Steve Wilson
Process and Project Engineer
Talent
Rawtenstall, Rossendale District, LancashireMember since January 20, 2025
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About
Manufacturing improvement specialist who has achieved success in various roles and situations.
Key skills include
Process Optimisation
Identifying bottlenecks or quality issues and then generating improvement.
ISO Management Systems
Implemented ISO systems, been a quality manager and also a trained auditor.
Management Experience
Experience of managing production areas, project managing teams and individual mentoring.
Lean Manufacturing
Experience of developing and working within a Lean production environment.
Project Management
Managed dozens of projects, including several with over £1m budget.
Six Sigma
Expert (Black Belt) in Six Sigma (process improvement methodology).
Problem Solving
Strong problem solving and analytical skills; Skilled with Minitab for statistical analysis.
Industry Mix
Worked in manufacturing (carpet, textile, FMCG and food), distribution and transactional service sectors. Both continuous and bespoke product types.
Software Knowledge
Capable with all of MS Office (including Excel, Project, Visio and Access) & other software; e.g. SAP, SQL, simulation and AutoCAD.
Experience
2023-2024 (1 year) Vita Group (Foam Manufacturing)
- 2023 - Operational Excellence Engineer - Improving efficiency of manufacturing plant.
- 2024 – Group Capex Manager – Developing systems for improving business investment.
- Reason for leaving: Business reorganisation.
2021-2023 (2 years) E&R Group (Web Machinery Manufacturing)
- Head of Assembly - Responsible for machinery assembly and installation with team of 40. Culture change using lean and continuous improvement approaches.
- Reason for leaving: Gap in sales order book required business downsizing.
2020-2021 (1 year) John Lewis Partnership (Herbert Parkinson - Textile Manufacturing)
- Process Engineer with responsibility for Quality, Engineering, CI, and IT - Implementation of a new maintenance system (CMMS) and ISO9001. Pushed continuous improvement (CI) culture and 5S during difficult COVID period.
2010–2019 (9 years) Forbo Flooring (Textile Flooring Manufacturing)
2012- Process & Project Engineering Manager (2010-11 Process Engineer)
- Responsible for all factory capital investment for 8 years, delivering over £4m of projects that improved efficiency, capacity and quality.
- Process engineer identifying improvements to the carpet backing plant. Use of process optimisation tools such as Design of Experiments (DOE) and Gauge R&R.
- Involved in lean implementation and embraced a culture of open communication. Key driver of line balancing, bottleneck analysis, OEE, SMED and Root Cause Analysis.
Results:
- Site productivity increased by 30%. Capacity increased by 40%.
- Product complaints reduced, moving from poor to a top site within the group.
- Site EBITDA moved from loss making to >10%. Hard savings of >£1m/annum.
- Project skills utilised include:
- Identifying improvement areas and building business case for change.
- Presenting business case to senior management and peers.
- Project management of site capex, including 10 projects in £100k - £1.2m range.
- Troubleshooting and improving performance post-implementation.
Projects delivered include:
- A mixing system that delivered £700k pa savings and increased recycled content.
- New cutting line that removed the site bottleneck plus improved labour efficiency.
- Transformation of factory appearance into bright and modern environment.
- Packaging line that resolved issues with product damage in transit and storage.
- Revitalised a 20-year-old CNC ultrasonic cutter, avoiding a £750k replacement cost.
2006 – 2009 & 2000 – 2004 (7 years) Yell Adworks (formerly Pindar Set)
Business Analyst (2006-9); Operations Development Manager Six Sigma (2000-4)
- Devised and developed a new performance management system for the business. Resulted in a reduction in errors of over 70% and productivity gains of 20-30%.
- Quality improvement owner, introducing Six Sigma to the business despite a great deal of initial reluctance from middle management.
- Spent five months working in India (Bangalore) as the local project manager for setting up a design studio.
2005 (1 year) Exel Healthcare
Business Improvement Manager (Quality and Continuous Improvement)
- Introduced an incentive scheme based on productivity, KPI and quality metrics.
- Responsibility for ISO 9001 Quality Management System; simplifying where possible.
2000 (1 year) QVC UK
Industrial Engineer
- Project engineer working on the expansion of the main distribution centre.
1996 – 2000 & 2009 – 2010 (4 years) Minky Homecare
Industrial & Manufacturing Engineer
- Key individual in the commissioning of a new 70,000 ft² manufacturing facility. Responsible for factory layout, specification, commissioning of new capital equipment and managing the site as production was built up. Still operational over 25 years later.
- Responsible for a number of product re-designs and new product appraisals. A key project reduced material use by 25% and is still in production 25 years later. Saved millions over this period.
