SUMMARY

• Leads implementation of organization - wide lean initiatives involving cross-functional teams and stakeholders
• Champions a continuous improvement culture and transforming how work is executed
• Experienced leader of internal audit program that enhanced process compliance and improvement

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Confidential - East Hartford, CT

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - Quality Assurance

Responsibilities:

• Conducted benchmarking activities to capture best practices for specific processes, reporting results and recommended continuous improvement (CI) activities to management and stakeholders
• Assessed current state of lean tools and methods by interviewing users about current standard work (SW) usage to get the “voice of customer” for input into the organization-wide SW process design
• Challenged behavior of groups using unique work instructions for the same process and championed uniform instructions used by all groups for the same process
• Led the creation and implementation of an organization-wide, uniform standard work (SW) process that captured the “best approach” to execute specific tasks and processes, completed the roll-out of SW and supported integrating it into existing quality tools
• Created and executed a communication plan for the new standard work (SW) process to build awareness, close gaps, minimize resistance and enhance engagement with the SW culture change
• Led a coalition of experts/stakeholders to navigate organizational issues impacting standard work (SW) adoption
• Conducted periodic meetings with exec sponsors to maintain alignment & breakdown barriers to change
• Created and distributed standard work (SW) templates and writing process directions to guide cross-functional teams writing SW content
• Trained key staff from each management group to adopt/use the standard work (SW) process in their groups and to be influencers who engaged their peers to use the centralized SW process
• Gathered user feedback to drive standard work (SW) process improvements and to report on levels of SW use to management
• Conducted lunch & learn sessions to discuss lean concepts

SR. MANAGER

Responsibilities:

• Partnered with group managers to create a list of productivity projects that achieved organizational performance goals flowed down from leadership (Roadmap or Hoshin Planning)
• Reviewed the productivity project list/goals with staff and provided feedback (i.e., catchball) to leadership which resulted in goal and project modification to improve alignment
• Organized and managed cross-functional teams to implement a portfolio of lean & continuous improvement (CI) initiatives that increased key metric values on the organizational performance control tower
• Tracked and managed implementation of proposed improvements from continuous improvement (CI) events, reporting CI integration progress with gap/issue closure plans
• Led process mapping events that guided cross-functional teams to capture actual process steps, required handoffs, identify inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement
• Used and distributed a Supplier-Input-Process-Output-Customer (SIPOC) planning tool to improve process owners’ understanding of their customers, suppliers and the quality/type of data they needed and produced
• Accountable for access/use of an online turnback tool by each group in the organization, enrolling staff and coaching them on using the tool, then tracking/reporting on tool use to ensure that engagement target was met
• Championed continuous improvement (CI) culture by engaging groups to Pareto their turnback data and identify high-impact issues, then conduct kaizen events to select and implement proposed improvements for these issues
• Facilitated value stream mapping (VSM) events that led teams to streamline their processes by eliminating waste, redundancies and turnbacks which improved process throughput and 1st time quality
• Created and distributed VSM facilitator tools and provided “shadowing” opportunities/guidance for new practitioners
• Facilitated kaizen/lean events for cross-functional teams to guide/coach them in the proficient use of lean tools (SIPOC, Process Map, Pareto Chart, Cause & Effect/Fishbone Diagram, 5-Why/RRCA, Solution Selection Matrix) and provided coaching/follow-up to ensure successful completion of lean projects
• Reported successful improvement projects to management and recognized team members and practitioners driving improvements (team celebrations and bonus awards)
• Created and presented lean success stories to management that demonstrated the value of lean projects
• Accountable focal for creating lean solutions for assigned management problems/issues

PROJECT MANAGER

Confidential

Responsibilities:

• Collaborated with group leadership to create a management dashboard/control tower and was the accountable focal point to track metrics and report the organization’s performance against business objectives
• Led a 4-person team onshore and oversaw the work of an offshore development team to manage an organization-wide standard work tool for 4000+ users globally
• Partnered with group reps to understand the “voice of customer” and gathered requested application updates, which improved system productivity and user experience, into a prioritized list of improvement projects
• Created and managed the master project plan, development budget, risk plan and contingency plan to assure application improvements were implemented to meet user expectations and delivered within time and budget
• Worked closely with the project team and group reps to execute application testing, problem resolution and pre-rollout communications to ensure user awareness and to improve application rollout success
• Created and periodically presented project communications to organization stakeholders on project status, deliverables and cost
• Implemented over $1 Mil in application improvements and increased customer satisfaction by 25%
• Integrated the group’s productivity achievements into a detailed presentation and successfully led the team to pass a high-stakes, management performance assessment
• Recruited, developed and trained a group of lean tool power users who will be focal points for their groups to (1) encourage adoption of the lean tool, (2) answer questions and provide basic training for their peers, and (3) flow down the latest information about their lean tool
• Accountable for tracking/reporting staff training levels and devising strategies to grow staff use of lean tools