I am an experienced leader in operations, quality management, and project management with proven record of savings and productivity improvement in the consumer goods industry. Skilled at leading and developing a team of success-focused individuals to achieve production goals and improve efficiency. Seeking an operations/project management position with a dynamic, growing organization.
My professional life evolves from a continual drive to improve, learn, add value, and make my world a better place. I am someone who always wants to try new things and explore new ways of doing things. Any opportunity becomes much more interesting when one attempts to master it. In my experience, a higher level of responsibility results in a higher level of job satisfaction.I started out my career as a shop floor associate who was recognized quickly as one who wanted to make a difference and who could be trusted. The roles that I have embraced have always involved stepping outside of my comfort zone, which has been a great reward for personal and professional growth.
In new situations, I am very appreciative of those willing to teach, and when I have the expertise, I appreciate and mentor those who look for the direction. I have accumulated many hard skills and soft skills in my career and love to intermingle those skills as often as I can.My role as Project Manager began humbly, tackling tasks and ideas that needed to be done and championing them. I realized quickly that assembling teams and communicating well was critical to getting things done. Through my formal training with Project Management Institute, I now have an appreciation for what can be accomplished through the structure and planning of well-defined and well-executed projects. This is an area of work that is very exciting to me.
In my spare time, I love to explore. On a grand scale, I explore via travel, hiking, and hunting/fishing. I am also happy to explore the microcosms of a backyard, and all the small intricacies of nature. On rainy days, I love to read books and watch movies. For exercise, I jog, bike, and love to play disc golf. I am not an expert but can be easily convinced to throw 18 if anyone is up for it!
Timeline
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Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), Project Management Institute
CAPM® Number: 2743552
Team Leader (Foreman), Kohler Company, Wisconsin Faucets
Served as Servant/Leader for 35+ associates across 3 major departments: Metal Finishing Operations, Chrome Plating Operations, and Special Finish Operations.  Tracked efficiencies and operations management of production floor. Result: Met goals of safety, quality, delivery, and cost.  Directed and implemented Project Management of outside contractor cleaning groups. Result: Reduced the need for permanent headcount and increased efficiency and reliability of critical work done.  Started cross-training rotation for Special Process Operators to learn multiple job functions in area. Result: Increased job satisfaction and higher production efficiency by 10% over single function associates.  Recruited and led Safety Team of 10 rotational volunteers to Identify and correct safety issues. Result: promoted Culture-Of-Safety throughout organization resulting in significant reduction in recordable incident rate (>20%).  Served as Area Coordinator for the United Way campaign. Result: Combined company sustainability efforts raised over $300,000 per year.  Initiated Kaizen event focusing on organization and product flow for the Tube Cell manufacturing cell. Result: Improved operating space by 30% and reduced setup times by 15%.  Developed and implemented racking and identification system improve space, utilization, and identification of materials. Result: Reduced plating rack space by approximately 15%, reduced scrap by 10% year to year, and improved training and traceability of materials.  Managed Kaizan initiatives for production reorganizations of manufacturing cells. Result: Achieved process improvements in efficiency and workflow of cells while involving associates to improve engagement and morale.
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Union Associate, Plating
Responsible for processing brass components for plating operations - plating line operations - charge out and delivery - material movement and organization. * Mastered all aspects of the department; promoted to Acting Foreman of Special Finishes/Plating in 2002.
Served as Lead Technician responsible for all aspects of production, development of procedures, maintenance and troubleshooting, team training, and procurement.
* Selected to serve as technical expert/owner for PVD Operations. Result: Maintained or improved all success measurements in 4 categories: safety, quality, delivery, and cost.
* Identified, developed, and led business initiative of a $5.5 million re-investment in the North America Faucets Division to upgrade of all Hauzer 1500 PVD machines. Result: Transitioned to new PVD machinery and eliminated the necessity for a complete line shut down.
* Assessed, evaluated, and established a new competitive bid structure for the company's consumable raw materials needs. Result: Spearheaded savings of 5% to 20% over the old structure.
* Generated material and process savings through systems improvements and purchasing efficiencies. Result: Saved approximately $24,000 per year, through recycling efforts alone.
* Initiated and worked collaboratively to develop intercompany best practices focusing on addressing trust and communications concerns. Result: Created open channels of communication facilitating the creation of a division-wide investment in best-practices.
* Managed all development-related projects for the area from initial planning through project closure. Result: Increased approved deliverable product finishes by 40% from 2018 - 2020.
* Identified, mentored, and provided in-depth training to develop individuals who displayed interest and aptitude in Continuous Improvement. Result: Promoted positive cultural shifts and engagement among the team.
* Developed and led team kaizen initiatives focused on improved workflow and Lean Manufacturing improvements. Result: Improved quarterly process in product flow and communication.
* Initiated and managed PVD Insulator transition to an improved style. Result: Achieved higher system reliability, quality and cost reductions, and reduced downtime due to related incidents by nearly 50%.
Technician II, Kohler Company, Wisconsin Faucets
Managed PVD processes for Wisconsin Faucets, including development and operations of the production processes, quality management, and maintenance of the processes and equipment.  Consulted with Nanchang Global Faucets to share best practices, refine China system workflow, and provide mechanical training for new systems. Partnership involved travel to Nanchang and continued correspondence. Result: Built relationships and collaboration with sister plant and contributed to very high growth rate in that emerging market.  Partnered with technical team to establish, develop, and grow the PVD operations, procedures, and tooling. Result: Increased PVD capacity by 67%, and available finishes developed by 40%.
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Bachelor of Arts, Calvin College
Bachelor of Arts, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI
Proudest Accomplishment
Raised three boys to be good men!
Experience Highlights
Bachelor of Arts - German Language and Literature, English Minor
Little Miss and me
My crew
Go Pack GO!
Florida in Wisconsin
Beautiful day in Northern Wisconsin!
