Director of Operations

MARLON HOWSON

*** ***** ***** **** ~ Bronxville, NY

Phone: 914-***-**** ~ email: acui5h@r.postjobfree.com

Dedicated Change agent and Lean six sigma practitioner; offering 17 years of achieving results in highly competitive markets, even in the face of challenging and volatile economies. Tenacious at training and coaching; found creative ways to bring transparency to lean concepts to new and veteran managers. Experienced in operations, P&L oversight, and marketing involvement within start-up and growth strategies. Areas of expertise include turnaround management, project management, financial re-engineering, and leading diverse work groups (union and non-union). Successfully leading teams in safety, quality, productivity, reliability and cost reduction initiatives.

EXPERIENCE

Arctic Glacier Holding Inc.

Divisional Manager 2014 - 2016

Developed the strategic guidance which improved revenue for 14 production and distribution sites ($37.5M) across the Northeast (NY, NJ, PA) utilizing the DMAIC method

Eliminated $650K in redundant and non-essential functions, grew revenue by $480K in NYS and improved EBITDA by $3.6M

Initiated capital cost-reduction plan for the division, which resulted in $450K cost reduction through continues improvement production projects

Started up new $5.2M facility and created best practice training documents for new employees

Improved engineering functions with autonomous accountability for accelerating production output, improving quality and eliminating non-value added waste

Conducted Lean Manufacturing / Continues Improvement training for 14 plant managers and 3 engineers

Improved safety DART rate by 4% by implementing Illness Injury Preventative Program (I2P2) and addressing all abatements for production and distribution sites throughout the Northeast

Improved revenue by negotiating acquisitions that were lucrative in the 2nd year and established the division’s 1st joint venture in the Northeast

Introduced emerging technologies to the market place and held full accountability for accelerating revenue and margin growth

Managed 6000 consumer goods assets in 3 regions through 4 direct reports

Closed non-performing, high-cost manufacturing sites, dropping $260K to the bottom-line

Improved employee utilization and cut annual operating budget in the 1st year through more effective planning and scheduling processes, with fixed preventive maintenance for all capital equipment

Managed all consumer goods capital projects and determined Capital vs Revenue Expenditures and Equipment Depreciation

Clearwater Paper

Operations Manager (NY) 2012 - 2014

Improved OSHA Incident Rate by 1.19; 2012 VS 2013

2013 Continues Improvement Award winner utilizing Business Process Management

Improved material yield by 5% resulting in 50% ($750K) waste reduction over 2012 baseline

Delivered a run rate of $600K/yr. in new savings

Achieved SGS (External Audit) score of 98% and corrective action implementation

Achieved 100% salaried participation in cost savings projects yielding over $500K

Improved efficiency and led operations to record case out-put (12% increase 2012 vs 2013)

Played a key role in modernizing / updating equipment and managed line trials to expand production capacity

Provided technical expertise for the sales group and travelled off site to meet with customers

Implemented TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) and created an autonomous workforce between Operations and Maintenance

Managed the maintenance budget of $1.1M and an Operations budget of $1.2M

Follow-up actions for all safety, environmental and equipment reliability issues

Approved market product set-up prints, cartons, folding cartons, poly, etc.

Established primary and consequential metrics in quality, cycle time, cost, etc.

Developed and reviewed process maps, flowcharts, failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) etc. as part of the improvement strategy

Team leader for measuring, analyzing, improving, and controlling key processes that influence customer satisfaction and/ or productivity growth, and developed S.O. P’s

Clearwater Paper

Continuous Improvement Manager 2012 - 2014

Traveled between four sites (IL, OKC, GA, NY) as part of a cost saving team implementing process / cost improvements

Initial challenge focused on transforming a loose group of legacy acquisitions into a focused enterprise, integrating all processes and systems

Improved labor cost by $1.1M by enforcing strict labor performance standards which reduced temp labor

Created data driven and fact driven project documentation using pareto diagrams, management reviews while presenting to the executive team

Assisted in translating customer feedback into project goals and objectives, including critical to quality (CTQ) attributes

Used voice of the customer analysis tools such as quality function deployment (QFD) and statistical analysis to translate customer requirements into performance measures

Identified process owners, internal and external customers, and additional stakeholders for projects at each site

Calculated Cp and Cpk, and compared variation using the ANOVA and additional analysis techniques

Clearwater Paper

Area Manager (IL) 2011 - 2012

Improved safety OIR by 10%, 2.11 vs 1.91 by shifting the cultural belief that safety is an after thought

Achieved 100% of cooperate budget and internal stretch goal; 5% above budget (highest case output at the time in the Folded Area)

Improved operations product output by 8%, 3.2M vs 3.5M year over year by reducing dispersion in the process

Directed daily production and quality initiatives, including operations, yield improvements and equipment maintenance

Improved quality by reducing CPM from 9.1 to 3.1; 66% reduction over previous year

Overall accountability to ensure processes were implemented and followed correctly

Defined and described elements of project charter and developed problem statements, including baseline and improvement goals

Validated mechanical work orders and product trials

Drove tasks to completion, addressed priority opportunities, and effectively utilize all resources by breaking down departmental silo’s and encouraging cross functional collaboration

Marcal Manufacturing LLC.

Area Manager 2008 - 2011

Lowered safety incident rate by 1.4% and increased department environmental attendance to 100%

Delivered $2.2M in savings, utilizing kaizen events and Kanban mythology from Lean Manufacturing

Improved efficiency by achieving 93% of theoretical speed in the folded consumer goods department as project team lead, resulting in $605K in cost avoidance

Improved yields by 10% in the folded consumer goods department through quality improvements and waste reduction

Team lead in waste management project, resulting in 2% reduction in waste with statistical confirmation of improvement

Achieved 89% improvement in Standard Unit/Labor Hour with a 4% reduction in scrap

Developed change agents and utilized opportunities throughout the work day to develop team capabilities and provided development feedback

Created follow-up action plans for all safety, environmental, quality, cost, housekeeping and equipment reliability issues

Validated mechanical work orders and product trials

Analyzed process data and communicated action plans effectively to non-technical personnel

Marcal Manufacturing LLC.

Production Supervisor 2006 - 2008

Improved safety incident rate by 1.1% (OIR 2007 vs 2008)

Improved production of the folded consumer goods department by 10% in 2008 before accepting promotion

Supervised operation to achieve departmental budget, financial organization and customer goals

Conducted quality assurance activities to verify proper set up of all converting lines within the department

Trained and develop employees on job skills, safety practices, and the company vision by coaching and role modeling

Organized, maintained and analyzed efficiency data at the end of each shift in preparation for the following day

Assisted in the development and implementation of safety policies and procedures

Improved 6S score by implementing line owners and weekly gemba walks

Johanna Foods 1999 - 2006

Production Supervisor

Led production team to increase productivity by 5.5% over previous year (2004)

Supervised the production of quality product through continual monitoring of the line operation

Delegated work assignments and tasks to appropriate individuals, providing sufficient direction so desired business outcome would be achieved

Coordinated changes in production equipment or processes in order to ensure proper mixing, filling and labeling of product

Maintain the plant's manufacturing equipment in sanitary condition

Produced product of the highest quality at the lowest possible cost

Effectively utilize labor hours to maximize product yields and minimize waste and breakage

Assigned hourly employees to production line positions which maximize productivity

Ensure adequate staffing, direction, and shift transition for all food (juice plant) filling lines

Prepared production lines prior to daily/shift start-up

Accurately document and analyze daily and weekly production line reports

Maintained all environmental and safety standards

Trained all production personnel in proper safety procedures and regulations

EDUCATION

Lewis University Business Administration

Villanova University Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

Core Competencies: Change Management, P&L, Negotiations, Financial Analysis, Sales Forecasting Training and Leadership, Lean six sigma, Organizational Restructuring, Project Management, Equipment Reliability

Software Applications: MS Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Visio, Share-point

Working knowledge in Minitab, and F5 BIG IP LTM

Standards: GMP, SOP, HACCP, FDA and OSHA

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