James S. (Jim) Riggs

*** ****** **** ● Kings Mountain, NC 28086 ● acqj00@r.postjobfree.com ● 704-***-****

SUMMARY

Progressive experience in leadership of continuous improvement utilizing Six Sigma/Lean Manufacturing tools and processes for operations, quality assurance, product and process development, environmental health and safety, fiscal goals and initiatives, supplier development, and electro-mechanical maintenance with shared practices in automotive, aviation, heavy duty truck, power transmission and conveyor, and data storage industries with OEM and aftermarket, mixed-mode, low and high volume, global environments.

EXPERIENCE

LNS AMERICA – TURBO SYSTEMS

Machine Conveyor Development and Manufacturing, Kings Mountain, NC

2015

Manager - Operations for value stream to produce material conveyors for the machining industry. Reported to CEO. Supervised and developed leadership for customer service, design and manufacturing engineering, Lean Manufacturing teams, strategic planning, and maintenance. Responsible for budget and cost controls including staffing, facility, and capital expenses. Sustained manufacturing plans including productivity and efficiency with goals and key performance metrics. Maintained ISO 9001 certification. Implemented Lean manufacturing training and initiatives. Site responsibility for safety and environmental compliance.

Integrated $1.2 million capital equipment projects into value stream including laser cutting system, press brake, and MIG weld stations for continuous flow and quick set-up with productivity improvement to 94%.

Supported updates to paint area for cell layout for one piece flow and quick change-over to improve takt attainment by 40% resulting in finished goods inventory reduction with a sustained 98% on-time delivery.

Adopted global sourcing approach for incoming materials with cross-dock plan including steel sheet supermarket and vendor kanban signal with annual savings of $65,000 and ongoing cost controls.

BOSTON GEAR - ALTRA INDUSTRIAL MOTION

Gear and Speed Reducer Manufacturing and Distribution, Charlotte, NC

2010 – 2015

Manager – Operations Excellence for plant-wide continuous improvement of vertically integrated power transmission components and assembly value stream. Reported to Plant Manager and Operations Excellence Director. Applied Lean manufacturing tools including value stream mapping, standardized work, and root cause analysis. Coordinator for reporting waste avoidance and capital projects. Facilitated kaizen events with cross-functional associates, vendors, and other sites. Shared best practices throughout the company. Maintained strategic deployment plan, metrics, and corrective actions.

Led salaried and hourly team members in 90+ problem solving and kaizen events annually for administration, production, and distribution resulting in incoming and WIP reduction with a takt attainment exceeding 93%

Coordinated cost savings program for materials, design, equipment, and process improvements. Annualized savings of $380,000 incorporated into financial plan. Developed A3 format corporate capital expense approval process.

Implemented “6S” program for plant-wide safety and 5S audit process to promote accident-free and sustained work areas in production, distribution, and office areas. Sustained DART rate reduction of 55%.

EATON CORPORATION

Heavy Duty Truck Transmission Products and Parts, Kings Mountain, NC

2007 – 2010

Manager – Lean Manufacturing and Quality for plant and division strategy for mixed mode production of automated and manual truck transmissions value stream. Reported to Plant Manager and Division Operations Director. Directed manufacturing and quality management teams. Responsible problem solving process. Team leader for capital project reviews with linkage to cost out objectives. Led site and divisional kaizens. Champion for ISO 14001 EHS.

Initiated daily GEMBA “go and see” walks, 8D problem solving, layered process audits, and proactive customer visits resulting in a 150% PPM improvement in customer quality.

Led project teams for standard work, lead time improvement, reduction of over-processing, defect reduction, and expedite avoidance with savings of $323,000.

Applied OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) analysis for CNC machining and heat treatment improvements with gross utilization improvement to 85%. Recognized as corporate “best practice”.

James S. (Jim) Riggs

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HURST JAWS OF LIFE - IDEX CORPORATION

Hydraulic and Pneumatic Rescue Tool Design and Manufacture, Shelby, NC and Köln, Germany

2004 – 2007

Manager – Lean Manufacturing/Six Sigma and Quality for site and corporate liaison for continuous improvement. Supervised fabrication, assembly, distribution, and customer service. Responsible for supplier and plant-wide quality. Defined site key process indicators to corporate policy. Trained Six Sigma Green Belts. Site contact for ISO 9001 and 14001 EHS compliance.

Established cross-dock process with sister plants and suppliers in Germany to reduce lead time from 12 to 4 days and incoming inventory and transit freight costs with annual savings of $285,000.

Start up of one piece flow assembly with integrated testing and pack-out to FIFO shipping to support on time delivery from 85% to 95% and improved inventory from 6 to 12 turns per year.

Led office kaizen events to improve accounts payable lead time 30% and customer service call retention by 65%.

STABILUS CORPORATION

Pneumatic Gas Springs and Dampers Design and Production, Gastonia, NC and Koblenz, Germany

1998 – 2004

Manager – Product Development for high volume production of gas lift struts as Tier 1 Supplier for automotive and aerospace markets. Reported to Company President. Managed and promoted supervisors, engineers and technicians in laboratory and production and prototype cells. Technical leader for supplier improvement, customer support, patent applications, and product liability litigation. Maintained ISO 9001, automotive OEM certifications and FAA compliance.

Corporation’s first Six Sigma Black Belt with multiple projects in USA, Germany, and Japan resulting in savings and cost avoidance for product and process development of $1.2M. Received company’s “Unsung Hero” award.

Responded to customer quality concerns for product life with root cause analysis approach and design of experiments study to develop polymer piston seal with 30% durability improvement.

Implemented component with thermal flow control switch system for SUV lift gates, with acceptance trials at the customers resulting in 12,000 PPM improvement and new business impact of $750,000.

EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY / MITSUBISHI CORPORATION

Verbatim Mini and Micro Disk Data Storage Operations, Charlotte, NC

Kodak Storage Product Development Laboratories, Rochester, NY and Sunnyvale, CA

1985 – 1998

Product Manager responsible for sales of data storage products. Reported to Sales Director. Managed regional sales of $10M annually for Americas Division. Provided sales and customer training, competitive analysis, and forecasting. Participated worldwide product launches. Recognized as “Product Manager of the Year”.

Project Engineer supported disk drive components production and assembly at sites in USA, Japan, and Singapore. Reported to Engineering Director. Management of $1.5M and $3.7M web-fed lamination equipment and Class 1000 and 10,000 clean room projects on time and within budget.

Process Engineer for design of optical storage products. Reported to Engineering Manager. Implemented plastics injection molding and layer processes for facilities in USA and Mexico. Deployed TPM of facility and equipment with improvements in team involvement and up time.

EDUCATION

Masters – Industrial Engineering

North Carolina State University

Graduate Project: New Product Introduction Process

BS – Mechanical Engineering Technology

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

UNCC Engineering Lab Assistant

Certifications and Training

Six Sigma Black Belt (QMA, Eaton); Manufacturing Engineer, Engineering Manager (SME); Global 8D Problem Solving, d/pFMEA (Ford Quality Institute); Internal Auditor ISO 9000 (Idex), ISO 14001 EHS, TS16949 (Eaton); APQP, PPAP (Stabilus) Lean Manufacturing Tools (Altra); A3 Management, Kaizen Leadership (Toyota); Labor Relations; GD&T Application; OSHA Hazmat; Safety/STOP; Microsoft Office/Project/Sharepoint, SQCPack, MiniTAB, SAP, M3 MRP Systems; ARC First Aid, CPR.

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