Rick Harris
Verified Expert in Project Management
Project Manager
Nashville, TN, United States
Toptal member since October 16, 2024
Rick is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt with 20+ years of experience leading teams to optimize business operations across multiple industries, including aerospace, automotive, electronics, logistics, and packaging. As a senior Lean leader, he excels in building cross-functional teams to identify improvement opportunities and develop creative solutions for operational excellence. Notably, Rick coordinated the first article inspection (FAI) activities for a new jet engine at GE Aerospace.
Project Highlights
Expertise
- AutoCAD
- DMAIC
- Data Analytics
- Lean
- Master BlackBelt
- Project Management
- Quality Management Systems (QMS)
- Statistical Analysis
Work Experience
Quality & Continuous Improvement Manager
Smurfit Westrock
- Managed compliance and process improvement programs for Lebanon and Mt. Juliet, Tennessee sites, accountable for quality, Lean Six Sigma, and product sustainability.
- Saved over $600,000 annually after setting up a Lean Six Sigma team of eight belts.
- Led the Lebanon team to achieve an excellent score of 98% on the Safe Quality Food (SQF) recertification audit.
- Achieved a cost of poor quality (COPQ) rating of under 0.0020% and a first-time-right (FTR) of above 99.7% by developing quality systems to enhance customer satisfaction and minimize quality costs.
Quality Manager
General Electric
- Joined the GE Lighting division as a quality manager and transitioned to GE Aerospace, leading weekend quality and process improvement initiatives for 15 facilities at two sites testing jet engines for a global customer base.
- Reduced incoming damage issues by over 12% after leading cross-functional action workouts with supplier plants.
- Facilitated the reduction of jet engine test time by 7% by removing non-value-added processes.
- Led 5-6 direct reports in maintaining a 300,000+ square-foot building on a 61-acre site for GE Lighting involving utilities, HVAC, raw material delivery systems, dust collection or pollution control systems, machine ship, and spare parts crib.
- Lowered electrical usage by over 3% by implementing an energy improvement program.
Quality Assurance Manager
Merrill Corporation
- Managed compliance and cost reduction programs for a digital media and distribution provider to healthcare and financial services.
- Saved over $800,000 in annual costs by initiating a Lean Six Sigma program.
- Decreased fulfillment picking errors by over 70%, resulting in an audit pass percentage exceeding 99.7%.
- Designed facility layouts and supply chain workflows for seven facilities in five states.
- Developed and implemented digital info screens to display safety, quality, cost, and delivery KPIs.
Engineering Manager
WorkflowOne
- Directed safety, quality, and process improvement programs for a digital print and logistics provider to the financial, automotive, animal health, and retail industries.
- Developed and implemented a quality management system (QMS) to achieve initial ISO 9001 certification.
- Initiated an environmental, health, and safety (EHS) program that was OSHA VPP and ISO 14001 compliant to achieve a corporate EHS audit score of 95%.
- Completed numerous equipment and infrastructure layout designs and installations for the upstart facility.
- Implemented computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) software to enhance maintenance activities, including managing preventative maintenance, orders, inventory, and cost.
- Designed good manufacturing practice (GMP) plans to meet regulatory requirements for storing food and pharmaceuticals.
- Led the workflow design of a labor tracking system to support the implementation of EFI production software.
Six Sigma Black Belt
DecisionOne
- Led Six Sigma improvements for a reverse logistics provider, offering inspection, testing, and repair services to the electronic and computer industries.
- Introduced the Six Sigma program to the facility, including providing green and black belt training and mentoring.
- Designed a return processing layout to decrease labor by over $270,000 and increase throughput by over 35%.
- Reduced internal rework by 46%, test process escapes by 39%, and warranty costs by 51%.
Material Handling Engineer
Kenworth
- Coordinated logistics, material handling, and packaging improvement projects for a major heavy-duty truck manufacturing assembly plant.
- Managed capital budget projects of $1.2 million that saved over $652,000 annually.
- Analyzed and optimized logistics systems—from tier 2 to tier 1 suppliers to assembly point-of-use—reducing handling, packaging, part damage, inventory, and transportation costs.
- Developed the material handling facility design layout and budget of $14 million to accommodate a 37% increase in plant production capacity while reducing material handling labor by 21%.
- Assisted kaizen and logistics managers in implementing dozens of kaizen events.
- Saved over $188,000 annually by reducing handling time per part from seven to less than two minutes while decreasing defects per unit (DPU) by 98%.
- Led a Six Sigma project that lowered packaging warranty claims for roof fairings by 55%.
- Supported operations in backup roles while performing regular job duties as maintenance supervisor during weekends and holidays and as material handling unit manager during a 6-month assignment.
Project History
Lean Six Sigma Design of Experiments (DOE)
Utilized Lean Six Sigma tools to reduce nonconforming products supplied to customers by 55%.
I led cross-functional teams involving customer and supplier plants to identify the factors contributing to damaged products. I also used the Minitab software to set up a DOE to optimize process inputs at the appropriate levels and implemented a detailed control plan to sustain improvements.
ISO 27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS) Deployment
Managed the implementation of ISO 27001 for the company's 1st manufacturing and distribution facility.
I developed the physical security layout and procedures to ensure compliance with HIPAA Private Health Information (PHI) requirements. I designed and managed the build-out of a secured server room with limited access.
Lean Six Sigma Implementation
Introduced the Lean Six Sigma program at a manufacturing and distribution site.
I initiated the first Lean Six Sigma team at a manufacturing and distribution site to achieve an over $800,000 annual cost. As a Master Black Belt, I trained belts in the DMAIC methodology integrated with the ISO 9001 QMS. This training enabled team members to lead process improvement teams and kaizen events to improve operations continuously.
Education
Bachelor's Degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering
Ohio State University - Columbus, OH, USA
Certifications
Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE)
American Society for Quality (ASQ)
Certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt
Villanova University
Quality Management Systems (QMS) Lead Auditor
RABQSA International (now Exemplar Global)
Project Management Certification
Xavier University
Skills
Tools
AutoCAD, Slack, Zoom, Qlik Sense, Microsoft Project, Microsoft Visio, Excel 365
Paradigms
Lean, Six Sigma, Key Performance Metrics, HIPAA Compliance
Platforms
Alteryx
Industry Expertise
HACCP
Other
DMAIC, Project Management, Quality Management Systems (QMS), Master BlackBelt, Statistical Analysis, AS9100, Data Analytics, Safe Quality Food (SQF), Minitab, Microsoft Teams, Budget Modeling, Gantt Chart, ISO 9001, ISO 27001, Production Engineering, Profit & Loss (P&L), Operational Efficiency Improvement, FDA & EPA Regulations, Statistical Process Control Tools, Quality Management, Operational Excellence, QA Leadership, Statistics, Quality Auditing, Quality Assurance (QA), Supplier Quality Assurance, Quality Control (QC), Security, Kaizen, Value Stream Mapping, Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA), Root-cause Analysis (RCA), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Inventory Management, Software QA, Sustainability Reports, Safety, Engineering, Automation, Reliability Engineering, Constraint Analysis, Capital Budgeting
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