Our People – David Wastall
Not lost in translation
David Wastall is a product owner at Keystone where he leads two connected applications: MEL and OPEN Timeplanner. His job is simple to state and hard to do: listen to his customers, turn what they need into clear decisions, and enable the changes that make their day run smoother.
On a typical morning at Aker BP, David Wastall is where he likes to be – close enough to the users of his products to hear the small frictions that never make it into a slide deck. David leads applications that help trace the path of an operator’s work from planning to execution. The aim is not to have separate tools but one coherent system: a plan that travels from final design and risk review, then through ordering and scheduling, and lastly to the moment people and equipment move.
From Dyson to Drill Plans
His route to Keystone began in the UK. With a Business and Management degree focused on Operations and HR, he’s worked at Dyson, Volkswagen and with Jaguar Land Rover as a Product Manager across IT software development and e-commerce. This means he’s near enough to engineering to respect constraints, and close enough to the business to argue for outcomes. Two years at a leadership school in California sharpened his eye for team dynamics, and it was also where he met his Norwegian wife—the reason he now calls Norway home. Eighteen months ago he stepped into Keystone with a style that’s steady, practical, and unmistakably user-led.
Product discovery is where he’s most at home. Ideas can come from anywhere; an offhand comment after a shift change, a note from a control room, a suggestion from a colleague, or a pattern hiding in support tickets. He pushes that initial idea until it becomes a shared problem statement, asks what matters this quarter versus next, and tests whether an 80-percent solution would deliver impact sooner.
Close Enough to Hear the Friction
He doesn’t write production code, but he’s technical enough to see the trade-offs, and he’s as comfortable framing a business case as he is discussing software engineering. “It’s critical to protect the application with clear decisions.” David trusts the moment when tidy plans meet real-world use: watching people work has shaped the products themselves.
OPEN Timeplanner keeps the project plan moving by bringing engineering design, Keystone’s planning engine, timelines, and critical activities into one structured workflow. It keeps operations flowing and helps eliminate stalled decisions.
MEL is our logistics application. It unites teams around equipment management and gives leaders the visibility they need to stay ahead. By connecting long lead item planning and ERP data directly to the project schedule, it streamlines equipment management from end to end.
Built in the Field, Not in a Vacuum
He splits his week between Keystone’s office and time embedded with customers at Aker BP. It’s also why David believes Keystone is pulling ahead as our software is shaped with end-user engagement from the earliest conversations. Ask customers what they notice and they rarely mention feature names. They talk about fewer handoffs, steadier days, plans that survive contact with reality. That’s the measure David cares about, and the direction he keeps the applications moving in.
Beyond work, he is embracing life in Norway. Becoming a “skiskyter” will probably stay in the someday column for a while, so for now, weekends belong to family, hikes, and with friends at church.
