CHIRAG C PATEL, P.E.

***, ***** ******* ****, ************, SC 29681

217-***-****

acfpj8@r.postjobfree.com

Qualifications: Licensed Professional Mechanical Engineer with

masters' degree, along with 11 years of professional engineering

systems design, analysis, product safety/regulations/compliance, &

trouble shooting experience. Result-Oriented Program manager with

excellent leadership qualities, & people skills. Proficient/Familiar

with analysis tools like Auto PIPE, ANSYS, Flow master, STAAD, HTRI,

AspenTech. Familiarity with API/ASME codes, ATEX, IECEx

classification, ASCE 7.05, CSA, IEC, NFPA, Australian, & OSHA

standards.

Experience:

GE Power & Water Greenville, SC

Lead Engineer Feb, 2011 - Present

> Responsibilities include: System owner for Gas

Turbine Fuel Gas, Liquid Fuel, Ventilation, &

Mechanical (Stationary & Rotating) Systems. To

design systems improving Gas Turbine/Power Plant

reliability, availability, & maintainability;

meeting customers' needs & complying with

local/international Safety regulations/standards.

Act as program manager for a global team as

required.

New Product Development:

> Winner of Growth award during Engineers' week from

Senior Business Leadership. Program Manager/Gas

Fuel System owner for Gas Turbine Market

differentiator product - Flex Combustor program.

Market space worth ~ $5B; Designed to reduce NOx,

with wide range of hot/cold Fuel Gas.

> Responsible for reporting project status to

Business leadership along with developing

schedule, & budget estimates. Single point contact

for sourcing, manufacturing, services, EPC, &

other interfacing engineering teams. Led various

reviews including Safety, Human Factors' for

maintainability, Risk assessment, & stress

analysis for various piping systems like Atomizing

Air, Cooling, & Sealing Air, Steam Injection,

Liquid Fuel/Purge, etc. for the multi-faceted

global Engineering team of ~10 engineers & ~10

drafters.

> Project Leader for Gas Turbine Exhaust Waste Heat

Recovery Fuel Gas Heat Exchanger design to heat

Fuel Gas (Natural Gas) using heat from Gas Turbine

Exhaust Gases.

> Designed scavenging system for heavier & volatile

fuels to detect leaks near Gas turbine, including

control strategy.

> Designed positive pressure ventilation system

complying with IEC standards for plant with the

biggest inlet filer house eliminating the risk of

FOD (Foreign Object Damage) to compressor.

Blower/motor selection meeting IEC standards,

Ventilation Duct design using CFD analysis to

balance airflows to various compartments, & Duct

support design using STAAD for ASCE 7.05.

> Designed Gas Turbine Exhaust Frame Cooling Air

System including piping, valve selection &

fan/blower selection.

> Product cost out: Structural Analysis (STAAD) for

permanent walkways, which saved $924K.

Field Issue resolution:

> Root cause analysis of the imbalance in the

cooling flows produced by Gas turbine bearing

tunnel/exhaust frame blowers by performing CFD

analysis. Resolved by modifying the guide vanes.

Regulations:

> Designed Gas Turbine support systems complying

with South Korean Explosive Atmospheric

requirements/IECEx by meeting with IEC 60079, &

Canadian Standards Association (CSA).

GSI Group

Assumption, IL

Senior Product Engineer

Feb, 2009 - Feb, 2011

> Responsibilities include: serve as a Grain Dryer

product line leader for designing new products,

improving current products, & leading product

certification projects to meet international

regulations by engaging subject matter experts.

> Customers include ADM, Cargill.

Regulations/Compliance/Safety:

> Project Leader for certification projects for

Grain Tower Dryer Product line for Canada, CE

(IEC), & Australia. Responsible for engaging team

of subject matter experts including testing by

Intertek (ETL).

> Designed Fuel systems complying with NFPA, CSA,

CE, & Australian standards.

> Designed Catwalk/Platforms by using common parts

to reduce variations meeting with OSHA

requirements (Patent Pending#61/550,676).

New Product Development projects:

> Project Leader for developing world's biggest

Grain Tower Dryer (~160' high, 30' dia) with

drying capacity 12000 BU/HR. Engineering Leader

for designing Burner (118MMBTU), Blower (4 ea. 150

HP), metering/sweeping system with VFD, & Dual

fuel (Natural Gas & Liquid Propane) system. Led

multi-faceted team of engineers.

> Designed Grain dryer enclosures (shroud) to

eliminate risk of fire.

Continuous Product Improvement projects:

> Improved dryer efficiency/burner performance by

developing Fuel System Calculation program in

Microsoft excel to simulate pressure drop thru'

fuel system to optimize regulator setting for all

dryers.

> Redesigned existing jack pole assembly, using

improved/cheaper gearbox, pulleys, etc. to reduce

lead time, & cost significantly ($400 per jack;

~200 jacks = ~75K).

> Designed dual-fuel system, diesel fuel systems, &

grain flow control system.

Caterpillar

Decatur, IL

Design Engineer

Nov, '05 - Jan, '09

Quarry & Construction Trucks/Medium Wheel Loaders:

> Responsibilities include: serve as a design

engineer for designing various systems/components

including but not limited to hydraulic systems,

light fabrication components as per CAT standards;

& auditor for the CAT products (Quarry &

Construction Trucks) before it ships to the

customer.

Field Issue resolution:

> Project Leader on field issue to resolve

truck spindle failures. Led cross functional

team consisting of manufacturing, logistics,

quality, & engineering to ensure truck

spindles gets replaced in the field.

> Resolved field issues like lift line tube

failures, & radiator cap rusting for medium

wheel loaders.

Continuous Product Improvement projects:

> Project Leader for developing change

management handling process/tool to manage

the changes for trucks manufactured in

Caterpillar-India. Led team of 10-12

engineers (both in India & US) to ensure

effective implementation of design changes to

match emerging markets.

> Project Leader for six sigma project to

effectively implement Engineering Changes in

batches.

Assurance Packaging & Manufacturing, LLC

Lawrenceburg, TN

Project Manager

March, '04 - Aug, '05

Project Accomplishments:

> Project Manager to manufacture packaging

containers for various automotive companies

like GM, Honda, Ford, etc.

> Saved $20K by developing new Vendor &

reducing tooling cost, and lead-time

involved.

> Saved $50K by make changes in design for GM

packaging containers.

Mechanical Engineering Department, Tennessee State University

Nashville, TN

Graduate Research Assistant

Aug 2001 - Feb 2004

Project Accomplishments:

> THESIS: "Vision based cooperation among group of

mobile robots using Fuzzy Logic, and Image Processing

Techniques."

> Designed hardware & control software for the semi-

autonomous ground vehicle, TSU Tiger using fuzzy

logic, & image processing.

> Developed Camera calibration algorithm to calculate

object location with respect to robot based on image

processing techniques.

Ingersoll Rand Ltd

Ahmedabad, Gujarat, INDIA

Project Engineer/Facilities Engineer

June, '00 - June, '01

Project Accomplishments:

> Project Leader for installations of Oil

Cleaning System, Paint-Booth, Small

Compressor test bed, & pneumatic/hydraulic

equipments at assembly line.

> Engineering Leader to design Jigs/Fixtures

for compressor parts.

Education: Tennessee State University

Nashville, TN

Masters of Engineering-Mechanical Engineering

2005

L. D. College of Engineering/Gujarat University

Ahmedabad, Gujarat, INDIA

Bachelors of Engineering-Mechanical Engineering

1999

Accomplishments:

> Patent Pending: "Catwalk for a grain bin or the

like and a plank used in the construction

thereof." Application # 61/550,676)

> Received Research Scholarships during Masters from

research projects funded by NASA, ARL Pennsylvania

State University; Participated in the 10th

Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC),

Orlando as a Team member in TSU Tiger team.

Training/Skills:

Global Mindset, Power Plant Fundamentals, CFX, ICEM, Flow

master, STAAD, Auto pipe, HTRI, HYSYS, MathCAD, OSHA, Six Sigma

Greenbelt, Pro-E (Wildfire), Pro/sheet metal, Windchill,

Pro/Intralink, GD&T, C, C++, Matlab.

Additional Information:

> Volunteered as a Subject Matter Expert thru' GE

corporate program (SEED) for Resolution project.

> Launched Peer-Assisted Leadership & Mentoring

(PALM) program for GE APAF (Asia Pacific American

Forum).

> Led organization committee to organize cricket

match for GE APAF/Health Ahead within GE among

various chapters. Led Greenville cricket team (12-

15 players) for the past three years.

> Volunteered to assist GE Technology Day

participant companies for review with senior

leadership (VP).

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