Nicholle Buck

Over 20 years of extensive experience in multiple areas of operations in a manufacturing environment which include strategic business planning, operations/plant management, production management, planning, scheduling, purchasing, implementing lean manufacturing principles with 6S concepts, warehouse management, and inventory control

Independent Lean Manufacturing Consultant - Morrisville NC/Pensacola FL

(2024-05)

Family situation required moving to NC and providing full time care for grandmother. Supplementing income with part time work, now living in FL looking to resume full time onsite work

• Assist with company transition including personnel, system set up, work order launch, and lean manufacturing practices
• Advise on AS9100 certification renewal and retention
• Supplementing income with part time contract work

Operations Site Manager - Vantage Associates - Santa Fe Springs, CA/Morrisville, NC

(2022-01 - 2024-05)

• Implement and execute efficient operations of all aspects of the shop, and communicate through effective meeting minutes, written directives and visual mechanisms to support accurate and consistent information throughout the organization
• Held Security Clearance and coordinated with DOD customers including Navy, Air Force, Defense Logistics Agency, and DCMA
• POC for ISO 9001 audits, AS9100 certification, OSHA compliance, and facility certifications
• Oversee workflow through shop ensuring TAT’s are met, proper manufacturing practices are followed, operations are met to cycle time, and PM of all machinery is performed and necessary records maintained
• Actively ensure the day to day execution of production plans in accordance with VAI and customer contractual obligations and lead all shop floor teams
• Increased OTD from 42% to 96% using lean manufacturing tools throughout plant
• Provide input to and ensure the implementation of all manufacturing activity, travelers, processes, and improvement plans for the site
• Actively identifies opportunities for improvement and drives a continuous improvement culture and promoting employee empowerment
• Collaborates with executive leadership to develop and meet company goals while supplying expertise and guidance on operations projects and systems
• Provided company oversight in preparation for shutdown/sale

VP of Operations - Sign Specialists Corp. - Santa Ana CA

(2020-11 - 2022-01)

• Plan, direct, coordinate, and oversee operations activities in the organization, ensuring development and implementation of efficient operations and cost-effective systems to meet current and future needs of the organization.
• Oversee organization’s daily business activities with a hands on approach
• Implement production schedules for all jobs in process and install orders to meet customer requirements
• Evaluates the organizational efficiency and make necessary changes to maximize staff productivity
• Conduct post mortem on projects with opportunity for improvement for future jobs
• Establishes, implements, and communicates the strategic direction of the organizations operations division.
• Collaborates with executive leadership as well as other divisions and departments to develop and meet company goals while supplying expertise and guidance on operations projects and systems.
• Reduce reworks from 83% to 44% by implementing/restructuring quality system
• Establish departmental accountability for improved process flow (understanding roles and responsibilities)

Operations Manager - Warmelin Precision Products - Hawthorne CA

(2019-04 - 2020-03)

• Manage internal and external business operations to ensure safely produced quality product in a timely manner while keeping costs minimal and meeting customer expectations
• Assess departmental headcount budgets and overtime being worked to find ways to minimize both without affecting production in order to optimize profits
• Coordinate with all managers to foster exchange of ideas and provide cross-team learning amongst various departments to identify opportunities and provide training plans to each team member
• Mapped out process flow within departments and ensured all employees understood roles and responsibilities within their positions while creating career paths for potential growth
• Inspire/motivate employees to perform at their highest potential to meet or exceed company needs through positive encouragement and incentive initiatives along with promoting within.
• Work to achieve management’s company-wide objectives and goals by implementing and measuring KPI’s
• Managed AP 13Wk. cash flow by week to ensure critical vendors were paid accordingly and weekly expenditure was being allocated correctly.
• Implement lean six sigma methods throughout the organization in multiple facilities
• Lead lean manufacturing initiatives, continuous improvements with managers along with finding waste within each process to reduce/eliminate inefficiencies and improving KPI’s across the board
• Created weekly revenue projections and plans to execute revenue monthly/quarterly through identifying top SKU’s/Customers that made up 80% of the business to build reliable monthly revenue ship plans
• Managed customer relations with upper level executives on a daily basis as necessary in regard to accounts/contracts without fail

Operations/Logistics Manager - Desser Holdings, LLC - Montebello CA

(2016-03 - 2019-03)

• General support of operational performance, including management of operating system, quality process management, and support of continuous improvement efforts
• Develop master production schedule to support customer demand while carrying minimum effective inventory
• Correlates planning and scheduling of orders with machine loading and labor availability to obtain optimum utilization of equipment, efficient allocation of labor and on time delivery of products
• Develop and successfully implement work order system in SAGE for 3 separate entities
• Reduce customer past due repair orders and improved the OTD from 29% to 97% in less than 2 years
• Evaluated manufacturing process to demonstrated lead time and their impact to the production schedule while conducting corrective action plan as needed to maintain our OTD
• Determined mid-and longer-term operational plans, in coordination with the core management team which includes the creation and execution of integrated production, warehouse and logistics process, and project commitment requests
• Implement, train, and deploy Lean Manufacturing initiatives to drive the continuous improvement program to achieve Operation Excellence
• Partner with HR on talent management, retention, and safety training (requirements and execution) for all associates in the organization
• Improve the existing procedures for outgoing and incoming resources and track the inventory for the warehousing and production departments
• Lead and implement new SKU changeover process successfully
• Assist with the implementation and launch of the new ERP system at facility

Operations/Production Manager - Parker Hannifin-WPD - Carson, CA

(2010-07 - 2016-01)

• Determine and execute production priorities based on master schedule and customer demand
• Resolve issues that arose concerning shortages, over shipments, and engineering changes immediately with input of those leaders directly responsible driving accountability
• Improved delivery performance from 37% to 82% while reducing past due from $4.5M to $2.58M in a short period of time
• Ensure production personnel were trained in their roles and responsibilities to perform their daily job duties
• Coordinate cross-functional activities with Quality, Manufacturing, Purchasing, Engineering, Inventory Control, and Shipping/Receiving to ensure a consistent flow of materials through the production process and ensuring visual aids would provide latest updates on products
• Coordinate activities for capacity planning/level loading throughout the shop alleviating bottlenecks and increasing throughput
• Identify/Analyze make vs buy items resulting in $700K annual savings for the company
• Successfully Project manage large GV contract units

Independent Logistics Consultant - ETM, Inc. - Long Beach CA

(2008-09 - 2010-07)

• Assist with new facility set ups including floor design, new vendors, and equipment delivery to meet deadlines for implementations
• Troubleshoot transportation issues including international delays, breakage, and lost shipments immediately to meet customer demands
• Develop cost effective solutions for warehouse and delivery issues while reducing costs for materials and transportation
• Analyze information to identify and resolve international transportation/delivery issues
• Advise on transportation of goods, packaging, and order processing as needed
• Create plans to train and educate employees in a promising career path

Logistics Manager - STEC-Inc. - Irvine, CA

(2007-09 - 2008-08)

• Provide day to day leadership for crew of 20-25 personnel in shipping, receiving, warehouse (raw and finished g