Dave Nicol Email and Phone Number

Quality Engineer -Retired

Manage and continuously improve the quality system to ensure compliance to all ISO and customer standards. Conduct internal quality audits and provided reporting to executive staff. Maintain and update all internal and external documentation as needed to insure procedures are current and represent the process being followed. Administer the RMA process and conduct all failure analysis of returned materials and provide final reports to the customer upon closure of the event. Established… Show more Manage and continuously improve the quality system to ensure compliance to all ISO and customer standards. Conduct internal quality audits and provided reporting to executive staff. Maintain and update all internal and external documentation as needed to insure procedures are current and represent the process being followed. Administer the RMA process and conduct all failure analysis of returned materials and provide final reports to the customer upon closure of the event. Established a vendor monitoring and quality rating system that allowed the implementation of a dock to stock program for all qualified production material. Manage the supplier corrective action system to insure prompt actions are taken when issues are identified. Actively manage the introduction of new materials and suppliers into the manufacturing process through the coordination of the purchasing, engineering and production to insure that all materials meet all required standards prior to introduction into manufacturing. Perform the final review of all orders prior to release for shipment to insure that all documents are correct and the product meets all the customer requirements. Show less

Reduced lifetime vacuum warranty return rate by 80% through 8D analysis of existing systems and processes. Instituted multiple process improvements resulting in a $100K per year warranty cost reduction. Managed and continuously improved overall quality system to ensure compliance to ISO standards. Conducted internal quality audits and provided monthly/quarterly reporting to executive staff. Established continuous improvement in key quality metrics by the product/process quality… Show more Reduced lifetime vacuum warranty return rate by 80% through 8D analysis of existing systems and processes. Instituted multiple process improvements resulting in a $100K per year warranty cost reduction. Managed and continuously improved overall quality system to ensure compliance to ISO standards. Conducted internal quality audits and provided monthly/quarterly reporting to executive staff. Established continuous improvement in key quality metrics by the product/process quality dashboard including First Pass Yield, Initial Product Acceptance, and Warranty Rates. Managed improvement projects such as corrective/preventive action and material review board. Actively managed the Supplier Quality program though supplier audits and monitored the quality levels of incoming materials and resolved quality issues. Administered the application of the customer complaint management process and insured timely resolutions to meet the customer needs and expectations. Provided support and leadership during new product introductions, defined validation testing when required and ensured the attainment of key quality deliverables and targets. Show less

Developed and instituted document control system for control and distribution of all quality system documentation throughout North American operations. Established approved supplier process with active monitoring of quality, delivery and service to insure compliance with NSG quality system requirements. Co-administered quality management system to achieve ISO-9001-2000 certification. Identified improper manufacturing techniques and implemented corrective actions leading through… Show more Developed and instituted document control system for control and distribution of all quality system documentation throughout North American operations. Established approved supplier process with active monitoring of quality, delivery and service to insure compliance with NSG quality system requirements. Co-administered quality management system to achieve ISO-9001-2000 certification. Identified improper manufacturing techniques and implemented corrective actions leading through the application of 8D principles to overall yield improvements of 25% in GRIN lens manufacturing process as well as reduced manufacturing waste and lowered product cost. Champion of RMA/CAR cycle time reduction through streamlining of procedures to eliminate redundant activities. Conducted adhesion testing of manufacturing epoxies used by optical manufacturers, resulting in selection of improved material whose environmental testing results exceed Telecordia requirements for telecommunication equipment. Show less

Eliminated $6 million in manufacturing expenses over 2 years as Lucent's representative to industry standards organizations, influenced upgrades of industry-wide manufacturing specifications and standards. Resulted in Lucent-specific manufacturing requirements migrated to upgraded global standards. Authored exception documents for economy with no sacrifice of quality. Enabled complete flexibility in selecting international manufacturers. Achieved 90% reduction in number of documents required… Show more Eliminated $6 million in manufacturing expenses over 2 years as Lucent's representative to industry standards organizations, influenced upgrades of industry-wide manufacturing specifications and standards. Resulted in Lucent-specific manufacturing requirements migrated to upgraded global standards. Authored exception documents for economy with no sacrifice of quality. Enabled complete flexibility in selecting international manufacturers. Achieved 90% reduction in number of documents required for circuit pack assembly. Process Manager and author of specifications and standards for Lucent-based circuit pack assemblies. Led audit teams, assessed technological capability and output capacity, and assigned performance grades to contract manufacturers. Identified false negative testing caused 20% increase in failure rates of DSL modems produced by an offshore contract manufacturer. Specified new instrumentation and software that enabled supplier to meet reliability objectives. Principal investigator for product returns of Business Communications Systems Division. Created first database for data mining of failure analysis records. Traced 95% of all failures to 10 specific components. Conducted detailed audits of circuit pack manufacturing processes worldwide to establish baseline levels on 60 assembly lines. Compiled and combined this global data together for the first time. Discovered statistically valid parameters for component body temperature during assembly. Established criteria based upon package sizes and negotiated adoption of conditions into industry standard J-STD-020 on moisture sensitivity. Solely responsible for evaluating cause of failures in recently installed network equipment. Expeditious implementation of successful solution avoided substantial regulatory fines and lawsuits. Conducted manufacturing simulations, resulting in annual cost savings of $4 million. Show less