Technical Writer

Michael David Raya

**** *. ********** **., ******, IL 61604-2656 309-***-****

***********@*******.***

Offering 20 years of marketing/communications experience.

SOFTWARE PROFICIENCY

Windows, Mac, & Ubuntu operating systems

IBM Connections

Corel Video Studio Pro V7

QuarkXPress (Mac & PC)

Adobe Photoshop

Microsoft Access

Microsoft PowerPoint

Adobe PageMaker

Adobe Acrobat

Lotus Notes

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft SharePoint

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Publisher

Microsoft Project

Microsoft Visio

Corel Draw

Quattro Pro

Microsoft Word

Peachtree Accounting

SnagIt 9

Windows MovieMaker

Typing: 80 wpm

CERTIFICATIONS

6 Sigma Green Belt

OSF, Inc.

Peoria, IL

03/20/07

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

07-28-14 - 10-24-14

CATERPILLAR, INC.

Technical Center - Bldg. E/Wing 900

P.O. Box 1875 - Div 500

Peoria, IL 61656-1875

COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

-Provided communications support for Research & Advanced Engineering

Division, creating product demo and testimonial videos, PowerPoint

presentations, and high-level technical articles.

-Managed innovation and sustainability challenges to develop new

technologies.

-Created series of communications to generate ideas for new

technologies or to improve existing technologies.

-Engineers voted for top ten ideas.

-Selection committee identified five of the top ten ideas for

development.

-Worked one-on-one with the Director of R&AE to create PowerPoint

presentations with embedded videos for domestic and international summits.

-Managed IBM Connections wiki site.

-Created pages containing pre-read materials, meeting agenda items,

meeting minutes, and assorted videos for Technology Development

Council Meetings, Executive Office Meetings, and Product

Development Council Meetings.

-Wrote Division Communications Plan.

01/21/13 - 08/07/13

CATERPILLAR, INC.

P.O. Box 600

Old Galena Rd. & Cedar Hills Dr.

Building VV

Mossville, IL 61552

TECHNICAL WRITER/PROJECT MANAGER

-Wrote Aftertreatment Design Guidelines for Caterpillar's Aftertreatment &

Cooling Products Division using Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel,

SharePoint, Visio, and SnagIt 9.

-Topics were classified under ten major headings: Catalyst System,

Injection System, Installation System, Control System, Control Strategy,

Thermal Management System, Certification & Service Strategy, Retrofit,

Structural, and Analysis & Simulation. Each document was divided into 12

sections including design strategies, requirements, and validation (Finite

Element Analysis [FEA], Computational Fluid Dynamics [CFD], HALT-rig

Testing, etc.).

-Managed project. Conducted weekly meetings with 50 subject matter experts

to capture files and add new information as the technology evolved.

12/10/12 - 01/18/13

CATERPILLAR, INC.

Rt. 29 & Rench Rd.

Building AC

Mossville, IL 61552

TECHNICAL WRITER - NEW PRODUCT INTRODUCTION (NPI)

-Compiled, reformatted, and edited the New Product Introduction (NPI)

Product Support Handbook for Caterpillar's Connected Worksite using

Microsoft Word, SharePoint, PowerPoint, Visio, and SnagIt 9. The handbook

serves as an instruction manual for new service engineers.

-The purpose of the manual is to identify and develop plans to deliver all

product support requirements for an NPI program, which will ensure that the

customers receive world-class product support.

-These plans include:

. Repair Strategy

. Serviceability

. Serviceability Audits

. Owning & Operating Cost Development

. Operation & Maintenance Manual Development

. Assembly & Disassembly Manual Development

. System Operation/Test & Adjust (SOTA) Development. This plan addresses

the operation of specific systems in details and provides necessary

test and adjust procedures for various reasons.

. Troubleshooting Guide Development process. This plan provides

guidelines on how to develop a quality troubleshooting guide.

. Service Test Development for CAT Electronics.

. Dealer Service Tooling Development.

. Dealer Service Manuals Translations Development.

. Customer Service Parts Strategy, Failed Part Return Process, Service

Part Stocking, etc.

. A plan for providing Cat Insurance Group with accurate product cost

information which assists in their evaluation criteria for setting up

correct insurance premiums for the newly added systems.

. Repair, Reuse & Salvage Guidelines to facilitate reduction in the

overall repair costs to the end-use customer.

. Dealer Training Material Development.

. Plan Warranty Strategy to determine if changes are needed to existing

warranty processes that support the customer.

The final manual was 781 pages in length and took 40 working days to

complete. The estimated time for completion was 60 days.

05/21/12 - 10/26/12

CATERPILLAR, INC.

P.O. Box 600

Old Galena Rd. & Cedar Hills Dr.

Building VV

Mossville, IL 61552

TECHNICAL WRITER/PROJECT MANAGER

-Wrote Aftertreatment Design Guidelines for Caterpillar's Aftertreatment &

Cooling Products Division using Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel,

SharePoint, Visio, and SnagIt 9.

-Topics were classified under ten major headings: Catalyst System,

Injection System, Installation System, Control System, Control Strategy,

Thermal Management System, Certification & Service Strategy, Retrofit,

Structural, and Analysis & Simulation. Each document was divided into 12

sections including design strategies, requirements, and validation (Finite

Element Analysis [FEA], Computational Fluid Dynamics [CFD], HALT-rig

Testing, etc.).

-Managed project. Conducted weekly meetings with 32 subject matter experts

to capture files and add new information as the technology evolved.

-The project's short-term goal was to have ten documents published by

December 2012. By October 26th, 110 topics had been identified. Fifty-one

documents were in-progress. Five documents were published in Caterpillar's

REDI system with eight additional documents ready for management review.

04/07 - 05/12

DBA MICHAEL DAVID RAYA

2921 N. University St.

Peoria, IL 61604

FREELANCE WRITER

-Created effective communications for a wide variety of organizations.

-Accepted writing/graphic design/photography assignments for businesses

throughout the United States and Canada. Created display ads, direct mail

pieces, brochures, newsletters, flyers, slide shows, and feature stories

using Microsoft Word, QuarkXPress, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat,

Microsoft PowerPoint, and Corel Draw.

-Clients included Midstate Siding & Window Company, Champion Safes,

National Marine, Spirit of Peoria, World Gym of Peoria, People's State

Bank, Morton Community Bank, Clark Boats, 1st National Bank & Trust

(northwest Wyoming), Freedom Siding & Window Company, CyCore Technologies,

Inc., All Metal, Inc., First Farmer's State Bank, Farm King, Monk's Guns

(Chester, England), Olney Foods, Planet Earth Communications, Pur Drinking

Water Systems, R&B Productions, Oquawka Boats, Depew Family Chiropractic,

HIVIZ, Inhibitor Rust Preventative System, Komatsu America, Heights Finance

Corporation, etc.

01/07 - 04/07

OSF, INC.

8001 N. University St.

Peoria, IL 61615

PUBLIC RELATIONS & COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

-A member of the public relations and communications team whose mission it

was to develop a set of activities to manage and orchestrate internal and

external communications aimed at creating favorable point-of-view among

stakeholders.

-Established relationships between OSF experts and the media. Utilized

Microsoft Outlook as principal source of communication.

-Wrote feature stories for newsletters, magazines, and trade journals in

Microsoft Word.

-Created printed materials (brochures, display ads, etc.) for all OSF

divisions in Illinois and Michigan using QuarkXPress, Corel Draw, and Adobe

Photoshop.

-Promoted special events.

-Published electronic newsletter in Microsoft Word.

06/06 - 01/07

ADVANCE AMERICA

922 Main St.

Peoria, IL 61602

CENTER MANAGER

-Qualified customers for payday and installment loans.

-Processed loans.

-Performed cash management, daily books, P&L, business-to-business

networking, telephone and field collections, marketing, etc.

-Doubled store's accounts.

05/95 - 06/06

Adventure Sports Outdoors magazine

1408 Downing Ct., Tremont, IL 61568

EDITOR/Graphics DEsigner

-Directed content of 100-page, recreational magazine with a statewide

circulation of 15,000.

-Edited articles of over 60 contributing writers.

-Wrote over 200 feature stories (lifestyles, environmental, historical,

business profiles, etc.).

-Sold display ad space and designed ads for more than 300 advertisers.

-Performed 35mm digital photography, typesetting, and all pagination in

QuarkXPress and Adobe Photoshop.

-Helped increase publication from 16 to 100 pages in less than four years.

-Performed electronic bookkeeping (Microsoft Excel), collections, and

deliveries.

-Assisted with ASO radio/television production (WMBD Radio 1470 AM/Illinois

PBS affiliates).

-Promoted ASO at outdoor shows and miscellaneous special events.

-Published three books in spare time: Letters from the Front: Three Years

in the Civil War, Life & Lore along Illinois Waterways, and Adventures

along Illinois Waterways in Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat.

-Wrote business features for service bureau's four weekly newspapers:

Banner Times, Manito Review, Olympia Review, and WHAM. Utilized

QuarkXPress and Microsoft Word.

10/91 - 05/95

Raya's Marketing, 333 Margaret St., Pekin, IL 61554

Raya's Power & Fitness, 521 Caroline, Pekin, IL 61554

The Hair Affair & Tan-X, 110 Main, Lacon, IL 61540

MULTI-UNIT BUSINESS PROPRIETOR

-Operated 850-member health club with pro shop, advertising agency, and

beauty parlor/tanning salon.

-Designed accounting system to generate accounts payable/receivable,

payroll, cash flow budgets, income statements, et cetera, using Quattro

Pro, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access programs.

-Created billing system for fitness center (based on one- and two-year

contracts) consisting of coupon payment booklets and a collection system

from which were generated accounts receivable activity and summary reports,

membership aging reports, and month-end processed sales reports using

Novell's Database Desktop and Microsoft Access database programs.

-Presented innovative, fitness seminars and was the third-largest promoter

of powerlifting meets in the United States. Fielded a powerlifting team

which remained undefeated for 3 1/2 years.

-Designed newspaper display ads, direct mail pieces, telemarketing scripts,

lead boxes, brochures, outdoor advertising, in-home sales portfolios, slide

shows, et cetera, for clients of Raya's Marketing. Applied these tools

synergistically in large, multi-media marketing campaigns. Utilized

Microsoft Word, QuarkXPress, Aldus PageMaker, Corel Draw, Adobe Acrobat,

Microsoft PowerPoint, and Microsoft Publisher.

-Wrote, directed, and appeared in radio (WTAZ) and television commercials

(WHOI and WYZZ).

-Performed routine management functions: purchasing,

bookkeeping/accounting, scheduling, merchandising, maintenance,

inside/outside sales, etc.

-Participated in business expos and fundraising events for local charities.

-Active member of Pekin Chamber of Commerce and South Side Business

Association.

-Employed 17 full- and part-time employees (telemarketers, hair stylists,

receptionists, etc.).

11/87 - 10/91

TRANSTECHNOLOGY ELECTRONICS, INC.

8800 N. Allen Rd., Peoria, IL 61615

MANAGER OF DOCUMENTATION CONTROL

-Organized Documentation Control Department in 1988 when TTE consolidated

its acquisitions (TJ Electronics, Breeze Illinois, and Flight Connector)

with its executive offices in Peoria, Illinois.

-Managed transfer of company's executive offices to new site.

-As Manager of Documentation Control, organized, maintained, and

distributed 40,000 company, customer, and government blueprints and

redundant microfilm files (aperture cards); military specifications,

company manufacturing procedures, and OSHA material safety data sheets.

-Maintained validity of a computerized cross-referencing system (IBM

mainframe network).

-Supported every department (sales, engineering, purchasing, production

control, stockroom, brazing, plating, cable assembly, and quality control)

in every step of the sales-manufacturing-delivery process.

-Upgraded reproduction equipment, increasing department's capabilities.

-Contracted with outside vendors to supply a myriad of services and

supplies.

-Performed technical writing using Microsoft Word.

-Initially hired to manage stockroom, mailroom, building/grounds

maintenance, and shipping/receiving as part of MIS Department. Promoted to

Manager of Documentation Control after nine months of service.

-Supervised two full-time employees.

VOLUNTEER WORK

1997 - 1998

LAKEVIEW WILDS, INC.

331 W. Ivy Ln., Peoria, IL 61614

MARKETING DIRECTOR

-Member of board of directors for non-profit, green space preservation

organization.

-Created promotional materials including posters, slide shows, multi-media

educational displays, newsletters, newspaper display ads, event tickets,

grocery bags, trail guides, etc.

-Wrote grants.

-Promoted special events including March for Parks, bi-annual suppers with

changing themes, green space cleanups, art sales, etc.

EDUCATION

01/80 - 05/82

ILLINOIS CENTRAL COLLEGE

East Peoria, IL

AAS - Business Management

GPA - 3.7/4.0

1972 - 1976

PEORIA HIGH SCHOOL

Peoria, IL

Diploma

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