Heavy Haul Seminar Sessions Speaker:
Biography
Biography: Hooper Engineering provides advice on Railway construction, track and car maintenance and train operations as well as expert advice on accidents and material failures.
Mr.Hooper has 36 years of Railway experience. He started his career as Assistant Engineer at CP Rail in Sudbury, Ont. in 1978. Moving to BC Rail in 1981, over the next 23 years, he had varied experience including on-site responsibilities for earth, rock, bridge and track construction/rehabilitation; track standards and Capital budgets and planning; Rules department including conductor and locomotive engineer training, dangerous goods, and the HAZMAT teams; system responsibility for investigation of derailments, operating incidents and material failures.
From 1998 as Chief Engineer and then 2003 Vice President Maintenance, Mr. Hooper led the re-structuring of BC Rail’s Capital and Maintenance activities in track, signals, bridges, locomotives, freight cars, passenger equipment, purchasing, inventory and information technology. Mr. Hooper was responsible for a department of 1,050 employees with an annual budget of $61M expense and $40M capital on a 1,431 mile main track Class II railway. Over this period, Maintenance department accomplishments included a 30% reduction in operating costs, a 75% reduction in main track derailments and a 44% reduction in personal accident frequency.
In the fall of 2004 with the purchase of BC Rail by CN, Mr. Hooper formed a consulting company, Hooper Engineering and has had an active international practice in heavy haul coal/iron ore railways and in terminal upgrades and rehabilitations.
This presentation will be the 8th at an ARM seminar since 1995.
Mr. Hooper holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Western Ontario and is a registered Professional Engineer in British Columbia. He is also a member of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association, serving on Committees 4-2 and 4-5 Rail.