Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa
I am an accomplished and results-driven Operations & Engineering Management Professional with 20+ years of experience spanning a strong background in engineering, operations management, and technical leadership roles, optimizing processes, driving efficiency, and leading cross-functional teams to achieve organizational objectives. Known for implementing innovative technologies and strategies to enhance efficiency while maintaining rigorous safety and operational standards. I consider myself to be well-positioned to add measurable outcomes to any organisation seeking a dynamic leader, adept at fostering a culture of proactive maintenance, driving continuous improvement, and boosting team productivity in diverse operational settings. ----- Skilled in: Maintenance Practices, Automation, Validation, Change Control, Corrective and Preventive Action, Fault Finding and Project Management. ----- AREAS OF STRENGTH ➡ Inclusive Leadership and Management - Promoting collaboration and leading cross-functional groups to synergise, enhancing the organization's productivity in achieving strategic objectives. ➡ Communication and Collaboration - Encouraging open communication and leveraging diverse team strengths to address complex problems and attain ambitious goals. ➡ Problem-solving and Innovative Solution Development - Designing modern solutions tailored to solve unique business challenges, thereby establishing a competitive edge and product/service success. PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE ➡ Operational Efficiency and Process Optimization - Continuously refining processes, employing cutting-edge solutions, and eliminating waste to streamline operations, and boost the bottom line. ➡ Project Management & Implementation - Deliver complex projects on time and within budget by effectively planning, coordinating resources, and monitoring all project stages. ➡ Technical Expertise in Engineering & Automation - Use engineering and automation principles to solve complex technical problems and enhance operational capabilities. ➡ Financial Acumen & Cost Management - Maximizing resource utilization, and implementing sustainable financial strategies that boost performance, stability and sustainability. ➡ Quality Improvement & Safety Standards - Utilizing strict quality control measures and adhering to top safety protocols to enhance product and service quality, while ensuring a secure working environment. ➡ Strategic Planning and Continuous Improvement - Driving a culture of continuous improvement to adapt to changing market demands to achieve long-term business success.
Role Overview: Leveraging technical expertise and innovative management strategies to drive the company's expansion in the renewable energy sector, ensuring operational excellence and sustainability. Key contributions: + Successfully grew the company from 1 to 3 installation teams, and increased revenue by 60%. + Implemented procurement program and stock control, reduced project cost by 10%. + Manage daily activities of 3 installation teams, consisting of 1 electrical team leader and 2 assistants. + Residential Projects (Scheduling projects, material allocation and project management), 6 per week and 450 total. + Commercial Projects (Design, quotation, material ordering and control, project management), 4 total. + Providing on-site technical support for inverter and battery faults.
• Oversee production activities in Cutting and Lead Process departments • Responsible for Production, Quality, Safety and Maintenance KPI’s • Lead continuous improvement projects and Annual stock-take • Handling of customer concerns • Head of Safety team for the department and lead investigator for major incidents • Management of departmental budget and adherence thereof • Work with customer and suppliers with regards to efficiency and cost optimization
Management of site maintenance, safety and CAPEX activities. Work within a multi-departmental team to close and address compliance gaps. Review of energy demand and proposal for Solar Power alternative. Review of plant layout and equipment requirements to meet new standards and output demands.
Had 4 direct reports & oversaw a team of 190 staff, split between production, pharmaceutical and engineering. Translating monthly objectives into daily targets & tracking them through the effective use of KPI’s for Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost and People. Set effective KPI’s for team members to ensure compliance & attainment of departmental KPI’s. Lead departmental projects which saw the introduction of 9 new bottling related machines and 2 blister lines. Successfully turned around the KPI’s through the creation of a dynamic team that was self-motivated & able to react to events as they happened. In April 2017, Manufacturing was added to my portfolio, expanding my direct reports to 9 and total staff count to over 300. Insured the effective operation of dispensary, granulation, compression, encapsulation, coating and packing areas. Continuous improvement was critical to increasing our quality rating and production output. Worked with multiple external departments to drive closure of batch documents & Adherence to GMP. Review of SOP’s to streamline daily activities. Introduced a new BMR format to eliminate recurring documentation errors. Simplified the retrieval of production data by creating a single report, this pulled data from multiple sources and presented it as a single report & provided complete transparency of BMR/BPR data. Review of manning plans & reduced where possible. Lead the Ops audit team & ensure effective solutions were implemented, when required, by leading a multi-disciplinary team. Managed the budgeting and adherence of CAPEX and operational expenses. Closely monitored production activities to avoid unnecessary batch write-offs.
Responsible for Electrical distribution, Electronic support & Calibrations for the Site, total of 4 facilities & leading a team of 9. Compiled & managed the operational & CAPEX budget for the department. Run a project to introduce an Oven Drying System into Unit 2B, completing the automated systems related work. Revamped the electrical substation and UPS maintenance processes. Setup an annual shutdown schedule for Electrical Systems. Developed an Engineering Management System, consolidating engineering activities from all units to provide a reporting platform. Carried out multiple energy saving projects, introduced a new lighting system and the overall of our power factor correction network. Developed a SCADA based OEE reporting system for Unit 1 packing. Introduced a centralised backup system for PLC’s and automated system PC’s, used Acronis for PC’s and VersionDog for PLC’s. Worked with multiple departments to serialise a high-speed bottling line, taking care of electrical and electronic aspects of the project. Headed a project to serialise the second line, working directly with the OEM and a local system integrator, realising a substantial saving. A highlight was completing the Aspen Business Management Programme as the Top Student.
2009 saw the appointment of a Site Engineering Manager and a consolidation of various engineering rolls from the 3 facilities on site. The electrical support services department was created and because of automation and calibration work completed in Unit 1, I was appointed as the Group Leader for Electronic Support Services. My team, 2 calibration & 3 electronic technicians, were responsible for all calibrations on site, as well as providing specialist support for automated systems. This covered the 3 solids manufacturing facilities. Managed process optimisation, replacement of redundant hardware and the introduction of new technology to reduce risk to products and staff. Controlled the operational and CAPEX budget for electronic support and calibrations. Rolled out a calibration programme for the site, requiring new test equipment, SOP creation & an effective calibration plan. Formulated and controlled the shutdown plan for electronic support & calibrations. Was the audit lead for utilities, automated systems & calibrations for multiple international auditory bodies.
Was part of a team of 3 Project Engineers and was responsible for completion of several projects over the 2 and a half years. As a project engineer I was responsible for the complete project, starting with the kick-off meetings and scope signoff, panel design, PLC & SCADA/HMI programming, using the customer specified hardware and software, installation of electrical components and final commissioning and signoff. During this time, I was exposed to Allen-Bradley, Mitsubishi, Telemechanique, Omron and Siemens hardware and software. In most cases there was no formal training, which resulted in self study and research, as well as interacting with OEM and local SME’s, to get the projects completed on time. Most projects were individual based, however, some projects required more than one project engineer. In these situations, one would take the lead on the project, while the other would provide a supporting function. Based on previous work, I would complete the SCADA/HMI programming while the other engineer would interface with the customer and complete the electrical and PLC work. This allowed me time to complete additional projects simultaneously. In my time at Streamworks/OA&M, I learned that there is no such thing as not my job, often having to correct hydraulic, mechanical or pneumatic issues to get the machines working. It provided me with a solid foundation which has served me well in my working career. Always look to learn something new, never say die and integrity are some of the values I will always carry with me.