John P. DuBois, President

Professional Background:

John has Twenty plus years of design and manufacturing experience across several manufacturing sectors including electro-mechanical telecom safety devices, packaging, shipbuilding, secondary wood products, aerospace and automotive products. As an inventor and innovator, John has designed and patented several consumer products in use today.

John is a change agent able to work well with all levels of employees. He combines his facilitation and product development skills to provide a structured approach to collaboration, innovation and process improvement to his clients as well as his extensive network of skilled consultants.

Experience:

• Toyota and Mitsuiya Sensei Trained and served for more than two years as a Key Person in the Bluegrass Automotive Manufactures Association.
• Subject Matter Expert to the Lean Special Projects Team, an association of National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST) recognized experts, who are focused on standardizing lean consulting practices to small to mid-sized manufacturers.
• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Technology with a concentration on Operations from the University of Southern Maine.
• Co-Inventor for US Patent 20060242005; a comprehensive method to train and aid manufacturers in identifying inefficiencies in product manufacturing process and in improving such process.
• Transferred tools and techniques to conduct improvement activities to more than 200 facilitators including in-house resources as well as third party consultants.
• Developed training materials, vetted training/facilitation professionals, and prepared the facilitators to work at client locations with the highest professionalism.
• Thousands of people have participated in lean simulations and Focused Improvement Workshops utilizing tools and following a system that John has developed.
• Facilitated US Government program to completely modernize the national maritime distress communications system; introduced lean and six sigma principals through the entire program life-cycle that produced $50 million and 15 years of cost and schedule overrun avoidance.
• Facilitated Executive Planning Sessions (EPS) for the Submarine and Aircraft Carrier Overhaul and Repair community that included executives from all four public Naval Shipyards, as well as executives from two private shipyards which set the priority and focus for process improvement activities.

Core Competencies:

• Enterprise Transformation
• Supplier Development and Supply Chain Integration
• Innovation, Lean, Six Sigma & Quality Management Systems
• Research & Development
• Technology Transfer & Commercialization
• Customer/Industry/Government Relations
• Partnership & Channel Development
• Program, Project & Account Management

Anthony T. Perna, Senior Consultant

Professional Background:

Tony Perna has over 25 years of experience in engineering and manufacturing enterprises, as well as over 7 years in senior management positions. His work has ranged from highly complex, specialized project engineering to high-speed repetitive manufacturing. He has spent the last 15 years training and implementing Lean Manufacturing concepts on the shop floor and in front office work spaces.

Tony is a hands-on senior level executive with the proven ability to quickly assess business environments and proactively utilize resources to drive and deliver financial and market growth. He is a leader in continuous improvement instruction, planning and implementation for operational and support environments. He has the ability to apply technology to maximize productivity while achieving ROI objectives.   Having a diverse work experience allows Tony a holistic vision of what successful enterprises should look like.

Experience:

As a Senior Consultant with Optimize/Perna Systems, LLC, the firm specializes in Business Process Improvement, Innovation and Collaboration, Security and Risk Management which includes Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery.

• Responsible for Lean transformation of operations and the Global Supply Chain for ASSA ABLOY ES. Responsibilities included training and certifying employees in 5 plants located in US, CZ, CN, SE, and DE. Product line rationalization for manufacture in Low Cost Countries (LCC), moving and start-up of production facilities, and establishing, tracking and monitoring standardized KPI's throughout the enterprise.
  
• As a Senior Project Manager with NIST/MEP, Tony trained and applied Lean tools (TPS) such as Kaizen, SMED, 5S, JIT, TOC, Kanban/Pull System, 6 Sigma, TPM, Visual Factory, Visual Management, Value Stream Mapping, Standard Work, Single-Piece-Flow/Cell Design, Process Capability, Mistake Proofing, DFMA, QFD, and TQM. Prior to working with the MEP, Tony worked in a variety of industries listed below.
  
• As Vice President at Vulcan Electric, Tony applied his skills in transforming the company into a Lean facility. Accomplishments included a 23% reduction of overall inventory including an 82% reduction in WIP. On-Time delivery improvements from 36% in January 1999 to 98% in January 2000. Other improvements were achieved in quality, scrap reduction, lead time reduction, profitability, and cash flow. He has also been instrumental in applying technology to improve and streamline business processes and workflows. Tony has developed the Vulcan Production System Training curriculum which is based on Toyota Production System (TPS) principles as they apply to this specific environment.
  
• Prior to Vulcan, Tony was a Corporate Lean Manufacturing Manager for American National Can (Rexam). His team was responsible for Training and implementation of 5S, Kaizen, and Pull Replenishment for 20 facilities located throughout the US. Results included an average of 5% increase in OEE, initiation of pull system replenishment for MRO parts and inventory, and the use of visual management sign boards and displays.
  
• At Watts Fluidair/Invensys Pneumatics (Parker) he held a number of positions including, Product Manager, Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Production Manager, and Lean Manufacturing Leader. His work in cell design for one-piece-flow, Point-of-use inventory, backflushing material and labor, flattening BOM's and Routings, and kanban laid the foundation and paved the way for that company to become a model for a Lean enterprise.
  
• Tony has also worked for the Hydraulic Motor Division of Parker Hannifin as a Senior applications Engineer and then as a Product Team Leader.
  
• He started his career in 1985 with Lockheed Martin as a design engineer for the D5 Trident II SLBM program working in the area of surface support equipment.
  

• Tony is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Fluid Power Society (FPS) and of the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS). He is a Certified Fluid Power Specialist/Engineer, and has a certificate in Lean Manufacturing Operations Management from the University of Kentucky. Tony has also published articles in the Lean Manufacturing Advisory.
  

• He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a Bachelors of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. Tony also has an advanced degree, a Masters in Manufacturing Management, from the University of Southern Maine, Portland.

Core Competencies:

Mikel C. Myers, Senior Consultant

Professional Background:

Mikel Myers has over 31 years of experience in the Naval overhaul industry specializing in Submarines. Mikel also served 6 years in the US Army.  His accomplishments have ranged from working in industrial shops to implementing specialized projects.  He has spent the last 10 years training and implementing Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma concepts on the shop floor as well as in front office workspaces.

Mikel has strong organizational, analytical, and communication skills.  Knowledgeable in computer applications using database, spreadsheet, word processing, flow charting, as well as various other programs to provide clients with professional quality documents and deliverables.  He has obtained a Bachelor's degree in Management Information Systems and an Associate's degree in Business Management. He is an ASQ certified Six Sigma Black Belt with qualifications to train green belts and has trained more than one hundred green belts. He Facilitated Lean Six Sigma overview instruction certifying hundreds of Yellow Belts.

Experience:

• As a Senior Consultant with optimize, Inc., he is involved in the Design, Standardization & Sustainment for Knowledge Sharing, Resources and Risk Mitigation Processes.
• As a member of the Industrial Engineering Team in the Shipyard Commander Process Improvement Office, he facilitated and managed:

• Critical Rapid Improvement Events (RIEs) including: End Game acceleration & Compartment Closeout first pass yield
•  Major cost saving technology insertion Projects - RFID & Thermal Imaging for productivity enhancement of Shops, Vending Machine Issue and control of time sensitive Weld Wire
• Value Stream Analysis (VSA) - Execution Priorities, Light Weight Wide Aperture Array
• Supplier integration (Advanced Installation Teams (AIT) Integration of Ship Alts into the overhaul Project Team and Project Plan
• The standardization of  training materials developed by the Naval Shipyard community to train yellow and green belts.

•   He lead the Implementation of:

•  Tracking of work instruction packages and materials utilizing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
• Point of use consumable material and low-cost tools utilizing Vending Machines
• Shipboard Productivity Initiative utilizing Thermal Imaging Technology

•  As the Business Agent in the Business and Strategic and Planning Office, he was the primary contact, liaison, and negotiator between the Shipyard its customers

•  As the Project Engineering and Planning Manager in the Engineering and Planning Department  he - managed Design Engineering's efforts for the first Reverse Osmosis installation onboard a submarine

•  As the Smart Base Program Manager, in the Business Office he was responsible for introducing new commercial off the shelf Technologies:

•  Automated Access Control System - Proximity card implementation at four Naval shipyards
• Smart Procurement Electronic Data Interchange - Electronic material ordering
• Energy Saving Performance Contract - Upgrade infrastructure and saving energy

• Wireless Fleet Management System -  Automated vehicle tracking

•  Mikel is a member of:

• Department of Navy, American Society for Quality Lean Six Sigma
• Department of Navy, Lean Six Sigma

Core Competencies:

• Operational Excellence  Assessment & Benchmarking
• Interpersonal Skill Development - Dale Carnegie
• Enterprise Transformation
• Supplier Development and Supply Chain Integration
• Contractor Officers Representation
• Innovation, Lean, Six Sigma & Compliance Systems
• Research & Development
• Technology Transition & Commercialization
• Customer/Industry/Government Relations
• Program, Project & Account Management

Richard E. Emmons, Senior Consultant

• Activities involved 5S, SMED, Cell Design,  Advanced Problem Solving and many other areas of Six Sigma continuous improvement methodology
• Activities contributed more than $70 million dollar of documented economic impact

• Program consisted of successful development and delivery of Lean/Six Sigma training at OEM as well as their key suppliers
• Joint events were held between Suppliers and GD to solve many critical costing and design issues

• Heavy emphasis on standardized work, failure modes and effects analysis and customer satisfaction issues
• Responsible for the quality monitoring of a $25 million business group utilizing a staff of 18 associates
• Strong knowledge of rigid Military Specifications and their application - successfully completed many government and government supplier audits
• Provided corporate leadership in the successful quest to become ISO 9001 registered
• Staff developed company's first Lean paperless inspection documentation system
  

• Business Unit honored with multiple quality awards from Xerox Corporation
• Included 180 equipment operators and maintenance staff in the DMAIC principles training to continuously reduce costs and sustain manufacturing at the Six Sigma level

• Strategic and Tactical Enterprise Transformation
• Supply Chain Integration with Supplier and OEM Development Concentration
• Innovation, Lean & Six Sigma Training and Implementation
• Technology Transition & Commercialization 
• Customer/Industry/Government Relations 
• Program, Project & Account Management
• Extensive Quality Management Systems Knowledge
• Professional Facilitator