Founder
Timothy J. Scott
Hi, I’m Timothy, the founder of Clarus Caelum.
My story, and the story of Clarus Cealum, begins with the WestConnex Integrated Operations & Maintenance Control System (IOMCS).
At 26, I found myself at the helm of a tier-1 construction company’s largest global program, a $150 million web of PLCs, SCADA, fibre, tunnel-safety logic and much more that stitched the integrated WestConnex tunnels in Sydney together. It was the most complex infrastructure control system program in Australia’s history. Thinking back, it seems like a crazy move by my then Managing Director, but I’m thankful for the opportunity it presented me to show what I’m really capable of.
When the system went live months early and comfortably under budget, I remember thinking:
What now?
I’d just proven, mostly to myself, that at less than 30 years of age, I could orchestrate a 120-person, seven-work-stream monster and still deliver ahead of plan, and under budget, through the Covid-19 pandemic and whilst studying an MBA full-time.
In the hard-earned break that followed, I focused on debriefing: How did I achieve success in uncharted territory, confidently leading as a young professional where seasoned industry experts might have hesitated, transforming a bold move into a triumph?
Yes, I’d leaned on my engineering skills, but the real differentiator was strategic thinking; aligning every micro-decision with a well-defined bigger picture and a relentless focus on people. A blend of engineer, strategist and team-builder, I had seldom come across in my time in industry. So I left the safety of a Tier-1 engineering contractor to start Clarus Caelum Consulting.
Clarus caelum means clear sky. My vision is to bring that clarity to complex infrastructure so bold ideas can break cloud cover and land as assets that uplift communities. Today, I empower government agencies, mega-infrastructure asset operators, construction contractors, and technology vendors alike to successfully navigate complex challenges, such as driving excellence in bid and growth strategies, systems engineering uplifts, governance overhauls, and the turnaround of troubled major projects.
What drives me is relentless curiosity and the desire to leave a positive impact on the world. That which pulls me toward Stoic philosophy in the morning, and AI governance papers in the evening. Continuous learning keeps judgment sharp and ethics front and centre. Whether I’m mapping a market-entry plan, rebuilding a project-controls office, or mentoring young engineers, the goal is constant: take on the next “impossible” challenge, leave the world tangibly better, and do it with strategy, technical rigour and humanity in equal measure.
Associates
Álvaro Richi
Álvaro brings more than a decade of hands-on experience designing and integrating intelligent transport and tunnel-safety systems across Europe and Australia. After completing a Master’s in Industrial Engineering at the University of Pontificia Comillas and an Electrical & Electronic Engineering degree at the University of Sydney, he began his career with TYPSA, delivering electrical designs for large-scale civil projects.
He later joined SICE ANZ, where he progressed to senior engineering and management roles on complex motorway programmes. Notably, Álvaro led the design of the Integrated Operations & Maintenance Control System that underpins WestConnex’s operational control, the most complicated Motorway Control System in Australia’s history, cementing his reputation for dependable delivery in uncharted territory.
Currently, Álvaro is currently engaged with Transport for NSW, advising across the motorway portfolio in both a technical and strategic capacity, driving next-generation Intelligent Transport solutions. His expertise in intelligent transport, smart home, smart city and real-time systems integration is regularly sought after and shared at industry forums such as the ITS World Congress.
Álvaro complements our approach to solving complex infrastructure challenges with cross-disciplinary technical rigour and a mind for navigating the most complex engineering problems quickly, safely and efficiently. He ensures clients receive solutions that are not only fit for purpose but designed for long-lasting impact on both the organisations for whom he delivers and end users.
Chandra Hamsa
Chandra brings more than 25 years of hands-on IT/OT (Operational Technology) and control-room experience, growing high-performing operations teams and integrating mission-critical systems across Australia’s transport and telco sectors. Trained as an electronics engineer and holding a Master of Information Technology from the Queensland University of Technology, he has built a career at the intersection of SCADA, cybersecurity and customer-facing ticketing platforms.
After early technical and portfolio-management roles with Vodafone, AAPT, Ericsson and Optus, Chandra moved into public-transport operations. At Transport for NSW, he steered the Opal program’s service-delivery stream, launching contactless EMV payments on 30,000+ devices, cutting annual maintenance spend and securing executive approval for a multi-million dollar OT-upgrade roadmap.
He successfully led NSW Intelligent Transport System Operations for Transurban, driving 24/7 excellence in SCADA-based control systems across 11 motorways, including complex tunnel environments, while expertly restructuring a 35-person core team and 900 contingent workers to ensure unwavering resilience and operational success.
Chandra complements our strategy and delivery consulting practices with on-the-ground control-room-level insight, from helping agencies and operators scale operations teams, lift incident-response efficiency and de-risk state-wide smart-ticketing transitions, from legacy magnetic-stripe systems to open-loop, mobile-wallet and account-based solutions such as Opal.
Whether designing a new Network Operations Centre, streamlining OT maintenance regimes or guiding a multimodal ticketing rollout, he ensures projects are not only delivered successfully but primed for reliable, day-one operation.
Grant Saunders
Grant brings more than 35 years of international, end-to-end experience planning, designing and commissioning complex Communications, ICT, Electrical, Power, Intelligent Transport, and smart-city systems across Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, the UK and South Africa. His career covers every project phase, concept strategy, detailed design, procurement, delivery management and operational handover, giving him a rare “pit-to-boardroom” perspective on complex infrastructure programs.
After earning associate degrees in Telecommunications & Network Engineering and Project & Program Management, plus a Cert III in Technical Security Design & Installation, Grant progressed through senior design-management and project-director roles on flagship projects such as the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, the M12 Smart Motorway in Sydney, the Zero-Emission Bus Depot in Brisbane and many more.
Grant most recently served as the national ITS manager at SMEC, steering national smart-infrastructure strategy while remaining hands-on in design reviews and commissioning oversight.
Grant embodies “visionary strategy, engineered results” by bridging national strategic management with technical rigour and delivery realism, whether defining an ITS-concept bid, troubleshooting fibre & power reticulation mid-build, or de-risking control-room migrations. His track record of “whole-of-life thinking” ensures our clients’ projects are not only achievable on time and under budget, but to the highest standard of engineering.
Roger Muntadas
Roger brings more than a decade of industrial-automation and tunnel-control experience spanning Europe and Australia. After completing a Bachelor’s in Industrial Electronics Engineering & Automation at the University of Vic, Spain and an Erasmus year at HAMK University of Applied Sciences in Finland, he began his career with Spanish process-equipment specialist Fluinox, where he delivered Siemens- and Rockwell-based PLC/SCADA solutions for multinational food and cosmetics plants.
Relocating to Sydney in 2018, Roger joined SICE ANZ and took a lead role on the WestConnex program, designing, coding, testing and commissioning for 25+ Rockwell controllers that govern MVAC, hydraulics, fire-life-safety and lighting in the M4-M5 Link and Rozelle Interchange, the most complex motorway-control environment in Australia’s history.
In 2022, he began working with organisations such as M&E Solutions as a Control Systems Engineer, steering PLC design and system integration for the Tugun Bypass tunnel’s drive-advisory and vehicle-detection systems, and interfacing across disciplines to deliver seamless SCADA handover to the operator.
Fluent in Siemens TIA Portal, Rockwell Studio 5000, EPLAN and Python, Roger bridges shop-floor realities with enterprise requirements, from remote diagnostics to authoring O&M practices.
Roger complements our approach to infrastructure with an intricate understanding of automation, ensuring infrastructure, smart city, and smart-factory clients receive solutions that are optimised for safety, efficiency and alignment with organisational outcomes.