LAURENCE A. RICHARDS
Irvington, NJ 07111
********@***.***
Production / Maintenance Supervisor with extensive mechanical and production experience within the
Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Consumer goods industry.
Major strengths include Planning / Organizing, project management, Problem Solving.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Accriva Diagnostics Middlesex County, NJ Jan. 2012 – Present
A global leader in Medical Devices and Hospital based Point-of-care cardiovascular diagnostics instruments.
Production Supervisor Sept. 2013 – Present
• Supervising and monitoring performance of process, equipment yields and personnel
• Executing weekly production schedule while maintaining adequate staffing and working hours to
achieve effective manufacturing utilization.
• Participating in hiring, disciplinary action, and performance reviews of direct reports.
• Interfacing with all functional departments to coordinate actions to resolve technical problems
relating to minimizing rejects, backorders and field complaints.
• Leading, motivating, delegating and developing assigned personnel through job rotation, cross
training and the performance management process.
• Coordinating projects/process development, qualification and validation trials within the incision
department.
Production Team/Shift Leader Jan. 2012 – Aug. 2013
• Oversaw shift activities, operation and inventory, as well as ensured and maintained the
efficiency and quality of shift’s daily production.
• Led in the areas of performance, production, quality, documentation, and processes and satisfied
department’s schedule and requirements.
• Established and maintained awareness and knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP),
Good Documentation Practices (GDP), Standard Operating Practices (SOP) and safety and health
policies and practices..
• Set rotating schedule for assembly machines personnel to effectively utilize staff.
• Identified and communicated opportunities for continuous improvements.
• Ensured and maintained compliance with company’s quality system and requirements through
training and adherence to policies, procedures and processes.
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• Trained employees and ensured that compliances are met while interfacing with other functional
departments as needed.
Hartz Mountain Corporation, Bloomfield, New Jersey 2006 – 2011
A global leader in consumer goods manufacturing and packaging.
Packaging / Facility Maintenance Supervisor 2009 – 2011
• Supervised packaging maintenance personnel in set-ups, change-overs, repairs and maintenance of
packaging equipment providing effective support to production and packaging operations on all
shifts.
• Supervised the successful removal and securing for transportation, processing, packaging and utility
equipment that were transported to another of the company’s location outside of New Jersey.
• Was a key member of team that was involved in the documentation of Bloomfield’s Technology to be
transferred to another of the company’s location outside of New Jersey.
• Assisted in new installations and upgrades of process and packaging equipment.
• Undertook the added responsibility of supervising the maintenance and repairs of buildings, utility
equipment and process equipment and process equipment by both employees and outside service
providers.
Production Shift Supervisor 2006 – 2009
• Supervised production personnel and processes in order to obtain the highest quality products
consistent with good manufacturing practices.
• Maintained operation at or better than budgeted targets by taking steps to resolve operating problems
in order to minimize their impact on the operation.
• Fostered a safe working environment for all personnel. Addressed safety related issues and
improvements.
• Requested and directed services of maintenance, sanitation and other personnel as may be necessary
to achieve the desired level and quality of production, sanitation and safety services.
• Maintained a high level of coordinated work relationship with other departments.
• Maintained up-to-date records and enforced company policies in a fair and consistent manner.
• Promoted to supervise the Packaging Maintenance Department.
Schering Plough Corporation, Kenilworth, NJ 1988 – 2006
A Global leader in Pharmaceutical products.
Supervisor Packaging Maintenance 2003 – 2006
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• Supervised packaging mechanics and technicians while providing effective support to a 12-line high
speed operation.
• Verified line set-ups for liquid, ointments, creams, solid dose blister and bottling lines before final
packaging.
• Developed a detailed rotation for packaging mechanics on various packaging lines which ensured
that they have the necessary exposure to effectively and efficiently manage their assigned lines thus
reducing downtimes.
• Conducted cGMP training sessions for Packaging Maintenance personnel ensuring that department’s
100% training criteria are met.
• Issued work orders (Preventive Maintenance and Corrective) using a Computer Maintenance
Management software. Ensured that work orders are completed and documented as scheduled.
Ordered spare parts as needed to complete work orders.
• Assisted Packaging Management and other personnel in addressing investigations and corrective
actions implementation to issues resulting in a 25% reduction in the total number of deviations.
• Coordinated training programs (basic mathematics, General Maintenance, Basic and Advanced
Electricity, basic and Advanced Machining) for Packaging Maintenance Personnel with outside
training vendors such as Lincoln Technical Institute and Middlesex County College.
Packaging Maintenance Specialist 2002 - 2003
• Analyzed and resolved maintenance and operational issues on Packaging lines. Supervised and
assisted packaging mechanics with repairs to packaging equipment.
• Assisted in the designing and modification of packaging lines thereby improving efficiency and
productivity. Managed vendor/contractors on equipment services and new installations.
• Assisted in coordinating $1.75M Machine Guarding Project of Packaging, Aerosol, Tablet
Manufacturing and Tablet Coating equipment to OSHA standards within a 1-year period.
• Updated LOTO procedures in the Packaging Department.
Facilities Maintenance Machinist 1988 – 2001
• Installed, operated, maintained, tested, troubleshoot, adjusted and repaired mechanical equipment
including pumps, drives, mechanical seals, motors, compressors, etc.
• Set up and operated machine shop tools (lathes, milling machines, drill press) and equipment to
manufacture parts and equipment working from sketches and prints.
• Analyzed and resolved maintenance issues such as alignment, root cause failure and
vibration analysis.
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EDUCATION
M.S., Engineering Management, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ May 2000
B.Sc., Manufacturing Engineering Technology, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ May 1997
AWARDS
YMCA’S of New Jersey Minority Achiever Award in recognition of Professional Achievements and
Community development. Nov. 2005
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