Summary


ENGINEERING and PROGRAM MANAGER
Innovative Product Development, Troubleshooting and Lean
Seeking Contract or Full Time employment that leverages my superior track record of driving value through product innovation, lean process design, engineering and general management. My unique innovative, out-of-the-box engineering approach with a profit-oriented focus has enabled me to exceed customer expectations in quality product design and cost savings.


Achievements

New Business and Product Development : Designed , developed and implemented more than 50 new products , producing a combined $1B in sales , with most recent patent filings in July 2009 .
o Numerous Statements of Invention , Patent Applications , Trade Secret Agreements
Lean Improvements : Consistent success implementing Lean initiatives 5S , Kaizan , Kobayashi , Value Stream Mapping that have resulted in successful turnarounds and 40% profit improvements while improving quality and morale
Engineering : Cradle to Grave Engineering Capability , Program and Project Management of multi-disciplinary programs with engineering teams in the US , Europe and South Africa
o Hands-On Design and Development , Implementation , Certification , Manufacturing Support and Product Support
o Innovative use of engineering technology like Solidworks , Robotics , RFID
o Proficient in Solidworks CAD , general knowledge of AutoCAD
Project Analysis : Quantification of Project , Job Costing , Return on Investment Analysis , Estimating , Budgets , What-If Analysis
Operations : General management with P and L responsibility of up to $10M and 135 employees , as a consensus based team builder at all organizational levels
Automotive and Vehicle : Government Defense and Security Vehicles , Logistics Vehicles , Luxury and City Buses , Terminal Tractors , Recovery Vehicles , Rail Vehicles
Consumer Goods : High-End Decorative Bathroom and Kitchen Fixtures , FRP and Acrylic Products , Vacuum Forming , CNC Processing
Supply Chain : 3PL Logistics , Transportation , Fleet Management , Manufacturing and Distribution , Retail , Software Technology
Avatar Partners Unlimited LLC Present
Supply chain solution provider specializing in B2B software solutions and engineering consulting services .
Program Manager
West Coast Warehousing : Established lean process flows and technology improvements in warehouses for a 3PL direct to store logistics operation supporting JC Penney , Sears and Kohl s , to improve net profits by 15% .
Republic Inc Allied Waste : Managed an asset tracking project that increased container fleet utilization for a $12 billion waste management company while saving $2M per year , resulting in a 1 - year ROI .
Pacific Sunwear : Oversaw B2B project for $1.2 billion Pacific Sunwear using business process flow diagrams to identify supply chain bottlenecks in highly changing market , resulting in over $3M savings year 1
Avatar Partners : Implemented lean accrual based accounting procedures to manage cash flow , reducing DSO by 31 days ; implemented method to track P and L on a per-project basis , improving margin by 38%
US Department of Defense : participated in $1.2M in new business bids , US Department of Defense Joint Mission Planning Systems JMPS in use by US Navy and Air Force under contract with BAE Systems
Axcess Innovations , Inc Present
Founding Partner and Chief Technology Officer
Startup manufacturer of custom consumer goods products .
Identified a $350M market opportunity for a bathing enclosure for the aged consumer and healthcare market where dignity in use and safety are paramount
Lead the design effort for all new product development . 2 patents are submitted to USPTO , 3 patents are in preparation for submission , with another 7 patentable features under development .
Currently refurbishing and upgrading a used MAAC 96 x72 double-ended Thermoformer to replace the planned purchase of a new Comet C86DEB , resulting in a savings of $165K Upgraded the base design to include best practices and reduce energy consumption by 40% .


Employment

2005 -  2009
Engineering Projects Manager

Leading manufacturer of acrylic and gel coated bathware, subsidiary of $6B Tomkins

Responsible for Mold Shop Operations which supplied high quality production tooling to 9 manufacturing plants ; and new product development, supporting revenue growth from $325M to $374M
Increased annual output of production tools to plants by 30% while reducing head count by 72% representing annual savings of $2MM

Developed and implemented an innovative polyurethane foam reinforcement method for low entry ADA shower floors to eradicate a prime source of customer complaints which eliminated lawsuit risk and increased unit sales by 20% despite the housing turn, while all other product lines experienced a decline in sales. Elimination of lawsuits improved annual profits by 15%
Developed a polyurethane foam reinforcing process to cost reinforce acrylic sink shells providing entry to a new market sector, valued at a market opportunity of $60M per year
Developed and installed an automated 7 - axis Robotic FRP Glassing Line, resulting in a gain in material transfer efficiency of 5% and a project payback period of 3 years.
o Identified existing tool hanger configuration as a critical roadblock to development of robot path programming, designed, tested and installed 68 hangers in plant which have run faultlessly for 3 years ;
o Solved numerous process or engineering problems related to the robotics or ancillary equipment installation, contributing to the on-time startup of the project ;
o Identified inadequacy of existing FRP glass choppers as critical impediment to productivity, developed and proved a unique robotic grade unit unique in the industry which increased line availability to increase annual contribution margin by $500K and reduce operating costs more than $100K per year.
Managed $801K budget to close down the Texas plant and consolidate the equipment into the Virginia plant : o Implemented on-time and in-budget ;

o Included additional unplanned infrastructure like an overhead mezzanine to enhance productivity, paid for by savings like a capex reduction of $225000 through innovative process re-engineering of an overhead conveyor.

Implemented a 5S lean program for work flow revision, floor layout, point of use deployment of materials and equipment. Cost of lost production recovered in 3 months by reduced labor cost per tool, resulting in 11% margin improvement while improving shop floor safety and employee morale
Reduced delivery lead time by 50% by overhauling management structure, production planning and controls

1999 -  2005
Project Engineer

Subsidiary of $11B public company Masco Corp., specializing in high-end decorative bathroom and kitchen fixtures

New Product Development
Fast tracked a CAD development of 60 high end bathroom accessories in 4 months with record low production implementation errors, generating new sales of $3MM per year.
Developed decorative wall lighting range in compliance with UL1596, the design of a unique concealed mounting, to generate new revenues of $500K per year.

New Manufacturing Infrastructure

Installed a $1.5MM PVD vacuum coating facility which required significant mechanical and electrical re-engineering, process and ancillary equipment development and staff training
o Increased system availability from initial 30% to over 95% to process 45000 parts per month
o Implemented continuous quality improvement to reduce reject rate from 80% to less than 1%
o Reduced staff from 19 on overtime to 8 on normal time, reducing labor costs more than 60%
Conceived and commissioned a pilot line to assemble 180000 valves worth $2MM per year.

Designed and set up a thermo-valve assembly work cell, training of personnel.
Designed and commissioned a valve assembly cell using anaerobic glue to bond and seal wetted components to replace the o-ring used, eliminating 2 assembly jobs.

1995 -  1999
Director

Industry leading wheeled defense systems subsidiary of $3 billion public company, Reunert Ltd

Developed and tested a class-leading mine resistant border patrol vehicle as 1 of 6 international competitors selected to bid for the Australian Bushranger project worth $100M
o Led multi-disciplinary development team in a fast-track development on-time and in a budget of $1MM or half the norm at that time, setting new company speed and cost effectiveness benchmarks.
o Exceeded client performance and functional expectations and established first-in-class capabilities with numerous unique subsystems included a patented hull design.

Ground breaking research work to develop energy absorbing MPAV welded hull structures providing improved occupant protection against anti-tank mines and IED s. Tests indicated low probability of fatal or serious injury, despite test charges double the explosive power used.

1989 -  1995
Director

Miscellaneous

Leading Custom Heavy Duty Commercial/Special Vehicle Manufacturer
Contributed to the establishment of the company as a full service Tier 1 manufacturer of custom heavy duty vehicles and ancillary equipment through organization redesign and development
Upgraded M-RAV vehicle with high output Mercedes Benz diesel engine, ZF gearbox, heavy duty ZF axles and miscellaneous other changes to generate sales of 280 vehicles over 2 years more than $80 million.
Developed an armored riot control vehicle based on Rockwell axles, a Mercedes Benz diesel engine, ZF transmission in a designed and manufactured welded hull. More than 6 hundred worth $60 million were manufactured and are still service in many countries internationally.
Developed an unprecedented OEM engineering capability to compete with larger and better equipped competitors, facilitating rapid growth from single product dependency to a diverse product range serving multiple markets, resulting in new business worth $190 million.
Recruited and managed the Engineering Division of 53 employees with the ability to develop custom heavy vehicles and ancillary products from concept through detail design and production, the provision of logistic support documentation and tooling. Core competencies included design of welded armored steel hull structures, integration of OEM power trains and suspensions and sub-systems like braking, pneumatics, hydraulics and electrical equipment.
Developed rapid prototyping method by synthesizing OEM product knowledge, in-house CAD and engineering skills to establish an overall concept and reverse engineering
Awards, Education and Memberships
Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
MBA, School of Business Leadership, Pretoria, South Africa
Registered Professional Engineer
Systems Engineering Practices post graduate certificate course
Organization Leadership post graduate certificate course
Finalist, Charles C. Gates Achievement Award for Excellence, 2006
Orange County Engineering Council Engineering Project Award for PVD installation, 2005
Member, SEMA, SAE, ASME
References available upon request