Bertrand Lacour

Head of Technical Platform / University Lecturer at EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)

Étoy, Vaud, Switzerland

About

I am an experienced, motivated and professional senior mechanical engineer and project manager. After years of working for Schlumberger, I am currently founding my startup in consulting and licensing in the oilfield services industry in Switzerland : Shield OilTech (www.shield-oiltech.com). I enjoy highly technical challenges within a structure that values individuals, technology, ethics, historical background and net profit. Specialties: Oil Drilling Mechanics Mechanical Engineering Materials for Mechanical Engineering Computer Aided Engineering Fluid Mechanics Signal Processing Measurement While Drilling Design Dynamics Brake Design Gamma Ray Detectors Packaging Pulsed Neutron and X-Ray Generators Packaging Drill Bits Permanent Well Monitoring Wireline cased hole tools (production logging & perforating) Rotary Steerable Systems inc. HPHT Product Reliability Product Qualification Design for Manufacture Project Management

Experience

  • Head of Technical Platform / University Lecturer - Faculty of Engineering at EPFL (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne)
    Sep 2013 - Present · 12 yrs 11 mos

    Head of Technical Platform, School of Engineering: Managing 6 design and workshop units (32 staff) providing bespoke mechanical and electrical engineering design, prototyping and manufacturing expertise in support of EPFL education, research, and ecosystem. Lecturer: Lecturing and teaching Mechanical Design, CAD and managing Mechanism Design Projects for more than 800 students across 6 courses in their 1st year of Bachelor (GM, MT, EL/MX) at the School of Engineering (total number of students taught more than 9'000 since 2013). Managing a team of 40 Teaching Assistants. Implemented Mechanical Design Consulting activities servicing research Laboratories, Masters and Bachelor students projects and multidisciplinary projects in partnership with STI workshops.

  • Owner & General Manager at Shield OilTech
    Jan 2011 - Present · 15 yrs 7 mos

    Shield OilTech is a start-up company in the oilfield services industry registered in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. The focus of the company is to provide quality services to the larger and established oilfield company. These include consulting on tool designs from concept to obsolescence and licensing with an emphasis on novel ideas and technologies. Shield OilTech was granted a patent for a novel rotary steerable method.

  • Schlumberger (9 yrs 5 mos)
    • Mechanical Product Manager
      Feb 2009 - Mar 2011 · 2 yrs 2 mos

      HPHT RSS and BSA Technology, Mechanical Product Manager in Schlumberger Stonehouse Technology Center (Stonehouse, UK) Mechanical engineering and managing a mechanical team (10 direct reports) to produce an innovative 6.75" High Pressure High Temperature Rotary Steerable System. Took the project from concept to Feasibility with highly successful field trials to the doorstep of Development. 2 tool families now commercialised under the names PowerDrive Orbit Rotary Steerable System and PowerDrive ICE UltraHT RSS

    • RSS Product Manager
      Feb 2008 - Jan 2009 · 1 yr

      Russia Sidetrack RSS Product Manager in Schlumberger Stonehouse Technology Center (Stonehouse, UK) Mechanical engineering and managing a multidisciplinary team (5 direct reports) to produce a new Rotary Steerable System for the growing Russian sidetracking market. Took the project from Funded to the doorstep of Development

    • Senior Mechanical Engineer II
      Jan 2006 - Jan 2008 · 2 yrs 1 mo

      Senior Mechanical Engineer II at Schlumberger Cambridge Research (Cambridge, UK) and Schlumberger Stonehouse Technology Center (Stonehouse, UK) Mechanical research/engineering/design/testing on the Max010 Drilling Program. Classified Secret. Studies paved the way for the now commercialised NeoSteer at-bit steerable system.

  • Project Manager and R&D Engineer at Renault Trucks
    Feb 2000 - Oct 2001 · 1 yr 9 mos

    Project Manager and R&D Engineer-Renault V.I./Mack Trucks Corp-Research and Development Division-Vehicle Dynamics Department-Lyons (France) Project Engineer for air disk brake programs on long haul trucks (Magnum and Premium): design, verification and validation of the disk brake function in vehicle environment ; significant cost reduction activities on the disk brake function along with quality and performance enhancement. Project Manager for the "Carbon Retarder on Propeller Shaft" research project (studies, design and integration of a new generation of retarder with water cooled carbon rotors on long haul trucks) and "18 tons Midlum truck" project (new full air disc braking system). Magnum, Premium and Midlum with full air disk brakes commercialised.

  • Mechanical Design Engineer at Schlumberger
    Sep 1998 - Jan 2000 · 1 yr 5 mos

    Design engineer-Schlumberger Anadrill-Measurement While Drilling-SlimPulse-SPC Sugar Land (Texas, USA) Studied the mechanical retrofit design and determined the feasibility of a new downhole 1.75" diameter mud pulser for SlimPulse going from a 0.5Hz modulation to 12Hz. Proposed/tested new servo drive train, turbine/modulator, pressure compensator system, power dissipator & backlash reductor. Positively impacted field test of 0.5Hz mud pulser SlimPulse through design of surface system test device the SPWT, which verifies the correct tool programming: 300 units on the field around the world.