Debra Riley - Materials Analysis Sales Manager

Debra Riley accepted a position at Matco Associates, Inc. in 1997 as a Technical Writer after graduating from Chatham University.   In 1998 she took on the responsibilities as Matco's Administrator where she developed many of the current practices that exist today.  In 2003, 2004 and 2008 she was honored with the Walter Gretz Award, an award designed to recognize the outstanding achievements and contributions demonstrated during the year.  

Over the past several years Ms. Riley has been involved in a number of projects where she was asked to develop performance standards for the electric power utility industry.  The first of these assignments involved developing a joint standard practice for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) in 2007 titled "Below-Grade Corrosion Control of Transmission, Distribution, and Substation Structures by Coating Repair Systems”.  In 2008 the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) commissioned her to write a technical brief on the test methods used at Matco Services to evaluate and eliminate inferior coating systems ("Tier Testing") that she was instrumental in developing.  This program provides a standard test method to assess various coating systems from different suppliers under the same criteria and conditions.  The protocol relies upon performance based testing and scientific principals to evaluate, compare and then rank candidate coating system’s overall performance.   The EPRI technical brief is titled "Tier Testing to Establish Coating System Performance Parameters on Carbon Steel and Galvanized Steel Substrates."

In 2009 and 2010 Ms. Riley became heavily involved in two long term research projects for the electric power utility industry including a research project undertaken by Matco Services on weathering steel that was commissioned by EPRI.  The second project involved writing an inspection and assessment protocol for The Centre for Energy Advancement through Technological Innovation (CEATI International) for weathered galvanized steel, aged paint coatings, and the oxide layer that forms on weathering steel transmission structures at the above grade level.   These reports are now available through these organizations.  

As the Materials Analysis Sales Manager, Ms. Riley is geared towards establishing new markets through a variety of efforts including website management and advertising campaigns, preparing cost proposals, and acting as the project liaison where needed.   

Throughout her career Ms. Riley has also been involved in a number of field investigations that have involved: corrosion, failure analysis, fatigue analysis and coating failures on various types of substrates. Ms. Riley is a NACE certified corrosion technician and is a member of NACE and ASTM.

Additional Technical Publications:

Laboratory and Field Investigation of Galvanized Utility Poles , Authors: Zamanzadeh, M; Kempkes, C; Aichinger, D; Riley, D, to be presented at 2006 Electrical Transmission Conference Structural Reliability in a Changing World Birmingham, Alabama, Oct.