Mechanical design engineer

Lakshman Rao

*************@*****.*** **** Columbus Ave, Anderson IN 46013 (cell) 217-***-****

Continuous Improvement Manager

Certified Six Sigma Black Belt

Over 20 years of Global experience in Construction & Mining OEM, Automotive and Locomotive manufacturing industries

Expertise in the areas of Product Design, Lean Manufacturing, 6 Sigma (DMAIC& DMEDI), Project Management, Supply chain management, Engineering & Systems Integration, New Product Development, Customer & Dealer Support, Simulation Analysis, Capital Projects, and Concurrent Product & Process Development.

Core Strengths: Strong Customer focus, Ability to translate Business problems to Data analysis, Global cross functional collaboration, Project Management, Hands-on knowledge of Supply chain and customer base in Emerging markets, Overall exposure in Large OEM in areas of Product Design, Validation, NPI, CPI, Manufacturing and Product Support.

Familiar with ISO/TS16949 automotive quality standards

Saved $2.2 million in 2015 on procurement of Metro parts by consolidating purchase orders, adjusting the EOQs and supplier collaboration.

Saved 1.8 million on supply chain management projects of LMT products using Lean manufacturing principles

Saved 2.5 million on the LMT continuous product improvement projects using Six Sigma methodology

US Citizen, BS in Mechanical Engineering, Certified 6 Sigma Black Belt, and Lean Manufacturing Champion

Career History

Progressrail Services, A Caterpillar Company (OEM - Locomotives) Muncie IN – Jan 2014 – Jul 2016

Continuous Improvement Manager (Lean Manufacturing)

Job responsibilities

Facilitate/Lead Kaizen projects

Identify and facilitate manufacturing improvement projects

Troubleshoot, conduct root cause analysis and resolve the manufacturing/assembly issues

Drive value stream mapping (VSM), define As-Is Analysis and the transition to Future state

Provide leadership and support continuous improvement projects implementation

Lead Supply chain management projects

Identify and lead the early management function of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) activities

Develop and conduct quality compliance audits and evaluations

Promote and teach lean principles, drive standard work, SOPs, SMED, 5S, A3, PDCA, Visual management

Caterpillar Inc. (OEM- Mining trucks) Decatur IL - Feb2004 – Dec 2013

Project Engineer(Structures) –Certified Six Sigma Black Belt

Managed multiple projects for the Large Mining Trucks division, building credibility, establishing rapport, and maintaining communication with internal and external customers at multiple levels

Defined and initiated projects while managing cost, schedule, and performance and maintaining continuous alignment of program scope with strategic business objectives.

Collaborating with the suppliers from the initial stages of design to production and design for manufacturability

Collaborated with SPPC - cross functional team consisting engineering, manufacturing, releasing and global purchasing on design collaboration and manufacturing

Collaborated with suppliers and SPPC on the design reviews and should cost negotiations

Completed more than ten Smart projects on LMT focused on modular sourcing for cost reduction

Worked on the custom products – from concept to production for the mining customers – 797 powered access arrangement for Oil sands customers

Completed LMT – Working at heights safety projects for 793F, 793D, 793F AC, 785D, 785C projects

Worked closely with analysis team and suppliers in defining the weld quality and design requirements on the fabricated components

Worked on multiple cost reduction projects on LMT – Fabrication parts – Hood groups, platform groups, and access arrangements and drove commonality across the board using common thickness, common bend radius, supplier recommended GD&T callouts for common tooling wherever applicable

Collaborated closely with Sheet metal, stamping, fabrication, forging and casting suppliers on design for manufacturing, tooling design and cost reduction ideas

Completed more than 18 CPI projects on 797, 793, 789 and 785 trucks

Collaborated with cross functional team for defining and financially justifying projects, launched projects, directed team activities and completed the projects using DMAIC methodology.

Drove project management, tracking project status and results, removing and elevating project barriers and developing team members.

Identified integration issues with other projects/processes and coordinated improvements with the appropriate project/process owners to secure project goals.

LMT Lead Structures Design Engineer – Large Mining Trucks

Instrumental to the 797F NPI from inception to completion, following with pilot builds, TPG builds, mine site assembly, pilot build issues, field follow-up through production

Collaborated with casting suppliers to resolve casting failure issues and improve the castings for increased payload capacity.

Worked closely with manufacturing to resolve all the build issues and process improvements

Drove $1800 cost reduction per truck via structural design engineering such as payload capacity increases, weight reductions, ROPS capacity improvements and pilot build issue resolutions.

Realized significant cost reductions by using common parts, simplifying the design for ease of manufacturability and additional savings by identifying ideal suppliers

Carried out the DFMEA, APQP for the NPI program

Ingersoll Rand –Jul 2003 –Jan 2004 (Contract)

Product Engineer

Developed, designed and improved new and existing products for the pneumatic power tools manufacturing line.

Streamlined the manufacturing process for the manufacturing layout to gain ROI wins.

Pratt & Whitney–Mar 2002– 2003 Jun (Contract)

Design Engineer

Generated fundamental machine design calculations and developed geometric definitions of hardware components and assemblies for various components of gas turbines/compressors.

Performed parametric solid modeling/drafting of various components of compressor and Kinematics systems such as thePW6000 and PW4000 Vane actuation system and thePW7000 Isogrid fan containment casing.

Modeled and assembled the parts and tested in compliance with enterprise standards, consistently winning approval from Quality personnel.

Quest Automotive–Sep 1999 – Feb2002

Design Engineer

Ensured quality, operations and efficiency for Ford, GM and Chrysler projects spanning interior and exterior components.

Modeled interior trim and automotive exterior body parts with Class A surfacing.

Implemented design changes and modifications and drove the design integration of Delco/Bose audio system across several car lines.

Reduced manufacturing and service expense with a low-cost solution, designing Velcro-attached plastic speaker grills that surpassed the costlier method of attachment.

Promoted brand excellence by performing design verification via experimental/analytical methodology and monitoring supplier component quality; developed Quality Manuals and Standard Operating Procedures for Surface Finish Requirements and GD&T.

Education & Technical Skills

Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering – National Institute of Technology, Surathkal Karnataka INDIA

Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (DMAIC)

American Production & Inventory Control Society (APICS) – 1999, INDIA

Software: AutoCAD 2008, PTV-Creo, Solidworks – Unigraphics –Hypermesh – IMAN, SAP, Oracle, MS Office Suite, MS Project, FMEA, APQP, ISO9000, TS16949

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