Frank — Automation Engineer

I am a very dedicated, safety minded, self motivated, professional that loves to take on technical challanges with a silver lined attitude. I have always accepted any certificate learning and college courses that any company had to offer me throughout my career which has made quite a collection.

I started with building Trades in high school with my interest in electrical. From there I entered the navy and studied ET in A school.

After the navy I entered the work force as a Electrical maintenace Apprentace in the plasticextrusion Industry presuing my electrical Lic. in Michigan also had classes in pneumatics, hydraulics andmachine repair. I then worked for a Electrical contractor for several years in industrial and comericial wiring enthused by automation I then went to work in 1985 for PICO /wisne now called "comu" automation in Detroit, MI. as an electrical build leader and lock out tag out trainer. Here I attended all of rockwell automation classes learning AB drives, plc, hmi programming to be a installation tech.along with multi other platforms.modicon,semiens plcs kaw,abb,kuka and fanuc robots,automated weld guns,spray brazing and adheasive applications. invalled in a lot of conceptial automation robot adapters and clamping devices with out side vendors.

I then became an automation tech Launching every large truck for Chrysler, Ford and GM from 85 to 99 learning to followand applying NAAMS standards and safety regulations. While working as a contractor at ford KTP plant installing the Exscursion project I was asked by PICO to take on a kit job in the truck body shop that went sour do to bad field checks for the project. I was able to re cad the cell to make it functional for the plant. After that I was offered a job at KTP which I took in 99. I worked there as white collar for 10 yrs as a Maintenance supervisor the the first CAR supervisor I was then laid off as south east plants were closed. I moved forward by moving to the distellery buisness doing e&I work installing the first instrigicly safe semeins PLC in the US, Learning more about process control work.This spiked a new interest for sure. Seeking a job in the same field I went to work for BASF as an I&E tech. after my first year I was moved to senior I & E tech. While working for BASF I had to be involved in many project design work from controls to instumentation specs I was also on 3 of BASF's North American community of exspertise groups ( controls, electrical installation and maintenance reliability) to help write standards and challange euorpean standards put out that did not align with the US EPA and OSHA. I worked on new plant designs with Boeing engineers in Houston TX at NASA Boeing field house engineering. reviewing specing devices and standards. review and challange PID's PFD's and Safety modeling. for a large project that I cannot name do to disclossure rights. It was a great feeling to challange DR engineers on miss aplications and doing battle to adhear to BASF standards having no formal college education and winning those battles. After a management change I was made a maintenance supervisor this took me away from the enginering side of the buisness. It was during this time that I grew flustered by reporting fixes that were needed to deaf ears and the scutiny after catastrphic breakdowns on the same equipment that was reported for repair needs. It was at this time I was found on Linkin by a former operations manager which talked to me about starting my own consulting buisness to work for agspring. I was contracted to review electrical and mechicanical reliability along with plant safety regulations, get bids for repairs, track and manage the contractor accounts. Buy safety equipment, work with CEO and VPof agspring, regional VP of operations, plant managment, and operators on safety culture and reliable maintenance and electrical safe70e training to prepare them for the 2018 harvest.

On a personal note I have a wife of 34 yrs and 4 grown professional children, I have a small horse farm in KY(Arabs and Saddle breds trained in dressage). I have wrestling most of my life from 6 yrs old to present, multi state champ I am a,national,and international many time all american in Greco, freestyle,folkstyle, beach and sombo.I have been involved and lead training at the olympic training center for grass root olympanians. I have studied multi martial arts including sombo, muoy thai, jujutzu,judo just to name a few. I have coached both wrestling and MMA over the years.I have raced front engine dragsters for many years and I enjoy taking my 71 vette to car shows when I have time and I am home.

My biggest pet peave is an HMI or SQL data base that Have everyday reacurring alarms that just get dismissed and not finding the root cause. At all locations I have worked I found most of them to be years old of bad programming or miss application of deviced or instuments that were just delt with by flustrated operators,management, maintenance and engineers.

My beliefs you cannot put multi band-aids on an automation system or equipment and not follow up with root cause analis without exspecting a catostrophic breakdown causing chaos for the whole plant and management.