Richard is an operations professional with over 35 years of experience and profound expertise in Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, Quality management, process Improvement, supply chain management, and cost reduction. Professional Experience Most recently, Richard was Vice President of International Operations at Harbour Consulting. His achievements included improving productivity by 10% at a client's German plant; due diligence for acquisition of a French-German plant; and developing plans for the growth of client's operations in China and Asia Pacific. Prior to joining Harbour, Richard held several positions at Ford Motor Company. As a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive (Ford Executive on Loan) in Washington D.C., he was responsible for advancing the procurement requirements for automotive, aerospace, the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy to 150 Chambers of Commerce and 5,000 businesses nationwide. He organized, developed, and led workshops on procurement techniques, ISO standards, Six Sigma, and Lean manufacturing. As Ford Rouge Site "Lean" Director in Dearborn, Mich., Richard was responsible for all facets of manufacturing in a multi-plant site. He successfully developed a strategy and implemented ISO standards and Lean manufacturing principles, averaging 20% cost reduction year-over-year; institutionalized Value Stream Mapping on processes resulting in a waste recorded savings of $25M; and implemented the 5S process to safety, delivery, cost, quality and people. As Vice President of Ford China Operations in Beijing, Richard was responsible for implementing the operations of a Ford Asian multi-plant. He established and negotiated the joint venture process for site location, design of facility and local construction?saving the company over $100M and achieved ROI targets. Along with implementing ISO 9001 and Lean principles, he also implemented just in time inventory controls, which reduced costs and improved efficiencies by 20%; and a China Supplier Development program. He also successfully championed Six Sigma deployment for the plans in India, China, Thailand, Philippines, and Taiwan for a total savings of $30M. |