Manufacturing

During the early part of my military career, I was exposed to 24/7 shift operations processing intelligence information.  Those 24/7 operations were very similar to what I now know as 24/7 manufacturing.  Day, night, and mid shifts are common, production lines, shift supervisors, operator training, etc., are virtually identical in nature with only the particular job details being different. 

In 2015/2016, I worked as a Sr. Process/R&D Engineer at PhotoStencil – a typical electronics manufacturing plant in the semiconductor industry.  During my time with the company, I developed and brought a new chemical etching system (Chemcut) using Ferric Chloride as the primary etchant.  Following the etch system, I also brought a Laser Direct Imaging system (LDI – Orbotech) through the R&D stages and into production. 

In addition to the new production systems, I gained experience in Electroless Nickel plating, Nickel foil growing, photo resist and lamination, resist exposure and developing, and even laser cutting of thin sheet metal stencils.  As an engineer, I also maintained much of the equipment, developed and implemented work instructions, guides, and preventative maintenance procedures.

On the people and management side, I always have stgrived to create a positive and controlled work environement and my time at PhotoStencil was no different.  I trained new operators, handled conflicts as they arose, and became looked my the operators at as one of the more friendly and "how can I help" engineers. 

Finally, it was during these years that I learned, and then implelemtned many of the Lean Six Sigma practices.  Although I don't formally hold a Lean Six Belt of any color, I understand and promote many of the relevant ideas and principles. 

If they are still in business, the PhotoStencil web page is CLICK ME.