Eric — Senior Engineering Leader

Directed a team of 31 mechanical and controls engineers, 2 project managers, with technical oversight for 5 support engineers, in developing distribution center and order fulfillment mechanical and controls systems architecture, hardware and software development, mechanical installation, startup, and long-term support management. Manages the full scope of project lifecycles, including budget management, project planning, team recruiting and onboard, and client executive engagement. Oversees distribution center support for legacy systems and ongoing change management for 19 clients across food and beverage, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, retail, chemical, medical, and apparel industries. Restructured project management of 18 logistics and automation installations valued between $500K-$105M: Spearheaded requirements for the controls software, HMI systems, and PLC software to be developed, completed, and tested prior to scheduled customer site work, reducing time onsite by 50% and streamlining the system installation, factory acceptance test, and system startup processes. Defined and documented customer and project team responsibilities prior to onsite project kickoff; implemented milestone check ins and change management procedures to avoid project delays. Initiated Controls team and HMI Development team involvement beginning in the project quoting process; earlier involvement capitalized on efficiencies and reduced development time from 16-20 weeks to 10-12 weeks. Expanded a singular Siemens offering to a hardware-based Siemens and an Allen Bradley PLC solution to better meet client needs and facilitate easier upgrades while providing the cleanest solution with minimal staff requirements. Standardized visual interface across both solutions and allowed for system modernization across legacy and new facilities through development of HMI visualization system using Inductive Automations Ignition HMI package. Spearheaded controls system development and startup support for Tompkins Robotics t-Sort™ sortation systems, as well as developed a hybrid t-Sort™ sortation systems and conventional conveyor distribution systems.

Orlando, FL Led systems design and project management across multiple projects valued between $18M-$27M for several international theme park companies, including Universal Studios. Directed team of 5 electrical/mechanical engineers creating both wired and wireless CIP safety protocols for Autonomous Guided Vehicles transporting riders in a dark ride environment. Engineered the coordination of multiple control systems, leveraging extensive knowledge of automotive and aerospace industry safety standards to meet client organization's creative intent while ensuring regulatory compliance. Documented system designs, data flows, and interfaces. Spearheaded development of redundant onboard and offboard controls systems, which became the new core system offering of the company; the new system was developed to meet strict safety requirements by creating multiple interacting control systems with accuracy and outcomes nearly equivalent to SIL 3 safety protocols.

Owner/Project Manager, Controls, Robotics, and Process Engineering Led robotic focused engineering engagements with client organizations. Partnered with client executives and engineering teams to define functional specifications and desired business outcomes and designed custom engineering solutions to support client operations. Boeing Company (2009-2015) Systems engineering architect from prototype to production ready automated robotic paint process for painting commercial airline fleet. Led team of 11 engineers, providing expertise in safety system design, controls architecture, robotics paint programming, and HMI development for 8 paint hangars in Washington and South Carolina valued at $65M each Co-developed and patented production system for robotic surface preparation and robotic surface riveting Supported mobile automated assembly using indoor GPS for dispatch and navigation, localized vision for process development, and modified Automated Guided Vehicles. Managed Boeing Research & Technology robotics development using FANUC, ABB, and Kuka systems. Excel North America (2009) Performed Allen Bradley PLC5 program upgrades from robotic gun to bell painting process methodologies, creating a more standardized process resulting in 22% cycle time reduction and 3.2m uniform paint film thickness across the surface Managed all HMI changes using Visual Basic 6.0 for display, monitoring, and control of FANUC robots. Altivity Packaging (2009) Increased carton assembly process and product packaging by 62%, driving additional $1.3M in revenue within 6 months through spearheading ABB robot installation and s4C programming integrated to the existing Allen Bradley SLC PLC and associated hardware; as well as Allen Bradley Panelview 1000 upgrades for control and interface operations.

Milan, Italy Provided international project management services for automotive paint shop operations at Egypt General Motors Corporation and Iranian Motors in Iran. Managed team of 3 installation engineers. Managed 14-month, $18M paint automation equipment installation and commissioning in Egypt; coordinated the startup between Italian operations and Egypt satellite office for process and part transfer. Spearheaded process changes for new equipment installation in Iran, improving product quality and increasing production efficiency by 38% through focusing on paint application process cycle time reduction, mechanical and electrical modifications, performed all robotic programming for ABB IRB5400 paint robots, HMI upgrades, and conveyor programming.

GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION – Various Locations 1995-2008 Manager, Paint Controls Execution Project Team (2005-2008) Served as subject matter expert in robotic dispensing and painting equipment and lead safety system design engineer, supporting the Paint Controls Group within the Conveyor, Controls, Robotics, and Welding (CCRW) division. Managed and coordinated all installation of robotic dispensing applications across 11 plants in North America, South America, and Europe over a 2-year period. Projects valued between $3.4 – $6.5M. Selected as project manager and controls engineer for the GM Gravatai Brazil Paintshop throughput increase project, increasing production throughput from 45 to 53 vehicles an hour. Directed process evaluation, asset procurement, mechanical and electrical cell modifications, performed all robotic programming changes, and HMI changes. Senior Manufacturing Engineer (2002-2005) Managed 5 engineers across installation and production operations for all GM North America, Canada, and Mexico Truck and Car facilities. Served as lead controls engineer for installation and startup of 92 new painting and dispensing robots in 4 locations over a 3-year period. Projects valued between $5M - $16M. Worked closely with GM Opel, located in Germany, to consolidate Paint, Body Shop, and General Assembly mechanical and electrical designs, as well as build cultural bridges between the 2 organizations. Trained all new process engineers and hourly employees in cell operation, programming methodologies, vision training, and debugging techniques. Selected to serve as onsite startup and training team member for GM Joint Ventures in China. Member of the GM Oklahoma City Plant Tornado Recovery Team; brought the facility back to full production in 52 days, leading the production readiness assessment and refurbishment of 32 paint and dispensing robots. Manufacturing Engineer (1998-2002) Served as Site Installation Engineer for robotic paint and dispensing equipment across the Truck organization leading 3 engineers. Supported the installation and startup for robotic dispensing cell in the 8 remaining Truck Paint Shop facilities; created business case justification for the new equipment and layout planning, and provided manpower reduction estimating. Created new backup and restore testing procedures for production equipment, adopted plant wide for all manufacturing areas. Co-authored multiple technical and process documents used to train vendors and new engineering employees, as well as used on bid efforts for the business. Controls Engineer (1995-1998) Served as only robotics engineer for 9 General Motors Truck Group production facilities across North America, Canada, and Mexico totaling 122 robots. Lead engineer for 2 new Paint Shop facilities and developed the HMI interface for the first automated dispensing cell installation within GM.