Senior Operations &Operational Excellence Executive

~ Transforming operations through customer-driven, motivational leadership and robust process improvement ~

OPERATIONS LEADER AND SIX SIGMA BLACK BELT with a record of transformational management driven by Lean Management and Six-Sigma expertise in manufacturing and general operations. Demonstrated success in P&L direction, operations start-up, and turnaround leadership. Consistently drove critical success by calmly harnessing change through methodical decision-making, flexible hands-on management, staff and project team direction. Track record delivering aggressive bottom-line improvements with a history of results in changing or uncertain business environments. Core Competencies include:

 Budget Development & Control  Supplier Development & Purchasing

 HR Staffing, Development & Management  Health, Safety & Environmental Compliance

 Advanced Manufacturing Development & Commercialization  Technology Transfer Operations

 Quality Systems Expertise  ISO 9000 Certification Development

SUMMARY OF PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

HYDROGEN, LLC, Versailles, Pennsylvania 2006 – 2008

Wholly-owned subsidiary of HydroGen Corporation and development-stage producer of multi-megawatt fuel cell systems using proprietary 400 kilowatt, air-cooled phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) technology for distributed energy applications.

Senior Manufacturing Manager: Propelled commercialization and manufacturing startup as operations leader partnering with key members of original Westinghouse development team. Recruited staff, selected and installed equipment, tooling and support utilities, and established manufacturing and quality control processes for fuel cell component manufacturing and module assembly. Structured supply chain and manufacturing strategic plans and directed tactical activities to support future production of eight modules per year. Initiated environmental, safety, and health compliance processes and led safety committee. Prepared and managed $20 million operational budget.

 Delivered complete 400kw fuel cell demonstration module in two years – resurrecting technology and manufacturing startup operations that were dormant for 15+ years.

 Installed and configured full operational infrastructure within 12 months. Built staff from original engineering and technician development team of seven to staff of 40 manufacturing technicians; nine manufacturing, process, and safety engineers; and one supervisor within 18 months.

 Initiated advanced manufacturing development program, protecting $1 million grant funding received from the Ohio Department of Development Third Frontier Fuel Cell Program until hire of manager. Provided leadership in fuel cell module, manufacturing engineering, and systems engineering projects.

 Identified and established relationships with materials and components suppliers. Partnered with supplier in the development of advanced electrode material to achieve 10% improvement in expected start-of-life performance and a 50% reduction in degradation rate.

 Drove Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing awareness from conception, resulting in doubled production and fuel cell stack assembly rates while reducing platinum electrode material waste by 25%.

 Provided technical leadership in addition to manufacturing and process direction. Recommended design change that reduced machining costs by 30% while maintaining performance of separator plate.

JOHNSON LEAN CONSULTANCY, Charlotte, North Carolina 2004 – 2005

Lean manufacturing enterprise development and implementation consultancy serving small to medium-size manufacturing companies in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area.

Independent Consultant: Established and managed continuous improvement Lean and Six Sigma consultancy driving operational successes to small and medium-size manufacturing organizations in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area through design and execution of 5S, Visual Management, Kanban, Pull Systems, Elimination of Waste (Muda), Value Stream Mapping, Ergonomics, Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED), Leader Standard Work, Throughput Management, Constraint Management, Error Proofing (Poke Yoke), DMAIC, DOE, Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA), Capability Building, Industrial Engineering, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Shop Floor Metrics, Process Problem Solving, and Kaizen Workshop practices.

 Eliminated half of client company’s rework in powder metal sintering operations through leadership of targeted Six Sigma project.

 Planned and executed Kanban system to deliver a 30% decrease in raw materials inventory costs for an industrial cutting tool manufacturer.

 Identified, developed, and implemented numerous Lean and Six Sigma practices yielding significant waste reduction, inventory, cost, and manufacturing process improvement results. Highlights included:

 Minimized inventory, optimized production schedule, and achieved on-time delivery goal for client accounts through implementation of pull systems in material reclaim and product line operations.

 Optimized all facility operations for client through application of 5S workplace organization principles.

 Resolved potential productivity issue through development of visual work instructions instructing operators in special machining operation performed by one subject matter expert planning retirement.

 Contributed Lean and change management expertise as strategic planning member of client company teams and trainer / coach, and program and engagement manager.

AMERICAN VIDEO GLASS COMPANY, Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania 1997 – 2003

$100 million manufacturer of glass for large-screen CRT (cathode ray tube) televisions. Subsidiary of Sony Electronics.

Operations Manager (2002-2003): Directed a $40 million manufacturing operation producing panel glass for Sony 32” flat screen CRT televisions. Developed and managed five direct reports supervising a production staff of 60. Controlled an $8.5 million operating budget, reporting to the Director of Operations. Represented corporate business unit on site Six Sigma Steering Team.

 Directed plant-wide Sony Six Sigma training and implementation as technical subject matter expert and program manager facilitating project selection and implementation through 12 Six Sigma project leaders.

 Created a Lean Manufacturing culture, championing methodology and training production staff in the application of Lean processes within production operations.

 Drove a 48% productivity increase while improving quality by 25% over previous year’s performance – with achievements acknowledged by 2002 President’s Award for Productivity Improvements.

Customer Quality Engineer (2001-2002): Recognized for success with 2001 President’s Award for Customer Service, in the leadership of an improvement initiative targeting glass breakage quality issues at customer facility in San Diego. Aligned management, production, engineering, and quality personnel, improving coordination and communication in all operational areas. Identified opportunities and recommended ongoing Six Sigma projects to drive continuous process improvements.

 Achieved a 50% reduction in defects across four production lines.

 Increased organizational flexibility through cross-training of plant and customer engineers.

 Designed and applied a quantitative reporting structure that enabled proactive communication of customer issues to the manufacturing organization.

Senior Process Engineer (1997-2001): Managed the launch of hot forming operations for CRT panel glass in new facility, as subject matter expert. Received, installed, and set-up hot forming equipment. Coordinated operator training and established process specifications and operating procedures. Refined processes to comply with external technical partners. Implemented statistical process control regulating key process variables.

 Facilitated the successful production of four new products through development of tooling and equipment process parameters.

 Delivered productivity, quality, and waste improvements as Six Sigma Black Belt. Results included:

 Slashed side-wall-thickness variation by 60% through installation of a plunger alignment mechanism.

 Reduced unscheduled maintenance and downtime leading reliability initiatives in partnership with engineering and maintenance personnel.

 Identified sources of and eliminated glass breakage during transport in hot glass processing areas.

 Implemented online reporting and data analysis working with IT to eliminate paper report printing and distribution.

 Enabled ISO 9000 certification as key consultant to the Quality System Development Team.

Previous Experience

ALIAH, INC., Vice President - Operations: Directed software development, production, quality assurance, and 24x7 Help Desk support operations of small startup business, as one of five partners. Led the development and production of computer-aided strategic-planning and decision-making tools based on the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) for use in root cause analysis, quality function deployment (QFD), and failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) for major international corporations including US Steel Corporation, ARMCO Steel, IBM, Heinz USA, and Harley-Davidson Motor Company.

ABC RAIL CORPORATION, Process Control Manager: Realized a 45% productivity and a 60% quality improvement, while eliminating a six-month production backlog, in the design and application of manufacturing procedures and control systems for the production of railroad car and engine brake shoes. Developed and implemented corporate quality assurance system, in compliance with the Association of American Railroads regulations. Established internal quality auditing procedures and functioned as lead auditor for QA evaluation of plants nationwide.

KENNAMETAL, INC., Quality Assurance Manager / Senior Quality Engineer (Metallurgical): Advanced to senior quality engineering role guiding the manufacturing of tungsten alloy products for defense and commercial applications. Conducted quality system audits in four production facilities; developed supplier quality systems; and trained operations, quality, and senior management in statistical process control and problem-solving methodology as Senior Quality Engineer. Refined the quality assurance program as manager. Developed enhanced manufacturing processes and supported production in mechanical and physical testing of materials, in early engineering role.

EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Education

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

Certification

 MBA Essentials - Katz Graduate School of Business

 Six Sigma Black Belt - Sony

Training

 Six Sigma Black Belt Conversion – Sony, Six Sigma Black Belt and Green Belt, Air Academy Associates

 Shainen Problem Solving, Dorian Shainen Associates

 Certified Quality Engineer Exam Course, ASQ

 Certified Quality Auditor Exam Course, ASQ

 Industrial Administration Curriculum - Graduate School of Industrial Administration, Carnegie Mellon University

 Workshop in Supervision – Kennametal

Professional Affiliations

 American Society for Quality (1987-present): Pittsburgh Section Chair (2008-2009), Pittsburgh Section Chair Elect (2007-2008), Lean Six Sigma Focus Group Co-chair (2004-2008), Strategic Planning Chair (1994-1997)

 Pennsylvania Quality Leadership Awards: Assistant Lead Examiner (1996), Examiner (1995)

 Greater Pittsburgh Total Quality Awards: Judge (1997), Lead Examiner (1995-1996), Examiner (1994)

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