In 2010 Sawbones ownership was handed over to the employees, gifted to them graciously by the company founders Foss Miller and Denzil Miller. As part of this transition I stepped into a leadership role as Production Manager. I was also appointed to our board of directors that oversees our ESOP. This was a steep learning curve from my engineering roots and I have immersed myself in training and leadership programs to support this transition. I have 16 direct reports (11 supervisors, 3 planners/schedulers and 2 engineers) and I am responsible for a production workforce of roughly 120 employees. With roughly 12,000 active part numbers to manufacture my initial efforts focused on video SOP's for every production part so we can consistently build the highest quality parts. I also developed and implemented an organizational plant wide bin system, coined FIMMPT, to keep track of Fixtures, Inserts, Molds, Materials and any special Tools required to build the product. The video SOP's and the FIMMPT system were both integrated into our ERP system for ease of access. Great accessible instructions (video monitors at every work station) and being able to efficiently find what you need to build the product has provided a great foundation that will allow for future growth. In 2016 I completed an intensive lean practitioner program. This education opened my eyes and gave me the knowledge and the tools to take our plant to the next level. With good standards and an organizational system in place my teams focus has shifted to flow, pull systems, inventory reduction and waste elimination. Developing my supervisors to be a high functioning team to drive this change has been my primary focus. Teaching and continuous improvement programs coupled with metric driven operations have provided the clarity we need to drive this company forward by reducing lead time, building in quality, and decreasing our cost. It has been a remarkable journey so far, and we are just getting warmed up!

I strive to stay up to date on the latest manufacturing methods and materials to improve the products I design by keeping costs low and reduce the time to market. I have managed the growth of our machine shop to a production department that now operates 6 cnc machines on two shifts and contributes 2 million in annual sales. I have focused on 5S and creating systems to help our successful company build a strong foundation for future growth. Quality products that exceed the customers’ expectations are what I strive for.

Develop customer specific medical models for workshop, training and display purposes. This involves working directly with customers to bring their visions to life from conception through production. Functionality, durability, cost, tactile and visual appeal is the foundation for my design efforts. Most products are completely manufactured in house on tight timelines. This involves knowledge of a wide range of materials and how they are processed. I use parametric and freeform modeling, 3D laser scanning, rapid prototyping, injection molding, vacuum forming and machining technologies to reach the end goal.

In this position I wore many hats, including machinist, maintenance support, material development, machine design and product design. Highlights include the highly profitable implementation of our first cnc router. I developed a class of large cell structure polyurethane foams to mimic cancellous bone. I also worked on the development of our 4th generation composite which mimics cortical bone. These products have gone unchanged since development and have become the benchmark for biomechnical orthopedic testing worldwide.

Worked on a process for molding and finishing composite rifle stocks. This new process involved molding in a camouflage pattern underneath the fiberglass reinforcement. I was involved in every aspect of development and production which included molding, fitting, paint and finishing.

This was production work while out of college for the summer. Silk screening involved setup and sequencing of proper artwork, selecting proper inks, screen maintenance and quality inspections. Molding involved layup of varying types of fiberglass in proper sequence, wetting out with polyester resin and loading parts into heated hydraulic presses for curing.