting out in the profession?

Put a particular emphasis on really understanding what you’re doing. Due to the maturity of engineering processes, it is often possible (and sometimes wholly appropriate) to follow a prescribed script.

This is so regularly the case that people sometimes confuse knowledge of the prescribed process with knowledge of the fundamental principles. Always ensure you understand the fundamental engineering principles at play and how the processes relate to them.

9) Recent projects that you have worked on include the development of a new system of multistorey modular construction on behalf of Suretank, which has been implemented in the data industry – can you tell us about this: aims, challenges etc?

Modular construction is an increasingly popular means of managing construction projects both big and small. It greatly streamlines the project management of complex infrastructure such as power distribution, as the specialist work can be outsourced and arrive on site ready to be deployed.

Modular construction.

Suretank has positioned itself as an industry leader in this field and I work in partnership with it through my own consultancy company. The project in question was of particular note as it was a three-storey structure consisting of six modules (each 18m x 5m x 4.5m).

Each floor had particularly high equipment and live loading requirements, had to be designed to satisfy design codes in two jurisdictions and was subject to seismic analysis.

Half of the modules had to have one wall open also (c-shaped in cross-section) due to geometric constraints. A new system of construction was therefore required to get such large modules to be lifted into position and connect together first time within the accuracy required to make one cohesive structure. The project was delivered successfully and is operational today.

10) What book is on your bedside table, or your favourite book?

Manchán Magan’s, Thirty Two Words for Field. A very interesting read about the Irish language and its roots.

11) What is the best piece of advice that you have ever received?

It was to do with parenting rather than engineering. When my wife and I had our first child, a friend with grown-up children advised me, “Everything is just a phase. Never congratulate nor berate yourself too much. It’ll all change next week/month/year”. He was right.