Andy Holton Email & Phone Number

I am an experienced, innovative and respected freelance engineer and manager. Following positions embracing hardware and software design, safety and reliability, engineering management and business development, I have been an independent freelancer for approaching 25 years. I have developed long-term relationships with organisations across Europe, North America and Asia, gaining experience with multiple markets and applications.I am an expert in the fields of design assurance and safety, but these disciplines do not represent the limits of my expertise. While recognising the necessity of formal processes, I focus on being innovative, efficient, effective and pragmatic to achieve meaningful results. I relish a challenge and strive for success within my specialist areas as well as within broader and commercial environments.My problem-solving abilities (including root cause analysis) are widely acknowledged. I recognise the technical and psychological aspects and, whether working alone or in a team, I rigorously establish facts, eliminate unjustified assumptions and mitigate confirmation bias. I can process considerable amounts of information and I will find your “smoking bullet”.I have evolved unique methods, initially based on HALT, for design verification of systems to reveal design errors undetected or undetectable by other formal and costly processes. I have saved countless companies the cost, loss of image and consequences of having latent design errors in their products.I have performed pioneering work on the effects of neutron radiation on systems, including how effects can be qualified and quantified, a subject which has frustrated many. The approach I adopt combines technical detail with pragmatism to yield meaningful, cost-effective solutions acceptable to all parties.I am a good communicator in all forms. I advocate open and honest discussion when appropriate, while ensuring a more restrained and diplomatic approach when the situation demands. I coach and lead teams through difficult processes such as external audits. I am sensitive to the varying cultures and working practices encountered as we move around the world.Most of my relationships are based on task-oriented rather than time-oriented agreements, thus providing you with cost control and risk sharing, including the flexibility to adjust schedules according to their needs without costly contract extensions. Agreements are from a few days to years, and I am available to companies when they need me, and I am not a burden when they do not. Let’s talk!