John Andrew Whitlock
Work Undertaken Illustrating Capabilities
Employment History
Biographical Information
Relevant Publications
- MANAGEMENT
Technology Transfer Manager; Parliamentary Committee Inquiries;
National Fire Testing facilities redevelopment; Deputy Program Manager- TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
FireSure; Consulting to industry & government;
Spokesman - media; Expert witness; BCA- PRESENTATIONS
- CONSULTANCIES
- EDUCATION ROLE
National Fire Industry Training & Development Project Inc;
Teaching- TAFE; Syllabus Commentator; FireSure Training- COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIPS
Standards Association of Australia; Commonwealth Fire Board;
Australian Assembly of Fire Authorities; Internal Committees- FIRE STANDARDS
NATA Assessor; ISO Delegate; Standards Australia Committees;
- TESTING
Fire Testing; Acoustics Testing;
- INSTRUMENTATION
Background; Computing
- SMALL BUSINESS MANUFACTURER
- Clubs, Associations Interests
Introduction
I was the Project Manager for the (CSIRO DBCE) Fire Technology Program's Technology Transfer section from 1990 and was responsible for promoting and marketing research and development projects to industry and government. Work in the last few years included developing and promoting the CSIRO FireSure Fire Safety Products Certification and Labelling Program.The following cross-section of my duties and experience demonstrates the various areas of my expertise.I developed the mechanisms for improved dissemination of research results, together with managing the Quality Assurance system, the Calibration Laboratory, PC Support, and Electronics Laboratory for the fire technology program.
I developed the National Fire Incident Statistics project in collaboration with fire authorities and other collaborating groups in Australia and overseas.
My duties over the years included consulting with industry and government on problems, and providing both verbal and written advice in confidence to clients.
Technology Transfer Manager
- Project Manager of the Technology Transfer Project for the Fire Technology Program;
- Responsible for promoting fire research and the results thereof to industry and the community, quality assurance, electronics and computing support to the program and the Australian National Fire Statistics project;
Parliamentary Committee Inquiries
- Formal presentation and briefing to members of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Public Works Committee regarding the $98 million planned redevelopment of the North Ryde Laboratories site for CSIRO, including the Fire Technology facilities (November 1991)
CSIRO National Fire Testing facilities redevelopment
- Close involvement with proposed redevelopment of CSIRO Fire Testing facilities including planning requirements, drafting proposals and liaison with architects and authorities;
- Client contact for final design of CSIRO Fire Science and Technology precinct and construction of Stage 1 (administration building).
- Staff representative on Site Redevelopment Communications Group.
- Staff Member of (CSIRO) Riverside Corporate Park Management Committee Industrial Participation Committee.
Deputy Program Manager
- Deputised for Manager of Fire Technology Program as required for decision and representation roles.
back to WORK Undertaken list
FireSure Fire Safety Products Certification and Labelling Program
As part of a senior team I developed concepts and proposals to management for the FireSure Fire Safety Products Certification and Labelling Program. The Program was authorised by the Minister for Science and Small Business and is the first instance of CSIROs logo being authorised for use on a third party product.
I was the primary coordinator for initiating the program. The manager we selected introduced the specification requirement into tender documents for the Prince of Wales Hospital development, Sydney Casino and Bankstown Hospital.Consulting to industry & government
Consults to industry and government on specific aspects of fire performance and compliance with regulations with emphasis on combustibility;Spokesman - media
Appeared on live and prerecorded television programs for interviews on fire related items such as flammability of furniture and domestic smoke problems;Channel 9 Today Show interviewed with Keith Jordan of Furniture Manufacturers Guild, by George Negus; Assisted scripting and final approval negotiations with CSIRO Legal for client video of Facade fire tests and demonstration;
Channel 7 11AM program presented by Ann Sanders on aspects of CSIRO Fire research with Backpackers Fire, World Arson Congress special burn and interpretation of data leading to call for installation of smoke detectors;
Assisted various news and special filming events with background information and best shots suggestions for crews) Negotiated withdrawal of marketing video by client where the promotion was based on misinterpretation of CSIRO reports and negotiated a rewrite and re-release to satisfy all parties. (confidential client).
Reviewed script details regarding fire for a Beyond 2000 production for the Discovery Channel and negotiated CSIRO credit listing (est audience 93 million )
Expert witness in State and Federal courts in fire matters
Appeared in state and federal courts as an expert witness on fire matters related to product performance and planning issues;Building Code of Australia
Involved with drafting fire aspects of the Building Code of Australia and was a member of the Division's Building Regulations Task Force;
Responsible for publication of the Directory of Tested Products to support the BCA and regulators through the BCAider expert system;back to WORK Undertaken list
Fire Technology Program Public Relations
One of the major presenters for the Fire Technology Program at conferences, seminars, training courses and general familiarisation lectures and discussions; Presentation design and support for Fire Technology Program members.
Hosted international visits to the Fire Science & Technology Centre at a range of levels including Ministerial and technological delegations: -
Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Organised and hosted first International Fire Safety Conference 1992 for the FORUM for International Co-operation on Fire Research including use of Internet for organisation of international management team, speakers, submission of papers. (This was specifically referenced in a paper by NIST Librarian Nora Jason as an example of forthcoming Internet uses)
CIB (multi-national group), USA, Canada, UK.back to WORK Undertaken list
Ongoing consulting advice to Australian industry such as: Review design proposal for Sydney Airport Rail Link to the New Southern Railway with regard to fire safety and personally undertook the egress analysis from the tunnel in the event of a collision and fire in the tunnel using computer modelling. Prepared internal briefing for further studies by other staff of fire and smoke control systems involving fires at platform and concourse levels of stations using Computational Fluid Dynamics analyses.
Tangara railway carriage acquisition contract to SRA - fire behaviour criteria inadequately specified in tender. Assisting contract acquittal between contractor and SRA to mutual satisfaction re fire safety.
NSW State Rail Authority (SRA) to improve contract specifications and documentation, and on railways fire safety generally.
Measure and interpret radiant heat emissions from a Liquid Gas Flare in an Industrial plant to determine compliance with contract specifications and advise on potential corrective mechanisms to provide minimum cost rectification work to satisfy all parties (Project manager, design contractor, manufacturing engineer, various consultants, plant owner, and safety officer)
Radiant Heat Assessments on major development projects in central business districts to reduce fire exposure hazards to and from surrounding buildings.
Lightweight external cladding manufacturers regarding combustibility interpretation aspects under building regulations where materials are innovative and do not readily fit the concepts of existing regulations.
Appearing as an expert witness in the Federal Court of Australia on behalf of industry clients to explain science of fire and testing methods to the court.
Appearing in NSW Land and Environment Court (as a court of appeal against building regulations restrictions) to clarify fire safety aspects of developments.back to WORK Undertaken list
National Fire Industry Training & Development Project Inc.
CSIRO member on the committee which was the Competency Standards Body for the fire industry.
Member of subcommittees including the Fire Education Providers Network, and reference groups for competencies, and training modules;
Participated in workshops to identify required competencies and to develop training standards and course modules.Teaching - TAFE (Fire Tests) University, CFB, Defence, AFPA
Teaching with the NSW Technical And Further Education Department (TAFE), Building & Construction Industry Training Division, in the field of fire technology and especially Fire Tests (Developed subject matter, presentation and course documentation);
Lectures to university classes, government bodies (such as Commonwealth Fire Board and Department of Defence), general fire safety courses and industry fire safety training courses through the Australian Fire Protection Association.Syllabus commentator
Commentator on the course syllabus for the Advanced Fire Technology Certificate (1145J then 6162H - Petersham College of TAFE) for the NSW Technical And Further Education Department (TAFE) Building & Construction Industry Training Division.
FireSure Fire Safety Products Certification and Labelling Program
Development and presentation of certifier accreditation courses and competency examinations to provide a pool of competent private assessors for the program.
back to WORK Undertaken list
Standards Association of Australia
Past member of and deputy to many fire and acoustics committees with Standards Australia including:FC/- Fire Tests Committee
FP/3 Portable fire extinguishers
FP/5 Australian Fire Incident Reporting System
FP/10 Terms and Definitions
BD/18 Fire Tests on Building Materials, Components & Structures
BD/18/1 WG on Combustibility (Convener)
EL/3/13 Cables for use in Limited Fire Conditions
EL/3/15 Methods of Test for Electric Cables and Cords
EL/37 Special Wiring Systems
PL/9 Fire Tests for Plastics
TX/13 Burning Behaviour of Textiles
TX/15 Hospital Textiles
AV/- Acoustics Committee
AV/2 Acous. Instrumentation & Measurement Techniques
AV/4 Architectural Acoustics;Commonwealth Fire Board
Deputised for CSIRO's member of the Commonwealth Fire Board (Australian Government); Drafted documents for revision of Fire Safety Circulars;
Australian Assembly of Fire Authorities
Deputised for Program Manager as member of various committees of AFAC. CSIRO member of National Fire Industry Training and Development Project.
Negotiated with AFAC members in SAA committee FP/5 for the Australian Fire Incident Reporting System (AS 2755) (similar to NFIRS in US) to satisfy needs and differences of all fire services in Australia.
Negotiated Memorandum of Understanding with the Australian Assembly of Fire Authorities to cooperate in the collection and publication of the Australian National Fire Statistics based on AS2755 using incident data collected by each contributing Fire Service.
Internal Committees
Floor Warden, Main building
Occupational Health and Safety Committee. Staff Representative
Industrial Participation Committee. Staff Representative. (Also deputised as Management representative in past)
Divisional Management Committee. Deputy member.
Site Redevelopment Communications Committee.
Riverside Corporate Park Site Industrial Participation Committee. Staff Representative.back to WORK Undertaken list
NATA assessor
Assessor with the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) in the field of Temperature Measurements and Computer-aided Measurement Systems; (assessed various laboratories in confidence for compliance with NATA requirements)ISO delegate
Past Australian delegate to the International Standards Organisation's TC/92 (Fire Tests) committee and subcommittees.Standards Australia Committees
Member of FP/3, FP/5, BD/18/1, EL/3/13, EL/3/15, EL/37, TX/13, TX/15 and FP/10 and a deputy member of BD/18 and PL/9. Convenor of BD/18/1. (For an explanation of these see Committee Memberships)back to WORK Undertaken list
Fire testing - laboratory and supervision
Industry participation, laboratory operation, and supervision of fire resistance tests on structural elements of buildings and fire tests on materials within the CSIRO's North Ryde Fire Laboratories, undertaken to AS1530 parts 1-5 and some tests to BS476, ASTM, ISO, NFPA, UL and other standards; Direct involvement with the development of Australian and international fire test standards through Standards Australia and ISO committees;
Extensive liaison with industry and government on fire and acoustical performance and testing.
Acoustics testing
Laboratory acoustical testing for industry and government research and development of standards and measurement technology;back to WORK Undertaken list
Instrumentation background
Supervision of the Electronics and Calibration support group for the Fire Technology Program following 8 years experience as Scientific Instruments Officer for the Laboratories;Computing
Used and developed computer software, techniques and systems since 1967; Experienced with languages (BASIC, Fortran, etc), wordprocessors, spreadsheets, databases, graphics, DT publishing, web publishing (including HTML coding), batch and scripting. Troubleshooter for programmers.
Was President of Australia's oldest personal computer association, the Microcomputer Enthusiasts' Group, Sydney (MEGS) for 10 years;
back to WORK Undertaken list
- JA Whitlock & Co was established as a family business in the 1960's. It is one of only a handful of such specialised slide manufacturers in the world and has been making the various improved models since 1937.
- JA Whitlock & Co manufactures three main types of worm egg counting microscope slides and 4 minor types. The business also provides a custom design and manufacture capability for small quantities for research laboratories and is assisting a number of research projects around the country. A recent example is the development of an import replacement slide for soil nematode analysis.
The technique was developed within CSIRO McMaster Laboratories in the late 1930's by Harold Whitlock (father) and Dr Hugh Gordon as part of a CSIRO program to combat parasites in Australia and published in 1939.
Worm egg counts determine the degree of infestation or worm burden of animals. They give important quantitative support for the grazier to decide whether and when to drench for parasite worms, and which ones to target.
The "original" McMaster slide was developed for sheep research and was applied to goats and other small ruminants. Other types have been developed from this to improve the efficiency and reliability of the procedure for a broad variety of animals around the world.
- Methodology is published in Australian Standard Diagnostic Techniques for Animal Diseases and specifies Whitlock slides.
- The business involves small scale manufacturing and mail order sales. Following changes in the industry around the world international sales are becoming more important and an Internet presence (www.whitlock.com.au) is being established for rural and scientific customers.
- Promotional events include a stand in the Alternate Farmer Pavilion at the first Sydney Royal Easter Show held at the Homebush Bay facility (in 1998).
Electronics (data logging, interfacing, measurements)
Computing (construction, assembly, peripherals, software)
Programming (BASIC, FORTRAN,- exposed to COBOL, APL, FORTH, various
assemblers for uPs, batch, scripting, etc)
Photography (Hasselblad, Pentax, Konica, Minolta,
3D photography, digital still cameras {Sharp, Casio, Sony},
video)
NAME:John Andrew WHITLOCKCONTACT:e-mail john@whitlock.com.auPRESENT POSITION:
and see contact detailsConsultant -{Principal}, JA Whitlock & Co
EDUCATION:Bachelor of Arts (Physics, Electronics), Macquarie University. 1972
LAOCP- Limited Amateur Operators Certificate of Proficiency. (Amateur Radio)
INTERESTS:Family farm in the Watagan Mountains.Extensive bush travelling over 28 years, camping from a Landrover -eg Central Australia, Flinders, Lake Eyre, Pilbara, Gibb River Road, Willandra Lakes, Fraser Island, Snowy River, etc.
Overseas travel including 12 months in South American countries (as a child), Ohio and New York USA, toronto & Ottawa Canada, Shanghai & Beijing China and Singapore.
Small business manufacturing microscope slides.
Extensive hobby computer hardware and software, electronics, amateur video and eclectic tastes in music.
Mercedes-Benz Car Club and maintaining old cars.
- A list of relevant REFERREED publications is available.
Contact details: