Walter Herrera Email & Phone Number

Provincia De Antofagasta, Chile

Managua, Nicaragua

• Spearheaded the establishment of teams responsible for quality assurance data collection, corrective actions, quality policies, and internal audit validation and verification.
• Reduced 20% of rework of the tests by coordinating the implementation of statistical process control (SPC).
• Obtained importation permits and customs clearance for several laboratory reagents.
• Increased almost 10 % the customer satisfaction rate by developing a system of complaints and claims.
• Led Lean Manufacturing project reducing 6% of consumables consumption and reducing more than 17% costumer waiting time.

Venezuela

• Provided technical support to the production of over 100,000 MT of Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI).
• Monitored and analyzed key process trends in order to propose and implement corrective actions. Successfully verified the implementation of over 90% of the actions proposed.
• Managed a team of 2 engineers and 3 technicians to evaluate the impact of 5 different types of iron pellets feeding in the productivity of the plant.
• Saved $20K yearly in water and chemical consumption by participating in the investigation, design and implementation of a new water treatment system.

Venezuela

• Assured that the HBI shipments complied with the client specification with a successful rate of 98% over 100 shipments shipped.
• Developed process quality control plans, policies and implemented over 15 operating procedures according to ISO 9001 and ISO 17025 standards.
• Established training program for internal quality personnel and successfully trained more than 50 employees on ISO 9001 and ISO 17025 standards.
• Planned, performed and executed internal audits and recognized as Lead Auditor.
• Provided technical assistance in the ports of Palúa, FMO, Sidor and Venalum, to support the logistics of loading and unloading more than 50 vessels of raw material and product.

Venezuela

• Reduced chemical consumption up to 75% by developing a method to determine the chemical composition of the HBI by XRF and XRD.
• Saved nearly $30K on inventory control by calculating a correlation to estimate the variation of the metallic Fe content of an HBI lot over time.
• Coordinated continuous improvement projects applying Kaizen, RCA, Pareto, statistical methods and data analysis.
• Designed a method to record the traceability of the HBI produced and stored.
• Actively participated in the sub-committee for the inclusion of the DRI (C) in the international maritime solid bulk cargo code (IMSBC) of the international maritime organization (IMO).

Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela

• Participated in the design, schedulling, installation, and commissioning of a new Ferromanganese and Silicomanganese plant.
• Managed a 30 people team that surpassed monthly production goal by an average of 5% five months in a row by adjusting the ratio Fe/C, Mn/C and Si/C of the raw material mix.
• Conducted risk assessment, executed hazard, operability (HAZOP) studies, coordinate and report Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) cases.
• Increased 15% of life spam of the casting ladles by applying statistical process control (SPC).
• Acted as liaison between supervisors and managers and enhanced the flow of information and communications.
• Coordinated and planned inspection, sampling, classification and location activities of more than 80,000 MT of raw material (quartz, coke, coal, manganese).

Specialist, Quality Systems

Chemical Engineer, Chemestry, 3,99 / 5

Activities and Societies: Vice-President of the “Chemical Engineering Center of Students” at Simón Bolívar University, 2001 to 2002