Ross H. Bland

Operations Excellence Leader

**** ******* ****, *** ****, NC 28562 252/617-9291 ac3ub1@r.postjobfree.com

Degreed, multi-disciplined engineer, black belt and leader of change management, continuous improvement and lean, more productive value streams for dynamic business operations. Experience includes quality, industrial and manufacturing engineering leadership in process & project engineering capacities within fast-paced low to high-volume/mix metal fab, plastics, finishing, manual to automated assembly & supply chains.

Qualifications and Accomplishments Summary

Value Streams, Supply Chains, Team Leadership, Quality, Safety, Productivity and Customer Service

More than ten years lean manufacturing leadership establishing safe and cost effective processes, timely product introductions and progressive Quality Management Systems. Initiate and drive daily activities for targeted organizational objectives, finance and growth through continuous improvement of cost, quality, productivity, safety, customer service, team development, inventory control and performance to promise.

Role model & positive influence for process quality/productivity improvement, safety and environmental compliance by developing, implementing and enforcing company policies, training and best practices on tools and techniques of Lean Six Sigma, Continuous Process Improvement & Demand Flow Technology.

Eliminate process and compliance concerns through audits & work sampling utilizing data-driven quality analysis tools. Scrutinize work standards, facility plans and value streams always considering alternate methods for driving continuous improvement. Identify gaps in processes & corrective actions to fix them.

Optimize long & short range capital plans for the most current production technology, automation, and equipment. Procure/design, incorporate & train to use ergonomically correct tooling, fixtures & supplies.

Planned and managed capital budgets and appropriations for supply chain improvement initiatives such as a centralized preprocess stores facility requiring site layout, construction, equipment purchase and installation of carousels, pick and place equipment, conveyors, lift trucks, storage racks, shelving, bar code systems, pallet jacks, carts, bins and more working together with maintenance, external consultants and contractors. Project cost was $225,000 with annual savings estimated at $500,000.

Slashed customer complaints 62% from the third quarter 2015 to second quarter 2016 by empowering core team members with lean process improvement tools to drive home appropriate corrective actions including implementation of barcode scanning and inventory tracking in the warehouse & shipping areas, better finished goods identification, consolidation of daily production & shipping reports for integration with ERP, layout improvements, packaging upgrades with team training to accept process ownership.

Boosted window cup plating finish yields from 40% to over 90% by identifying and removing top defect contributors - annealing temperature and duration for a secondary crimp operation. Delivered a plan of action, organized trials, tested opportunities, validated results against specifications and implemented process changes in less than 5 months that eluded resolution for more than 3 years.

Delivered Lean Six Sigma team projects optimizing throughput while reducing rework in sheet metal fabrication saving $87,000 annually, eliminating missing parts in accessory pack-out saving no less than $12,000 annually and cutting scrap in extruded channel fabrication saving more than $50,000 annually.

Created a safety and ergonomics compliance program slashing accident frequency by 42 percent and severity rates by 70 percent, while boosting plant-wide efficiency over 20 percent in one year.

Strengths, Competencies & Other Qualifications

Management & cross-functional leadership – Strategic planning & change – Problem-solving & producing results – Lean Six

Sigma – ISO auditor/CPI/DFT – Quality, safety and regulatory compliance – Technical, communication and team building skills

Relevant Work History

Operations Consultant – engagements w/discrete product manufacturers and tooling fabricator – Eastern NC 2016 - present

Quality Assurance/Lean Six Sigma Engineer - Chatsworth Products, Incorporated – New Bern, NC 2007 – 2016

Senior Manufacturing Engineer - Stanadyne Corporation – Jacksonville, NC 2005 – 2006

Resource Utilization (Industrial) Engineer - Craven Regional Medical Center – New Bern, NC 1996 – 2004

Plant Industrial Engineer - Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex, Incorporated – Washington, NC 1992 – 1996

Education and Training

Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Operations, North Carolina State University - Raleigh, NC

Lean Six Sigma Black and Green Belts, MTM and MOST work measurement, Construction Quality Manage-ment and GD&T. Proficient w/Microsoft Office Suite, Visio, SolidWorks, CAD, Minitab, SAP, PDM & BPCS.

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