Blake Gifford Email & Phone Number

Sparks, Nv, Us

Reno, Nv, Us

Carson City, Nevada, Us

• Lead Controls Engineer for Redwood's newest recycling factory.• Leading controls design of new equipment to safely and efficiently load new battery types into our recycling process.• Writing and testing PLC logic in Siemens TIA Portal based on peer reviewed controls narratives for new equipment.• Contributing to the Hazard Analysis and P&ID drawings of new equipment.• Reviewing and redlining electrical drawings for new equipment.• Configured, tested and commissioned a Siemens servo drive and Siemens Soft Starters.• Performed factory acceptance tests of an electrical panel and new equipment prior to installation.• Personally selected, ordered, and loop checked 62 new sensors.• Delegating work between myself, two senior level controls engineers, and two controls technicians.• Sustaining equipment through commissioning and handover to production.• Collaborating with several other teams to efficiently integrate new sensors into our system.

Carson City, Nevada, Us

• Lead Controls Engineer for Redwood's newest recycling factory from design through commissioning.• Wrote and tested PLC logic in Siemens TIA Portal based on peer reviewed controls narratives.• Reviewed and redlined electrical drawings for over 20 electrical panels.• Audited P&IDs and ordered over 500 instruments for the plant based on process conditions.• Performed loop checks on over 200 instruments with varying feedback types.• Contributed to a several week long Hazard Analysis to identify and correct potential risks.• Led a People Safety Risk Assessment to reduce hazards for operators.• Worked with vendors to review skids, evaluate bids, and determine signals between PLCs.• Configured communication between several PLCs.• Organized SharePoint and redlining software to keep documents up to date.• This project received Redwood's Innovation Award for 2023.

Carson City, Nevada, Us

• Primary controls team point of contact for Redwood’s recycling plant. Attended daily cross functional meetings, coordinated projects, and documented project progress through completion.• Controls lead for an infeed system to a proprietary piece of equipment that significantly decreased process time. • Wrote, tested, and implemented ladder logic in Siemens TIA Portal to include safety hardware, varying IO types, and IR cameras.• Developed HMI’s for system control that provide clear information for workers and historize data for troubleshooting.• Installed and integrated barcode scanners to document product consumption. This project’s completion was vital to solidifying developing business partnerships.

Hawthorne, California, Us

• Project lead for commissioning, troubleshooting, and validating all controls of a 3 axis dispense robot to increase production and protect key electrical components in extreme thermal conditions• Designed, sourced, and integrated multiple electrical panels and pneumatic systems that increased production by 50% for an existing workstation• Developed and tested code within TwinCAT to trigger a barcode scanner, collect and package the data for part tracking, and significantly reduce the scope of work of an operator• Further refined my understanding of the Tesla State Machine code structure• Developed and tested the dispense robot’s Safety Project within the TwinCAT Environment• Documented lessons learned on Confluence to reduce roadblocks on future robot commissioning to reduce timeline for future projects• Installed robot dress packages on ABB robots to protect electrical and pneumatic wiring from their end effectors. Updated the design, sourced parts, and developed inventory system for future installs

Austin, Texas, Us

• Project lead for 1/3 new conveyance lines responsible for increasing production of a product by 50%• Led the integration checklist completion for all three new lines of conveyance during FAT at vendor• Documented availability data for all 3 conveyance lines and reported key faults to target each week• Responsible for increasing availability at this new conveyance line to 99% within one month• Solved punch list items and troubleshot issues from FAT to start of production • Integrated Alarm History page in HMI for all conveyance lines to log fault data for 30 days• Wrote an Equipment Module (EM) sequence at a conveyance infeed of empty/rejected pallets• Designed and implemented mechanical fix to clean the track path of moving conveyance line• Integrated a tote check stand that scans RFIDs on flagged totes and displays reason for fault on HMI• Created standard operation docs, safety layouts and led training sessions for handover to production• Developed RFQ cost comparison document to highlight key differences in vendor proposals for a new project• Created and developed the Ignition project for a new product storage and conveyance system• Designed flowcharts based on conveyance layout to assist in programming new product storage and conveyance system • Oversaw overnight install of Mezzanine to allow access to overhead conveyance• Installed crossover to enable production and maintenance access to a conveyance line• Coordinated installation of bollards for long term protection of the conveyance

Austin, Texas, Us

• Designed, programmed, and published 5 interactive screens within Ignition to display the status of conveyors and the locations of pallets• Designed, constructed, and published Ignition screens for 3 systems showing the daily fault count at each conveyor group allowing us to prioritize high fault areas• Designed, fabricated, and installed camera mounts used to monitor locations with high faults for RCA and time savings• Rewrote Visual Basic code in four robot cells to limit/grant access based on credentials used to log in• Constructed logic in 120+ RS Logix 5000 programs to confirm communication between PLC's through the use of produced and consumed tags. Displaying this information in Ignition• Successfully programmed email notifications in Ignition: sent when defined PLC conditions are met• Created a standard template for fault recovery procedures to reduce downtime. Currently used across 2 departments• Reconfigured controller paths of 60 PLC programs within Siemens Step 7• RS Logix 5000 troubleshooting and programming certification• Arc Flash Training (NFPA 70A)

Plano, Tx, Us

• Project Lead for two material conversions that led to minimal downtime at startup and savings of over $350,000/year• Eliminated two sealer defects per Highlander and reduced overall sealer usage by trialing the need for area specific sealer coverage• Designing, prototyping, and fabricating components using AutoDesk Inventor• Re-worked ladder logic in a PLC using RSLogix 5000 determine cost savings and minimize unnecessary spending• Constructed and programmed several safety circuits to ensure the well being of team members• Designed, constructed, and programmed a variable frequency drive trainer for new team members• Designed quality focused body panel overlays to help decrease defects and increase team member productivity by reducing downtime• Reworked electrical drawings using AutoCAD• Introduction to Kawasaki and Universal Robot programming• Toyota Production System (TPS/Lean Manufacturing) and Toyota Business Practice training• Learned the value of understanding the needs of your customer/team members• Developed a kaizen based mindset

• Job shadowed Steve Strope as he and his team fully restored classic muscle cars• Learned the fundamentals of car restoration, wiring, and engine rebuilds• Witnessed how to bore the engine of a 1965 Mustang GT and the basics of wiring air conditioning units

• Designed a new layout for the tire inventory in order to increase productivity and efficiency• Cleaned the display room, the shop, and many of the tools used by the mechanics

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Mechatronics And Robotics Engineering Technology

Diploma