Brian Rhodes has more than 20 years of industrial engineering and business management experience and has held positions ...
BRIAN D. RHODES, PE 817-428-8107 (hm) 940-445-9139 (mobile) BRIAN D. RHODES, PE Mr. Rhodes has more than 20 years of industrial engineering and business management experience. In industry and academia, he has held positions ranging from senior industrial engineer to engineering manager, to adjunct professor in a master’s degree program in business administration. Mr. Rhodes accomplishments started early in his industrial career as he worked his way through college as a coop student. During that period, he was employed by Gould, Inc. and Union Carbide in Cleveland, OH. While working in a junior industrial engineering position, he helped to: plan and implement an incentive pay program; reduce manufacturing floor space by 30%; develop a new product; and increase productivity by 50%. After graduation, he was employed for 8-years as an associate and then senior industrial engineer with Allied-Signal Aerospace where he gained experience in reducing cost in many manufacturing processes including electro-mechanical assembly, parts finishing, plating, painting, CNC machining, plastics molding, and electronic surface mount operations. He also assumed a leadership position in the company’s Quality Circle program. He joined the Kansas City Goldblatt Division of Stanley Tools in 1990 as Engineering Manager, where he was responsible for engineering design and development, quality control, tool room, and manufacturing engineering. While with Stanley, he improved quality and lowered manufacturing costs by spearheading the development and implementation of a new powder coating system as well as a new state-of-the-art robotic grinding system. The grinding system alone led to a 6 figure annual savings on capital equipment procurement. He also procured a patent on the equipment used for a new texture spraying process. Mr. Rhodes also led the efforts to implement cellular manufacturing techniques within the plant that resulted in dramatic inventory reductions and an increase in the inventory turn rate to 50. He has established moving production lines with aircraft manufacturing companies as well as lead over 25 Kaizen events to help reduce production costs and eliminate waste. He has worked on numerous projects since entering the consulting profession in 1996. His focus has been on training companies in manufacturing techniques. Manufacturing cost reduction, and solving technical problems associated with manufacturing. Projects have included cost reduction, information systems planning and implementation, Lean Manufacturing Implementation, workforce training, project management, data base cost systems and Kanban systems implementation, preparation for ISO 9000 certification, design of manufacturing cells and developing plant layouts for minimizing materials handling costs. Mr. Rhodes is a licensed and registered professional engineer. He is also a Certified Lean Specialist through Lean Manufacturing Consortium. He earned his bachelors degree in Industrial Engineering at Cleveland State University and his MBA at Rockhurst College. He also has also been a part time evening adjunct professor at Baker University teaching management science, statistics and quality control.
Brian D. Rhodes P.E. Engineering Manager (Lean Manufacturing) Ft. Worth, TX 76137 (940) 445-9139 (mobile) http://www.linkedin/in/brianrhodespe
[email protected] Technical Expertise
Lean Manufacturing, Project scheduling, Process improvement, Process automation, Cost reduction, Plant Layout, Quality Improvement, Sheet Metal Fabrication, Plastics, Painting (Conventional and Powder Coating), Miniature Electro-Mechanical Assembly, Robotics, Soldering, Welding (MIG, TIG and stick), Potting, Electronic Assembly, Heavy Equipment Assembly, Continuous - Roll Paper Processing. Professional Engineer
Manager of Continuous Improvement and Maintenance, Peco/Facet, Mineral Wells, TX 2012 to present Responsible for developing lean initiatives and handle maintenance on 345 person, 17 building, 47 acre site. Developed preventative maintenance program and initiated training and implementation for 5S program plant wide. Kaizen event coordinator for plant process improvement and cost savings of over $2MM. Project Leader, Gardner Denver, Fort Worth, TX 2011 to 2012 Responsible for developing processes, product and building requirements for a $3.2 Million project to develop a new product line. Lean Leader, Hawker Beechcraft Aircraft, Little Rock, AR 2010 – 2011. Lean Leader of Kaizen events to help save the company $3.5 Million in cost reductions. Holding Kaizen events weekly for 6 month period in various areas to come up with ideas (both long term projects and Just-do-it projects). Manage projects and events. Implement moving line for Aircraft Interior installation. Sr Lean Engineer, Vought Aircraft , Dallas, Texas 2008 – 2010 Lean Leader on Gulfstream 550 wing production line. Responsible for saving 15% on span time as well as over $300K per year on costs. Team leader on equipment improvement projects as well as downtime reduction. Six Sigma Green Belt as well as Lean Leader Certification. Implementation Leader – BNSF Railway – 2006 - 2008 Value Engineering Leader responsible for making improvements in railroad velocity for yards and over 30,000 miles of railway tracks across the US. Using Lean and 6Sigma tools to reduce costs and improve railcar velocity and flow through yards and across the country. Plant Manager – Novatron Corp. 2005 – Manufacturer of Wiring harnesses and dashboards for boating industry. Hired to run the plant while on assignment as a Lean consultant. Implemented Lean Manufacturing and managed facility of 150 persons, including engineering, maintenance, manufacturing, and purchasing. Sr. Consultant, Technical Consulting Network 2003 to 2005. Manufacturing consultant, assisting companies in Lean Manufacturing, plant layout and team building. Projects include: Lean Coordinator for local manufacturer of rupture discs, setting up programs and measurements for lean implementation. Interim Engineering Manager for airport pushback tractor company, improving the design of existing tractors as well as new hybrid models. Lean training for lawn mower plant, helping to develop a new plant layout with process flow data. Regional Sales Manager – Symplex Software Systems –2002 to 2003– Sales manager for ERP Manufacturing software sales and service company with territory in the Midwest. Company went out of business. Engineering Manager – Donaldson Company – 2001 Manufacturing Engineering Manager of $45M company of Filtration equipment for the automotive industry. Responsible for Process improvement, Tool Room, environmental control and reporting, and Capital Equipment acquisition. Implemented Setup reduction program to reduce setup by 25% at plant level to meet $2M budget reduction and improve changeover and plant process throughput. Process Improvements resulted in over $450K savings per year. Mid America Manufacturing Technology Center – Engineering Consultant 1996-2001 Responsible for selling and delivering consulting services for a not-for-profit agency in the metropolitan Kansas City area. As Engineering Consultant, responsible for training companies in manufacturing techniques and solving technical problems associated with manufacturing. Projects have included information systems, Lean Manufacturing
Implementation, workforce training, project management, and plant layout. Presenter for national as well as local seminars in Manufacturing and the Internet. Accomplishments: Lean Implementation at client company – reduced the lead time on custom assembled chairs, ladders and stepstools from 5 weeks down to 5 days with a decrease in inventory and production space. ERP Software selection for multiple companies, with assistance in implementation. Development of Lean Training Seminars for companies to help them in training plants on Lean manufacturing techniques. Implementation of Lean Manufacturing techniques at 2 Kansas City area plants, including vendor certification, Kanban cards, pull systems and information system upgrades to support lean. Reduction of lead times by 2/3 was the outcome of this project. Development of a costing database system for a product manufacturer for engineers to be able cost product. Assisted in Marketing Strategic Planning for a client company to plan for growth in the next 5 years. Developed Plant procedures for fortune 500 company to help them expand to the largest plant of its kind in the world and become ISO 9000 certified! Presented training courses throughout the Midwest for Cellular Manufacturing, Y2K, Product Costing, etc. Engineering Manager – Ames Taping Tools – Atlanta, GA – 1995 Design Engineering Manager for Automatic drywall taping tool company. Designed new tool and process to penetrate a new market for company. Accomplishments: Worked with United States Gypsum Corp. to develop a process to use our automatic tools with “hot mud” to penetrate the fastest housing growth market for the success of Ames in the housing industry. Successfully implemented a new tool design coordinating development in operations across the country. ENGINEERING MANAGER 1990 - 1994 Stanley - Goldblatt Tool, Kansas City (Div. of Stanley Tools) Products: Metal Tools for construction industry and processed paper for drywall joint tape at two satellite locations. Manage Engineering design, development, quality and capital acquisitions for $45 M plant of 150 persons. This was a staff level position with the Tool Room, Quality Control, Manufacturing Engineering, and Design engineering all reported to the Engineering Manager. Stanley Tools shut down the plant. Achievements: Development and implementation of Powder Coating System for the plant. This system dramatically improved our quality of paint on our equipment. Developed a Robotic Grinding system for plant by using excess Stanley Tools equipment saving the company over $400,000 in cash outlay for project! Procured a patent on a texture spray equipment which was under development in my department. Directing a team of engineers, manufacturing personnel, and other managers to update product design specifications, performance requirements, and drawings for over 2000 products in drywall and concrete business. We were able to then keep better track our engineering changes with updates in our Auto-Cad system. Coordinating Product Liability cases for the whole division with the outside attorneys, insurance adjusters, and testing labs. My efforts helped in saving the company over $2 million dollars in litigation fees. Implemented design improvements on key products helping to improve safety, improve quality, reduce costs, and attract new customers. The efforts of the Engineering Group reduced overall product costs by 5% for 1993 Design of overall plant layout (165 K Sq. Ft.) for Cellular Manufacturing concept, and improve operating efficiency. Re-layout whole plant to accommodate product flow through facility. This layout enabled the plant to cut approximately 20% off from lead time to customers and increased the Inventory turns to over 50! Senior Industrial Engineer Allied-Signal Aerospace Co. 1982-1990 (Started as Associate Engineer) Assignments included Work Analysis, Continuous Flow, Estimating, N/C Machine Cycles, Value Engineering. Accomplishments: Over 6 years of experience in medium to heavy machining, plating, painting, assembly, plastics, and miniature assembly departments. Cost estimating, process improvements, equipment justification, and continuous flow processes were all in the responsibility of this position. Helped reprogram CNC processes for improved efficiencies. 2 year’s experience in the electrical assembly side of the plant in wiring, potting, surface mount technology, and testing of products. EDUCATION: MBA (Finance and Management , GPA 3.5/4.0) 1986 Rockhurst College, Kansas City, Mo. BSIE - Cleveland State Univ. (GPA 3.2/4.0) 1982. Cooperative Education Program. Professional Engineer, Six Sigma Green Belt, Lean Manufacturing Specialist.
