Engineer Manager
Resume:
Sarah L. Gilchrest
Seaford Delaware 19973
302-***-**** (cell) **********@*******.*** (email)
Summary
Highly skilled Quality Manager with more than 15 years industrial
experience in Nylon 6,6 Fibers including specialized knowledge of color
measurement and control. Quality Leadership experience including SPC, TQM,
ISO9000, and Six Sigma. Demonstrated ability to quickly learn and
contribute to organization's bottom line. Relentlessly search for unique,
holistic solutions to issues before they escalate. Proficient in computer
software to transform raw data to powerful knowledge for decision-making.
Based on solid economic analysis, able to prioritize and perform a wide
array of tasks to best contribute to the current and long-term business
needs.
Professional Skills
> Quality Management Skills
o Led the three-year ISO recertification audit for a 130MM pound facility.
o Key member and on-site leader of a multisite team formed to improve
yield by upgrading obsolete equipment, implementing best manufacturing
practices, and eliminating other sources of waste generating ~1.5% yield
improvement. Personally modified existing SPC of several properties to
reduce property related waste. ($1.5MM/yr)
o Developed Process to determine Optimum Sampling Plan needed to assure
proper release and control of product properties at minimum cost.
o Prepared and presented yearly Product Update Reviews to Technical
Marketing documenting continuous improvement of process and product
variability and implemented changed to the SPC to maintain Product
Quality and Yields.
o To allow greater flexibility of production between sites and maximize
cost effective asset utilization teamed with other measurement
professionals to resolve site-to-site biases in all measurements, to
facilitate seamless product moves. Spearheaded the effort to utilize
identical SPC on the measurement controls at each site.
o Reduced transition time waste by 15% by implementing improved
communication systems and best practices to reduce scrap by $120K/year.
o Oversaw daily operation of in-area lab of six instrument types, charged
with quality release of >65MM lbs/year of production. Divisional Expert
for color measurement including problem solving at other sites and
development of new measurement techniques.
> Leadership Skills
o Stepped in to organize a floundering effort of a Product Line Expansion
in the semi-works facility and met the needs of the business to have 30
new colors ready for introduction within two months for introduction at
the trade show.
o Led Operational phases of two New Product Developments (Expanded Product
Line and 25% Recycle Addition) for a NPV of $15MM with minimal impact on
yield and production scheduling.
o Recognized inadequate accountability of the spinning area Title V air
permit function, resulting in 85 deviations per period reported to the
State of Delaware. Eliminated all deviations within one year.
Recognized by Koch Corporate EHS as "model permit owner". Made key
contributions to the permit renewal process to simplify the design of
the permit and remove ambiguous language to facilitate compliance with
permit conditions with fewer resources while focusing on the key areas
of environmental risk. Coordinated and oversaw the contractor stack
testing for compliance with the permit renewal conditions, including Job
Safety Analysis and Safe Work Permitting Process.
> Organizational Skills
o Managed a demand driven scheduling process to minimize the waste due to
transitions by providing tools to the scheduler to visualize the impact
of her decisions. Challenged when appropriated to further improve the
product-to-product flow.
o Managed major transition to new workflow system including meeting
design, production target definitions, accountabilities and work stream
inputs and outputs to align with Koch Business Model.
o Redesigned measurement systems from daily monitoring by a professional
to a system maintained by operations personnel with key triggers to
alert when intervention was required.
o Converted a professional labor intensive and often-arbitrary color
release system to an industry standard system systematized within the
operations organization
o Provided daily operational targets for assets up to 65MM lbs/yr.
Translated business plan to daily operations plan with specific targets.
Guided and conducted troubleshooting when targets were not met.
Adjusted process control aims to maintain quality and improve uptime.
> Economic Thinking Skills
o Perceived the value of an existing lower cost technology and proved it
equivalent to a 6 times more expensive technology. Challenged the more
popular technology and based on data proved the lower cost alternative
to be equivalent. Drove implementation of the technology increasing
production yield for an estimated yearly savings of $3MM.
o Recognized need to individualize cost of manufacturing at an item level.
Developed and championed a model to evaluate new offerings by economic
criteria. Expanded to include entire product offering to highlight to
business owners the products that were least profitable in the
portfolio, leading to a change in the overall product offering.
Work History
Invista S.a.r.L Seaford Delaware (previously E.I. DuPont de Nemours, Inc)
1980-2009
> Quality Leader /Optimizer /Process Improvement Engineer 2004-2009
> Method Manager for Color Measurement/ Quality Engineer 1991-2004
> Quality Leader/Process Improvement Engineer 1985-1991
> New Product Development Engineer 1980-1985
Education
BS ChE University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts
Green Belt Certified by DuPont
ISO 9000:2001 Internal Lead Auditor
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