YAKUB LAKHA, M.SC (ENG.)
** *** **** *****, *********, Ontario, N2N 3P8
Cell: 519-***-**** Residence: 519-***-**** Email: ******@*******.***
T ARGETING S ENIOR LEVEL ROLES IN :
Project Engineering • Project, Operations or Maintenance Management
Skilled professional with more than 15 years of diverse experience in an engineering and maintenance
capacity with the aerospace and manufacturing industry. Leadership skills that encompass establishing
vision, setting goals, and motivating teams to achieve exceptional results. Resourceful, analytical and detail-
driven with capabilities in completing multiple projects with competing deadlines. Aggressive in identifying
and resolving inefficient operational processes. Experienced in all aspects of the operations and
maintenance of assets and related services. Major strengths in cost containment, project management,
personnel management, engineering and maintenance management principles and practices.
In depth knowledge of operations, procedures, equipment, tools, services and applicable regulations,
standards and requirements. Proficient in negotiating at all levels while establishing rapport with key
engineering contractors, technical staff and project leaders to proactively deliver solutions. Passionate
about acquiring and exploiting new found technical knowledge and theories to analyze, diagnose and
troubleshoot intricate problems with solutions that are technically sound and financially feasible.
Sincere and honest with high level of personal and professional integrity. Total fluency in English, Finnish
and Kutchi with added conversational knowledge of French and Swedish.
Career strengths include:
Process Reliability Improvement Purchase Order Review
Strategic Planning and Continuous Improvement Organizational leadership
Budget Management & Accountability Activity Definition & Workflow Prioritization
Operating / Capital Budgets Team building, leadership, motivation and training
Project Planning, Development, Monitoring and review Policy and Procedure Formulation (SOP)
Multi Million Dollar Negotiations Environment, Health and Safety
Project / Contactor / Supplier / Vendor Evaluation Ergonomics
CMMIS (Computerized Maintenance Management Lean Manufacturing (5S+1, SMED, Kanban)
Information System) Change Management
P ROFESSIONAL E XPERIENCE
ENGINEERING AND MAINTENANCE MANAGER, 2008 - 2013
TALON SYSTEMS INC., Mississauga, Ontario
Oversaw all engineering and technical services / facilities department functions. Directed maintenance
supervisors and engineers located in Canada the U.S. Hold P&L and budget responsibilities. Initiated and
directed for process improvement and operational cost savings. Strategic planning responsibilities for
maintenance and engineering department in regards to production machinery and facility. Provided cross-
Continued…
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functional department training, coaching, and mentoring. Conducted employee performance reviews on
annual basis. Lead the implementation of CMMIS software for operational assets and facilities. Scheduled
major annual service activities on key assets. Measured machine OEE rate (quality, downtime due to
breakdowns and performance) and implemented corrective actions to achieve company set goal. Interfaced
with EH&S to ensure a safe and productive worksite in accordance to occupational and environmental health
and safety regulations. Lead the facility layout development project of the US operations. Headed the
process redesign of the Canadian manufacturing facility to achieve increased process efficiencies and
reduced lead time. Collaborated with design and engineering team to ensure the standardization of new
product lines to decrease manufacturing cost.
Selected Achievements:
Lead a team of nine (9) technicians (direct and in-direct) across three shifts and three (3) engineers
(direct) with dotted line engineering and maintenance management responsibilities at the US
facility.
Reduced setup time, scrap and components imbalance by 30% on key asset through product
standardization.
Increased output on key assets by three fold through application of engineering controls,
standardized work and preventative / predictive maintenance program.
Introduced process reliability tools (OEE and TPM) to measure operational performance and plan
proactive equipment maintenance schedules in order to achieve minimal machine downtime.
Implemented Manager Plus software (CMMIS) for 126 operational assets and facilities. Helped
schedule, prioritize and monitor preventative maintenance tasks. Reduced downtime on key assets
by 15%.
Headed the capacity calculations and plant layout design of the US manufacturing facility.
Headed the plant layout design of the new Canadian facility. Achieved 50% reduction in WIP
through on demand bucket scheduling.
Saved over $0.6M through successfully completed capital budgets.
Implementation and design of machine guarding on 126 assets as per local safety regulations.
Worked with safety engineer consultant.
PROJECT ENGINEER, 2002 - 2008
EMERSON ELECTRIC (CLOSETMAID CANADA) – Cambridge, Ontario
(www.emerson.com)
Project Management of capital projects up to $2M. Collaborated with technical service department in
regards to machine issues and new equipment installations. Conducted plant production capacity comparison
calculations for the Canadian and Mexican facility. Integrated ergonomic solutions to effectively address the
ergonomic risk factors. Focus on human-centered design and automation. Worked closely with EH&S
department to address equipment / process safety concerns. Involved in continuous improvement team to
reduce scrap through SPC (Statistical Process Control) and product manufacturing cost. Implemented lean
manufacturing principles to improve production flow and reduce WIP (Work In Process). Facilitated and
lead SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die) events to decrease setup times and improve output on current
processes. Created and updated bill of materials in the IBM AS/400 system.
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Selected Achievements:
Saved over $1.2M through several successfully completed operations capital projects.
Built plant capacity production models for the Canadian, US and Mexican facilities to integrate
operations and find operational synergies between the plants.
Designed work stations to be ergonomically friendly. Reduced upper body strains and lower back
injuries by 80%.
Reduced WIP at contour parts machining cell by 50% through production planning, establishing
Kanban system and product standardization.
Decreased setup times on key machining assets by 30% through SMED events.
Created hundreds of new multilayer BOM (Bill of Materials). Updated old BOM with new
production rates or material usage information.
COMPOSITE ENGINEER, 1999 - 2002
MAINTENANCE ENGINEER, 1997
FINNAIR OYJ, TECHNICAL SERVICES DIVISION. – Helsinki-Vantaa, Finland
(www.finnair.com)
Composite Engineer
Headed the development of the composite shop repair capability for the Airbus A320 aircraft family at
Finnair. Reviewed previous repair history and existing data and ensured that maintenance requirements were
met in accordance to aircraft reference materials and composite work shop permit (JAR-145). Auditing
process development for composite repair shop to ensure that regulatory requirements for airworthiness of
materials were fulfilled.
Selected Achievements:
Proposed required advanced technical training for the composite repair shop crew (technicians and
shift supervisors) as well as capital expenditure for the composite repair equipment. Technical
training with the new composite repair equipment reduced the component turnaround time from 4
days to 8 hours for minor repairs (dents) and from 2 weeks to 4 days for major repairs (bird strikes
and collisions).
Composite material storage life was increased (from days to months) with JAA approved state of the
art temperature monitoring systems and investment into a new cold storage area.
Found synergies with other European airline technical service divisions on composite material repair
strategies.
Maintenance Engineer
Prepared engineering orders from aircraft manufacturer’s service bulletins for service personnel on the
Airbus A300 and McDonnell Douglas MD-11 and MD-83 aircraft fleet. Collaborated with aircraft OEM
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(Original Equipment Manufacturer) and One World Alliance member airline’s technical service
departments in establishing efficient component repair strategies.
Selected Achievements:
Created 93 new multi level / time frame engineering work orders (temporary and permanent) for wide
body MD-11 and narrow body MD-83 aircraft fleet.
Worked along side aircraft project engineering managers to establish technical collaborations with
Lufthansa technik and British Airways Engineering group.
E DUCATION & T RAINING
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, 2000 – Helsinki University of Technology - Espoo, Finland.
Specialization in Aircraft Aerodynamics and minor in Aircraft Structural Design.
Completed Master`s thesis entitled “ The Development of the Airline Composite Repair Function”.
Professional Development Courses:
PW118/119/120/121 Turboprop Line Maintenance, Pratt & Whitney Canada, Montreal, PQ, June, 1996.
PW118/119/120/121 Turboprop Heavy Maintenance, Pratt & Whitney Canada, Montreal, PQ, June, 1996.
5S+1, Closetmaid Canada, Cambridge, ON, October 2003.
Lockout CSA 460-04 (Lockout and other methods) training, Closetmaid Canada, Cambridge, ON,
November, 2004.
WoodWOP machine programming, Weeke GmbH., Herzebrock-Clarholz, Germany, May, 2004.
Ergonomics Training, Emerson Electric Canada Ltd., Markham, ON, November, 2004.
Lean Manufacturing, ClosetMaid Canada, March, 2005.
IMAwinCAD machine programming, IMA Klessmann GmbH, Lubbecke, Germany, June, 2006.
Project Management, Emerson Electric, St. Louis, MO, September, 2006.
eVSM (Value Stream Mapping), ClosetMaid Canada, October, 2007.
Lockout CSA460-04 (Lockout and other methods) training, Occupational Safety Group, Mississauga, ON,
April, 2012.
C OMPUTER APPLICATIONS
Misys
Microsoft Office Suite
IBM AS/400
AutoCAD
Roadrunner (TOC software)
Computerized Maintenance Management information System (7i and Manager Plus)