Jan has 21 years of industry experience and specializes in refractory maintenance management and the petrochemical field, having worked in petrochemical plants in South Africa, the Middle East, America and the UK. His career has been focused on cost-effectively improving lining integrity which encompasses failure analysis, refractory selection, quality control, design evaluation and commercial contracts. Jan's experience is diverse – from incinerators, reformers, heaters, arc furnaces and induction furnaces, through to rotary kilns, shaft kilns, sulphur burners, boilers, CFB reactors and FCC units.

He is also involved in the training of inspectors, commercial personnel and plant managers to increase their awareness of refractory applications within their organizations.

Jan has vast experience of specialized Finite Element Analysis modelling as a tool for refractory failure analysis. To validate mathematical models, it is essential for him to perform detailed on-site assessment of the condition of the refractory lining. He then utilizes the model to test various scenarios without putting the unit at risk.