Neil Burns
Failure Investigation Manager
Neil has over 30 years of experience in metallurgical engineering, corrosion, and failure analysis, supporting oil and gas, chemical, power generation, and industrial clients worldwide. His work has focused on identifying the root causes of equipment failures and developing practical, field-ready solutions to improve reliability and prevent recurrence.
He began his career in the UK managing an accredited metallurgical testing laboratory before moving to the United States, where he expanded into failure analysis and corrosion engineering across a wide range of industries. Over the course of his career, he has conducted more than 1,500 failure investigations on components ranging from pipelines and pressure vessels to rotating equipment and production systems.
Neil spent several years with Stress Engineering in New Orleans, delivering failure analysis and materials engineering support to upstream, midstream, and downstream operators. He later joined Viking Engineering, where he now leads failure investigations and consulting efforts for oil and gas clients, combining metallurgical analysis, corrosion evaluation, and system-level assessment to provide defensible root cause conclusions.
His experience includes corrosion-related failures, weld degradation, hydrogen damage, and system-level integrity issues, with a focus on linking material behavior to operating conditions. He regularly works with plant personnel, engineers, and inspection teams to translate complex failure mechanisms into practical guidance that can be applied in the field.
Areas of Expertise:
Upstream, Midstream, and Downstream Failure Analysis
Materials Selection
Field Metallurgical Testing
Material Testing TEchniques
Ferrous & Non-Ferrous Metallurgy
Corrosion and Corrosion Testing
Education:
Neil earned a BEng in Mechanical Design, Materials & Manufacture from Nottingham University, Nottingham, UK (1993) and an MSc in Corrosion Science and Engineering from UMIST, Manchester, UK (1994).
Phone: 281.870.8455
