Steve Shields Email & Phone Number

Lubbock, Texas Area

Part of the JCI Building Technologies & Solutions fire suppression products engineering group located at the Research & Development facility located in Cranston, Rhode Island.

Lubbock, Texas

Specify, cost justify, procure, and implement capital equipment and automated systems for the purpose of facilitating manufacturing operations, reducing production costs, and improving product quality.Conceive and design equipment and tooling, achieving novel solutions for challenging manufacturing applications.Serve as member of a product development team, representing the interests and perspective of the manufacturer.

Lubbock, Texas

Directed a staff of five in the design, development, fabrication and implementation of automation equipment and systems for the support of a custom plastic injection molding manufacturing operation.Designed custom automation equipment for support of plastic injection molding manufacturing such as robot end-of-arm tooling, part accumulating stackers, automated mold insert loaders, vision system inspection equipment, and automated secondary operations equipment of various types.Specified, cost justified, procured, and implemented, primary and secondary plastic injection molding equipment including: presses, ultrasonic welders, pad printers, robots, sprue pickers, dryers, and grinders.Led a team tasked with reorganizing plant wide manufacturing and support operations, grouping like product for most efficient operations. Designed and managed the construction of power, cooling water, and material supply utility runs to enable expansion of molding operations. Designed and managed the construction of a centralized mold maintenance and support facility. Designed the manufacturing operations layout for a new facility in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Lubbock, Texas

Managed the operation of two welding departments and one machine shop department totaling 62 workers making components and welded assemblies for heavy construction equipment, Caterpillar brand paddle wheel tractor-scrapers and forklifts.Coordinated production operations with both internal suppliers and customers.Participated in the procurement of two large CNC machining centers.Identified suitable major weldment subassemblies for manufacturing transfer to company facility located in Acuna, Mexico and managed these moves. Traveled to Acuna on two occasions as part of these projects.

Las Cruces, New Mexico

Instructor for Manufacturing Processes lab course. Taught hands-on methods of metal working such as manual and CNC machining, sand casting, and welding to mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, and engineering technology students. Taught students the use of precision measuring tools and techniques such as micrometers, vernier and dial calipers, telescoping gauges, and proper use of digital readout instruments on various machine tools. Taught this lab three semesters in the Engineering Technology Department’s machine shop learning lab. Designed and developed a sports wheelchair as a project for students to build in this course. Project enabled teaching students a broad spectrum of fabrication and manufacturing related skills such as various metal fabrication techniques, welding, machining, sewing, painting, and assembly. Under my tutelage, students made 21 of these sports wheelchairs over the course of two semesters. Wheelchairs were donated to a charitable organization and used for playing wheelchair basketball.Supervised the safe use of the Engineering Technology machine shop and all its equipment for various student projects. Construction of a vehicle for competition in the Society of Automotive Engineer’s Mini-Baja program was one such student project I was responsible for.

Las Cruces, New Mexico

Taught in the Welding Technology Program for a total of three semesters. Instructed three classes time: Print Reading for Welders, Math for Welders, and Basic Machining. The basic machining course curriculum mirrored the lab I taught to engineering students during this same time period. Utilizing the same NMSU College of Engineering, Engineering Technology machine shop and teaching students hands-on use of machine and precision measuring tools during the course of construction of a project.