Luis Enrique Velarde

High-impact Production & Operations Manager and Chemical Process Engineer with over 12 years of high-volume manufacturing and maquiladora experience at Schlage de México (Allegion Company)—a global leader in security solutions operating high-volume metal-mechanic processes including die-casting, stamping, forming, surface preparation, plating, powder coating, and assembly.

Certified Six Sigma Black

Belt, Certified Quality Engineer (CQE), and Shingo Institute. Driven specializing in SQDCP alignment (Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, People), Annual Operating Plan (AOP) execution, and Lean Manufacturing continuous improvement. Proven track record in leading site QA departments, driving ISO 9001:2015 audits with registrar agencies (TÜV), managing direct labor workforces and middle-management teams, executing advanced CQE/Statistical Quality Engineering tools (SPC, MSA, PFMEA, Sampling Plans), and cutting COPQ/scrap losses by 50% while sustaining exceptional employee engagement.

Production & Operations Manager at Schlage de México (Allegion Company) (2024-07 – Present)

• Direct all plant manufacturing operations to execute production plans under strict Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost (SQDCP) standards, ensuring EHS compliance and corporate customer service commitments.
• KPIs & Manufacturing Efficiency: Improved overall manufacturing efficiency from 49% to 85% YTD, delivering over $480K USD in annual cost reductions and contributing 46% toward the facility's total productivity target.
• Labor Optimization & Overtime Control: Saved $480K USD annually in direct labor and manufacturing costs through bottleneck elimination and line balancing, while maintaining turnover <1.03% and absenteeism <6.05%.
• Scrap & COPQ Reduction: Cut Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ) by 50% (from 5.91% to 2.96%) and reduced scrap yield/cost losses by 50%, generating $1.1M USD in annual net savings ($2.3M to $1.2M USD).
• Quality & OEE Performance: Decreased Customer Parts Per Million (CPPM) defects by 45% (2,659 to 1,195 PPM) and increased total manufacturing yield from 94.72% to 97.98%, sustaining results over 12 consecutive months.
• Volume Growth & Business Continuity: Expanded production volume by 23% and fulfilled 100% of the AOP productivity commitment with zero recordable safety incidents and zero line-stoppage customer disruptions.
• Leadership & Team Development: Managed and coached production leadership teams (supervisors, team leads, engineers), fostering a high-accountability culture that achieved a Gallup Employee Engagement rating of 4.0.

Senior Quality Engineer (Quality Dept Leader & Certified Quality Engineer) at Schlage de México (Allegion Company) (2018-07 – 2024-07)

• Department Leadership & Management: Led the Quality Assurance department as Site Quality Leader and multi-site staff member, directing quality engineers, technicians, and auditors across die-casting, stamping, forming, polishing, plating, and powder coating operations.
• ISO Lead Auditor & Quality Systems (TÜV): Served as Lead Auditor for ISO 9001:2015 QMS, heading plant audits with external registrar agency TÜV, designing the annual internal audit master plan, and managing the calibration master schedule.
• Financial Scrap Targets & Six Sigma Projects: Established financial scrap reduction targets and executed high-impact DMAIC projects (3 as Project Leader and 3 as Six Sigma Black Belt Coach), significantly impacting site financial commitments.
• Process Risk Management (PFMEA): Deployed PFMEA risk analysis methodology across plating, powder coating, and surface preparation lines, driving proactive risk mitigation and process stability.
• Statistical Process Control (SPC Execution): Implemented Statistical Process Control (SPC) for continuous and discrete variables, establishing statistical control limits and real-time process capability monitoring.
• Acceptance Sampling Plans (CQE Standard): Developed and evaluated dynamic Acceptance Sampling Plans (Normal, Reduced, Tightened) per ANSI/ASQ Z1.4 standards to optimize incoming and inline quality inspection efficiency.
• MSA & Sample Board Standardization: Strengthened the Measurement System Analysis (MSA) framework for inspection, updated physical Sample Boards, and authored the standardized procedure and annual cross-plant review between Schlage facilities.
• Customer Quality Management: Served as primary technical contact for global customers, managing non-conformance investigations, customer audits, RMA resolutions, and 8D/A3 corrective action implementations, reducing customer defect escapes by 45%.
• Supplier Quality Engineering (SQE & Raw Materials): Managed supplier quality performance (SQE) and raw material compliance, conducting supplier audits, material validations, incoming inspection criteria, and corrective actions (SCARs) for metal and chemical suppliers.
• NPI & Product Quality Management: Acted as Quality Lead for New Product Introductions (NPI) and engineering changes, leading APQP/PPAP deployment, Control Plans, and process validations (DQ, OQ, PQ) for Tijuana and Tecate facilities.

Process Engineer at Schlage de México (Allegion Company) (2014-10 – 2018-07)

• Led line stability, chemical bath balance, and yield optimization for electrodeposition and coating lines.
• Reduced top 5 plating-related defect issues by 65% and improved Watts nickel batch efficiency from 72% to 97%.

Shift Leader – Wastewater Treatment Plant & Thermal Center at Ingenio Azucarero de Los Mochis (2014-04 – 2014-08)

• Directed thermal operations, cooling towers, and wastewater treatment systems to ensure continuous water supply parameters for heat exchangers and uninterrupted electrical power generation.
• Reduced water treatment process cycle time from 6.3 hours to 4.5 hours, increasing thermal plant throughput and operational efficiency.
• Executed chemical analytical testing (pH, total solids, OH, silica, chlorides, nitrates, phosphates) and served as Lead Auditor for the Food Safety Management System (SGIA).

B.S. in Chemical Industrial Engineering – Instituto Tecnológico de Los Mochis (2009 – 2013)