Michael Howard

Safety-focused, results-driven Team Leader and Technical Operator with a strong background in automotive quality control, mechanical and electrical teardown procedures, and HAZWOPER safety protocols. I have a proven history in high-risk manufacturing and utility settings, managing component teardowns, quality investigations, heavy material handling, and plant logistics. I excel at leading teams, training staff on safety practices, and following rigorous standard operating procedures.

I am skilled at using forklifts and overhead cranes to move assets while promoting a culture of safety.

TPU Operator at BASF (2026-03 – Present)

• Licensed Forklift Operator: Safely transport raw materials, finished chemical goods, and heavy equipment throughout the manufacturing facility.
• Process Monitoring & HMI Control: Use HMI systems to operate, monitor, and adjust plant equipment, including valves, filters, compressors, and dryers. To manage the thermoplastic polyurethane manufacturing process safely.
• Logistics & Safety: offload bulk chemical tankers into storage silos for TPU production while following environmental and hazardous materials safety standards.

Conductor Trainee at Norfolk Southern (2025-11 – 2026-03)

• Followed complex federal safety and compliance procedures to ensure the safe movement of freight trains.
• Coupled railcars, operated track switches, delivered freight cars to customers, and assisted train engineers with signals.

Supply Person Electric & Team Leader at DTE Energy (2017-11 – 2024-09)

• Team Leadership & Safety Oversight: Organized daily work duties, coordinated inventory logistics, and trained team members on strict high-voltage safety standards and compliance procedures.
• System Teardown & Salvage: Performed manual teardowns, component disassemblies, and electrical testing of decommissioned field hardware to find defects and recover valuable materials.
• Forklift Certified in operating all types of forklift equipment. Trained in safely handling materials.
• Emergency Response: Responded to urgent emergency calls to assist power line service, restoration, and repair teams.
• Inventory Control: Conducted routine cycle counts, performed physical inventory audits, and managed inventory levels using SAP and WMS to improve supply chain flow.

Overhead Crane Operator at United States Steel (2015-04 – 2016-08)

• Safely operated overhead cranes to move multi-ton steel slabs within a heavy manufacturing environment.
• Followed strict load charts for safe lifting, loaded and unloaded railcars efficiently, and kept detailed operational logs.

Public Service Maintenance Worker at Wayne County Roads (2013-04 – 2014-12)

• Operated heavy Class A and N vehicles, including tanker trucks, and managed truck rack terminal operations.
• Maintained outdoor facility areas and organized stockrooms to ensure adequate supplies.

Quality Control Team Leader at Chrysler Corp. – Detroit Axle Plant (1995-05 – 2005-10)

• Team Leadership & Operations: Organized the daily work flow of team members, set up jobs, and trained staff on manufacturing procedures and safety practices.
• Teardown & Failure Analysis: Assisted engineering investigations by managing the teardown, tracking, and inspection of axle assemblies to identify causes of manufacturing or component failures.
• Quality & Inspections: Led quality control inspections and initiated improvements to optimize axle production standards.
• Tooling Support: Made necessary mill and tool changes on production machinery to ensure quality and prevent defects.

Business Management and Technology – Wilberforce University