Project management · Maintenance · Reliability · GMP pharma

Managing your technical projects with the people who will run them in mind.

Freelance technical project manager
Based near Brussels, Belgium
Available for a new assignment

I reinforce project and engineering teams in pharma, industry and construction, taking their projects from preparation through to commissioning.

Simon Coubeau, independent consultant. Kubeo is me. You deal directly with the person running your project, with no middleman.

Discuss your project See references

From project to operations

Asset lifecycle

ProjectI manage

PreparationExecutionCommissioning

Operational constraints built in

Handover to teams

MaintenanceReliabilityOptimisation

OperationsI know

The link between the two. I have worked on both sides: I run the execution while anticipating how the installation will be used and maintained.

References

Projects delivered in the field

Brussels2025 – ongoing

Construction · Listed hotel

Renovation of the Hôtel Métropole

Renovation of a €60 M listed hotel in central Brussels. Brought in for site logistics, I gradually took over planning, the basement technical areas, demolition and structural stability.

My role: project manager

Walloon Brabant2022 – 2025

Pharma · GMP maintenance

Maintenance of a pharmaceutical production unit

Team of 15 technicians on 3 shifts and 5,800 assets, including 3,100 GMP. Production kept running throughout a full facility upgrade (FIP).

My role: maintenance manager

Walloon Brabant2021 – 2022

Pharma · Reliability

Equipment reliability for a pharmaceutical unit

Maintenance plans for hundreds of new GMP assets, optimisation of existing plans and root cause analyses.

My role: reliability engineer

Frameries2017

Industry · Recycling

Crisis management: restarting a plant after a fire

Plant fully shut down after a fire. Designed 3 new presses, with the first one back in production in under a month.

My role: project manager and workshop manager

Europe · 6 countries2019 – 2021

Biopharma · Pall Life Sciences

Installation and service of biopharmaceutical equipment

Installation, commissioning and troubleshooting of process equipment at dozens of pharma sites across 6 European countries.

My role: Field Service Engineer EMEA

Expertise

What I take on

My core business is technical project management. My background in maintenance and reliability also allows me to work on installations in operation.

Core business

Technical project management

In plants and on construction sites, I take charge of all or part of your project, from kick-off or mid-way through, right up to handover.

Projects in GMP pharma environments, on live production sites
Planning, critical path and 4-week lookahead
Budget tracking of work packages
Subcontractor selection and coordination
Interface management between work packages and design offices
Site logistics, permits and relations with authorities
Change control, commissioning and handover

Expertise

Maintenance & reliability

Reducing recurring failures and building maintenance plans that work in the field, particularly in GMP environments.

Cleanrooms, grade A isolators, clean utilities (WFI, pure steam, HVAC)
Preventive maintenance plans and criticality analysis
Root cause analysis (RCA, DMAIC) and deviation management
Leading 24/7 maintenance teams
Safety and lockout/tagout (LOTO)

Expertise

Asset optimisation

Improving the availability and performance of existing installations, together with suppliers and technical teams.

Equipment and utilities diagnostics
Tackling bad actors
Technical modifications with suppliers
Early-life failures after commissioning
Restarting installations after an incident

Engagement models

Project lead

Full-time project manager, embedded in your team for all or part of the project.

Team reinforcement

Taking over a scope or a role during a workload peak or while you recruit.

Targeted assignment

Turning around a delayed project or solving a recurring reliability issue.

Key figures

At a glance

10 yearsTechnical experience

in pharma, industry and construction

€3.2 MProject management

of work packages managed in 12 months on a €60 M renovation

4 timesProject management

my scope was extended by the client on the same project

95 → 5 %Reliability

failure rate of grade A isolators in pharmaceutical production

5,800Maintenance

assets, including 3,100 GMP, under my team's responsibility

6 countriesInternational

of field work on pharmaceutical production sites across Europe

About

An engineer, not a consultancy firm

A civil mechanical engineer (UMONS), I first discovered construction sites during my studies, as a site worker and then team leader. I then spent nearly ten years in industry, from field service on biopharmaceutical equipment to maintenance and reliability of a pharmaceutical production unit. I founded Kubeo in 2025 to focus on technical project management.

I work on my own, on one full-time assignment at a time. I join your teams and coordinate your subcontractors for execution.

Used to live sites

Works and commissioning without interrupting production or operations, from pharma plants to a city-centre site above shops that stay open.

On the ground

On site, quick to respond to the unexpected and to trade-offs.

A lean structure

An engagement tailored to your needs, with no overhead costs.

Civil mechanical engineer (UMONS) VCA-VOL · BA4 / BA5 French · English · Dutch (passive) MS Project · Dalux · SAP MS Office · SolidWorks

Contact

A project to launch, run or turn around?

Tell me about your site, your project and what is holding it back. Let's talk directly, with no commitment.

Send an email Call

Emailsimon.coubeau@kubeo.be

Phone+32 495 25 44 36

LinkedInView my LinkedIn profile ↗

Registered officeRue Hairiamont 14A, 6230 Pont-à-Celles

Area covered

At the heart of Wallonia's industrial corridor

Based between Brussels and Charleroi, I work across the main pharmaceutical and industrial hubs of Wallonia and Brussels.

Brussels

Brussels-Capital Region and surroundings

Pharma & biotech

Industry

Elsewhere in Belgium? Let's talk