Methodenexperte für industrielle Problemlösungstechniken

8/2010 – offen

Product design & process quality deployment planning, training, project coaching, tool application workshops at small, medium and large scale industries. Industries included both discrete manufacturing (aerospace, space communication, industrial/motion control) and large batch (automotive, telecom, medical devices, photovoltaic, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, glass bottles). Analysis service for adverse vaccination effects (Frequentistic, Bayesian, Causal Discovery).

Key accomplishments:
Training throughout Europe
> 1070 Design for Six Sigma Green Belt Candidates
> 262 Lean Six Sigma White Belt, Yellow Belt, Green Belt and Black Belt Candidates
> 76 Executives/Business Leaders
> 238 problem solving and prevention projects / workshops

Aus- / Weiterbildung, Datenanalyse, Lean Prozesse, Six sigma

1/2006 – 2/2009

Associate of the European team, reporting to the Managing Director (Luxembourg). Responsible for the development, integration, education and practical application of Lean Six Sigma and Design for Six Sigma methodologies at large-scale companies active in the automotive, aerospace, industrial/motion control, electronics, and medical device industry.

Key accomplishments:
Trained more than 25 executives/business leaders, more than 180 Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and Black Belt Candidates, and more than 330 Design for Six Sigma Green Belt Candidates at various major European companies. Significant business improvements at various companies were achieved by successful coaching of more than 115 problem solving and problem prevention projects.
Successfully managed a multidisciplinary project team at a middle-market German organization with a portfolio of more than 20.000 different products manufactured in 2 different plants and reduced Broken Promises for delivery time from 22% to 10% within 1 year.
Successfully executed Failure Mode Avoidance workshops for a complex gantry of a cardiovascular imaging system (motion control system supplier) during a period of 9 months. The methodology was regarded a breakthrough enhancement to reliability modeling. Challenging project constraints were new engineering learning, new process learning, new tools learning, new cooperation learning and new individual learning.
Successfully executed workshops for Design for Six Sigma deployment planning at a major German car manufacturer. Selected, mapped and integrated DfSS methods into the Product Development System.
Significantly enhanced the practical application of the AIT Design for Six Sigma methodology by developing a meaningful linkage and flow between the methods. Developed and integrated innovative failure mode avoidance disciplines in DfSS. Assisted in the addition of systematic innovation techniques (ARIZ, SIT) and advanced optimization techniques based on the statistical design and analysis of computer experiments (Latin Hypercube DoE, Gaussian Stochastic Kriging, MARS, etc.).

Lean Prozesse, Six sigma, Statistische Versuchsplanung (SVP), Aus- / Weiterbildung

11/2002 – 12/2005

Integrated Black Belt in the Product Development Quality Team (CD-carline).

Key accomplishments:
Trained and mentored the Vehicle Body Engineering Closures Team in the application of Design for Six Sigma methods for a new model program (S-Max/Galaxy/Mondeo) during 3 years and achieved stretched attribute targets for side doors and tailgate.
Delivered over 15 quality disciplines projects, including Supplier Statement of Work, Quality History, DFMEA/Robustness/Reliability Demonstration workshops with suppliers, enhancement and implementation of Design Verification Plans, Design Review moderation. Ford S-Max has won the European Car of the Year 2007 award.
Led a European task force for global Quality Tools Alignment and achieved successful roll-out to engineering.

Karosseriearbeiten, Produkt- / Sortimentsentwicklung, Six sigma

11/2000 – 11/2002

Responsible for leading Six Sigma projects to improve and control processes within Genk Plant, Belgium (Transit and Mondeo production). Teams included representatives from Body Engineering, Body Construction, Manufacturing and Stamping, and Suppliers. Dealt with political resistances between engineering and manufacturing and built bridges between these environments.

Key accomplishments:
Successfully completed 6 Six Sigma projects to improve tailgate operation efforts and achieved a customer satisfaction improvement of 0.56% on vehicle level and more than 18 million USD annual ongoing savings in 2 years. Projects covered both production variability reduction and design improvements.

Six sigma

3/1996 – 11/1998

Contracting work on the optimization of the ultra-light steel tube chassis and on the improvement of the specially developed wheel suspension that give a Donkervoort its tremendous road holding and high cornering speeds. Contracting work also includes development and structural analysis of power train components. Extensive use of Finite Element Analysis.

Key accomplishments:
Successfully developed an innovative ultra-light weight steel tube chassis structure for the all new D20 model with a 9 times higher torsional rigidity than the existing D8-chassis.
Successfully improved the torsional rigidity of the existing D8-chassis with a factor of 3, without weight increase and within homologation constraints. This chassis was used in the Donkervoort D8 RS, which still holds the fastest lap time on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, Germany (autumn 2005)

Karosseriearbeiten, Antrieb, Finite-Elemente-Methoden

1/1995 – 11/2000

Co-located in UK and Germany. Responsible for the structural integrity substantiation of chassis components and systems for the attributes Durability, Vehicle Dynamics, NVH and Safety by means of Finite Element Analysis. Led a team of supplier structural analysts by developing and planning analysis verification strategies, as well as following the analysis work up in reviews. Successfully implemented statistical methods for optimizing structural behavior of chassis components of Ford Ka, Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo.

Key accomplishments:
Invented key features and optimized the first generation Ford Focus multi-link rear suspension. It significantly contributed to the world-class driving dynamics of the Ford Focus (Car of the Year Award 1999).
Significantly contributed to Computer Aided Engineering analysis quality improvement by enhancement and implementation of the SAFESA™ approach into corporate CAE procedures. SAFESA (SAFE Structural Analysis) is a project that was undertaken by 5 UK companies with the support of the Department of Trade and Industry. The basis of the SAFESA approach is to formalize the structural qualification process such that the opportunity for error is minimized.

Fahrzeugdynamik, Finite-Elemente-Methoden, Computer Aided Engineering

1/1991 – 12/1994

Responsible for the structural integrity substantiation of Landing Gear components and systems by means of advanced hand calculations and Finite Element Analysis. Led a team of 3 stress analysts.

Key accomplishment:
Successfully developed an innovative crashworthy landing gear concept for the NH90 Helicopter in co-operation with Fokker Aerospace. Innovations included a composite crash tube in the nose gear and crash valves in the main gear.

Hubschraubertechnik, Finite-Elemente-Methoden, Technische Konzeption

1/1990 – 12/1990

Successfully developed and tested an innovative, extremely compact, automotive water pump and dynamic sealing concept. The project was an extension of the MSc dissertation at Aachen University (RWTH).

Prüftechnik (allg.), MSC (allg.), Technische Konzeption

1/1988 – 3/1989

Successfully developed and implemented an innovative computer based measurement system for accurately measuring Mass Moment of Inertia of small automotive components.

Hardware-Design, Messgeräte / Messsysteme