Engineer Mechanical

Over twenty years of engineering leadership across several industries working with a variety of technical people, demonstrating success in managing projects and people. Several projects resulted in significant cost savings, as well as new products.

Professional Experience

Iowa Fertilizer Co. - Wever, Iowa

SR. Project Engineer, October 2014 To Present

Successful project mgt. responsibilities including quoting, installation, budget tracking, contract negotiation, scope development, commissioning, and timeline of projects for start-up of the first world scale natural-gas greenfield nitrogen fertilizer plant built in the U.S., including: a $17M 8-mile long rail spur with scale, $6.5M rail loading system, $10.2M-4.4M gallon DEF storage tank and peripherals, $1.7M Urea Solution booster/cooler (creative $1.5M construction savings), and DataParc system.

Selected as IFCo liaison to work with EPC on successful delivery of: water transmission line and 4 offsite wells supplying 6M gallon/day, new county road to the site, and nitrogen plant installation by Praxair.

Led IFCo commissioning team to review mechanical and civil engineering construction Ready-To-Operate (RTO) items. Created and reviewed punch lists and worked with contractors to complete all outstanding critical construction punch items for OSBL Utilities equipment including: 8-cell & 10-cell cooling towers, polished water plant, wastewater plant, and two-220K Lb/hr boilers.

Lead cross-functional teams to develop project scope, review and finalize design, test, and place in service fast tracked design-build solutions.

Responsible for QA/QC of contractor and correct issues during construction.

Work with contractors and internal document control to develop turnover documentation requirement of projects upon completion.

J.M. Huber Co. - Quincy, Illinois

Plant Engineer, April 2013 To October 2014

Successful project mgt. for calcium carbonate mining and process improvements, including a $250K mill update doubling capacity.

Recognized dust control issue and implemented $90K solution to resolve air quality issues in production area reducing risk of exposure and citation by MSHA, eliminating the need to wear respirators.

Led production operators and maintenance technicians to gather information and implement solutions to resolve issues with production and define project scopes to improve manufacturability or reduce downtime of process equipment, such as identifying and implementing changes to the compressed air network improving pressure and flow to packaging plant.

Completed Six Sigma Black-Belt training and implemented lean mfg. projects.

Griffin Wheel Co. – Keokuk, Iowa

Maintenance & Reliability Manager, May 2011 To March 2013

Managed all aspects of 1,200/DAY rail car wheel casting plant maintenance budgets and communication of spending with corporate financial group.

Approved spending and justification of $250K-$350K/month maintenance budget, as well as $1M-$1.5M annual breakdown expenditures.

Write-up and justification of $2M-$2.5M in annual turn-around projects as well as $2.5M-$3.5M annual capital expenditure projects.

Generated approximately $1.25M in annual savings by completing $50K in plant improvement projects and modernizing maintenance activities.

Developed standard RCA reporting method utilizing SAP, subsequently allowing link of work orders to RCA reporting and communication of solutions across all Griffin Wheel sites.

Implemented training program for technicians and planner/schedulers to ensure consistent skills present for entire maintenance team.

Utilized SAP and scrap reporting metrics to drive maintenance improvements and implement new technologies in plant reducing both downtime and scrap.

Site implementation manager for SAP maintenance module (CMMS).

Selected for corporate team to implement SAP downtime reporting system.

Implemented breakdown and cause-codes utilized for all Griffin Wheel Company sites to close gap in downtime reporting, resulting in more accurate reporting plant failures with the largest impact to production profit.

Developed and optimized maintenance team activities for annual shut-down including: utilizing MS Project (implemented training for users), purchase and kiting, timeline, budget accountability, and addition of unplanned work.

Supervised both union and non-union employees including: Electrical Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Mobile Equipment Mechanic, Reliability Mechanic, Lubricators, Machinists, and 26 in-direct reports.

Dyno Nobel – Louisiana, Missouri

Project Engineer, May 2008 To April 2011

Managed $7M critical operations equipment in nitric acid and ammonium nitrate prilling plants including quoting, installation, budget, and timeline of projects including: super heater replacement, 75Lb waste heat boiler replacement, 225Lb waste heat boiler replacement, acid concentrator tower rebuild, and upgrade of 30 year old safety shower system.

After recognizing discrepancies across drawings files and difficulties other sites had replacing vessels, implemented a 3D laser scan procedure to provide detail drawings of equipment connections before replacement.

Supervised Design Drafter and Project Engineer in the design and fabrication of special purpose equipment for use in production processes.

Responsible for maintenance and upgrade of plant 14.4KV distribution system.

Shafer, Kline & Warren Consulting Engineers - Macon, Missouri

Water Systems Project Engineer, September 2006 To April 2008

Managed water and waste water system improvement and expansion projects for both municipal and rural organizations, as well as perform cost analysis to determine funding options for project ranging from $1.5M to $3M.

Supervised technicians and drafters in creation of plans and specifications for submittal to appropriate governmental and state funding agencies.

After 1 month with SKW, handed ownership of all Co. water models.

Identified inconsistent WaterCAD modeling methods throughout company and created standards guide to utilize across all locations.

Lewis County Rural Electric Cooperative – Lewistown, Missouri

Manager Engineering/Safety/IS, June 2003 TO August 2006

Responsible for projects, compliance, and IS/IT of a 7000 customer 7.2KV rural electrical distribution system spanning 3 counties in Missouri.

Achieved highest safety accreditation score in REC history.

Responsible for environmental compliance as well as PCB record keeping.

Managed purchase and testing of fleet vehicles and safety equipment, ensuring compliance of both DOT and safety regulatory requirements.

Continental Cement Co. – Hannibal, Missouri

Contract Engineer, February 2002 TO June 2003

Researched and recommended solution and scope of work to increase removal rate of raw cement from a 60,000ton storage facility.

Worked with contractors to specify equipment and develop installation plans.

Presented solution options and payback to management team.

Watlow Industries - Hannibal, Missouri

Manufacturing Project Engineer - Thick Film Group, August 1998 TO February 2002

Selected to lead a product implementation team working with R&D facility to transfer product technology for nozzle heaters, and after 3 months of leading the team the product was available for sale. (Team comprised of a Marketing Specialist, R&D Engineer, Machine Shop Supervisor, and Design Engineer.)

Successfully led team to spec and purchase $1M of equipment and transfer new product technology from R&D facility to clean room manufacturing site. (Team comprised of R&D Engineer, Engineering Tech, and Production Supervisor.)

Created new product and opened market sector after recognizing the inefficiency of printing thick film ink, by developing and implementing equipment to spray ink on stainless steel substrates.

Supervised Engineering Technicians and Mechanical Engineer.

Manufacturing Engineer - Operations Group, May 1997 to August 1998

Project management responsibilities in fast paced job-shop mfg. plant.

Identified and purchased equipment to reduce cost associated with outside vendor custom machining while also increasing machine shop capabilities.

Selected to lead custom machine design and implement in manufacturing.

Selected as site representative on corporate team to implement Total Compensation Package across manufacturing plants in North America.

Tool Designer, Aug 1991 to May 1997 - (part-Time While Attending Engineering School) Education

B.S. Mechanical Engineering - 1997 Graduate - Missouri Univ. of Sci. & Tech.

Pre-Engineering - Culver-Stockton College - Canton, Missouri

Assoc. Design Drafting - 1991 Graduate - State Technical College of Missouri

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