Brian Meiners Email & Phone Number

Walnut Creek, California, Us

Responsible for all functions of a manufacturing site with over 120 team members. Team development and engagement has resulted in improved safety, quality, delivery, and operating efficiency. The facility operates at or below budgeted costs. The leadership team operates with a systematic improvement process to prioritize opportunities and execute the specific actions with the broader team to realize the benefits.

The Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center, CBTECH, serves 11 school districts in central Washington State. We introduce students to technical and vocational skills and trades. As the Pre-Engineering Teacher, I introduce students to the many Engineering disciplines in preparation for their college experiences. We work with design software, 3D Printers, Robotics, CNC Programming, and more. Engineering is about creative problem solving and this program prepares students to work collaboratively as a team to work the problem!

Moses Lake, Wa, Us

Responsible for the Academic Program, Faculty & Staff, Facilities, and Finances of Moses Lake Christian Academy (MLCA), with over 200 students enrolled from Pre-School to 12th Grade. MLCA is a member of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) and serves the northern Columbia Basin in central Washington State as a learning community in which Jesus Christ is glorified through academic excellence, servant leadership and community service. The MLCA faculty and staff provide quality Christ-centered education in partnership with the home and church that prepares students as lifelong learners to fulfill the Great Commission in diverse vocations with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.

Portland, Or, Us

Responsible for Operations, Procurement, Distribution & Logistics, and Quality Systems. Seven direct reports responsible for 160 team members and up to 100 temporary employees in season. Reduced direct labor unit cost by 15% in first year by implementation of time-based standards to monitor and improve shop floor execution.  Acquired new talent to lead Procurement resulting in over $500,000 direct material cost reduction first year and the development of a robust, prioritized opportunity pipeline for further savings.  Redesigned organization to eliminate one layer of supervision in Operations while acquiring new talent for shift leadership.

Walnut Creek, California, Us

 Selected specifically by President to lead the top priority company initiative of 2010, new product innovation. Recognized by company ownership as “the right person for the job.” Hired, developed, and led an eight-person multi-disciplined Innovation Team: Culinary, Consumer Insights, Finance, Marketing, and Project Management. Led the team to develop an Innovation process that encompassed all aspects of innovation from creative stimulus to idea generation to project execution.  Prepared creative presentations to update Ownership Board, Executives, and other company leaders. Led creative product and process ideation sessions to drive cross-functional involvement in this critical company initiative.

Walnut Creek, California, Us

 Responsible for leading the production planning team of two professionals to improve planning processes and associated software systems.  Implemented a Sales & Operations Planning process that improved communication between Supply Chain and Marketing/Sales staffs resulting in improved forecasting and planning processes.  During this period, also led a cross-functional, multi-location team to identify opportunities for input cost reduction. Team identified more than $8 million dollars of opportunity over five years and initiated functional follow-up teams to capture savings.

Walnut Creek, California, Us

 Responsible for refrigerated foods manufacturing facility in Portland, Oregon (200 – 300 employees depending on time of year). Selected specifically by Executive leadership to lead the integration of company cultures and implement Lean manufacturing discipline. Improved plant efficiency through Lean principles resulting in $750,000 annualized savings. Improved employee safety resulting in over $500,000 annualized savings. Led the management team to create an employee-supportive environment and culture. Defeated a tenacious union campaign in two separate votes reflecting the confidence and trust the employees now placed in management. Employee turnover declined from over 100% to less than 30% reflecting a significant improvement in plant morale. Led plant team to successfully gain Safe Quality Foods (SQF) Level 2 certification to meet Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) requirements. Gained familiarity with USDA and FDA refrigerated foods regulations and built responsible relationships with compliance officers and their supervisors. Greatly improved plant sanitation program as recognized by compliance officers.

Walnut Creek, California, Us

 Responsible for food processing facilities in Moses Lake, Washington (90 Employees) and Plover, Wisconsin (150 Employees). Cost management, employee development, safety, sanitation, continuous improvement, and community relations were primary responsibilities.  Mentored a new Plant Manager for the Wisconsin facility with no disruption in plant performance.  Successfully led a corporate team to eliminate paper-based performance appraisal process and replace with an efficient and time-saving web-based performance management system. System still in use. Member of corporate teams for energy conservation, pandemic flu planning, and SCADA systems.

Walnut Creek, California, Us

 Responsible for the Moses Lake, Washington facility. After 1999, led the repositioning of the facility from a 200+ employee workforce to less than 100 due to market-driven adjustments that required part of the plant to be permanently shut down.  Achieved over $1,500,000 annualized savings by continuous efficiency improvement and staff development. Plant consistently outperformed other company facilities in safety, quality, and cost.  Led corporate cross-functional, multi-location teams dealing with productivity improvement, raw material conversion efficiency, and MRO Storeroom operation improvement. Led union contract negotiations every three years, executing strategic changes to the contract that improved management’s position while leading the supervision staff to support the employees, making the union unnecessary. Employees considered de-unionizing but lacked employee leadership to execute the necessary process with the National Labor Relations Board.

Walnut Creek, California, Us

 Responsible for Production, Packaging and Warehouse operations in the Washington facility.  Strengthened the Operations team by accountability, training, and an empowering management style. Team member of a cross-functional, multi-location team focused on Supply Chain process redesign in 1995; Team Leader in 1996. The team was charged with redesigning business processes and implementing ERP software to support the redesigned processes. Recognized by management for exemplary team leadership resulting in promotion to Plant Manager and other leadership roles

Walnut Creek, California, Us

Responsible for operation and process improvements of the refried bean process in both the Washington and Wisconsin facilities. Provided teams with Statistical Process Control (SPC) training as well as implementation of a database for process data collection to facilitate reporting and SPC.

Walnut Creek, California, Us

Responsible as the primary technical contact person for bean customers, most notably, Taco Bell. Appointed Continuous Improvement Team Chair in Washington facility, leading and training cross-functional teams for efficiency, quality, and safety improvement.

Walnut Creek, California, Us

Entry position, responsible for shift team leadership.

Bachelors, Chemical Engineering

Courses Toward A Master'S Degree, Theology And Religious Vocations

Courses Toward A Master Of Divinity (M.Div.), Theology/Theological Studies