CAREER EPISODE 1

Introduction

Title: Audit of the logistics at the Caracas Warehouse.

Company: Andrés Bello Catholic University & Ericsson Venezuela.

Professional
Position: Industrial Engineering Internship. Competency
Element
Dates: February 2005 –September 2005. Claimed

1. This narrative describes a compulsory fieldwork that the University

(Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Caracas, Venezuela) demands to all
Industrial Engineering Students to be eligible for the bachelor’s Degree.

Background

2. Ericsson Venezuela is the leading provider of private & public

telecommunications in the country. Ericsson is capable of meeting all the
technical needs for any data transmission system and offers a great technical
support to its clients.

3. From February 2005 to September 2005 I became a part of the Ericsson

Venezuela Warehousing Team (Under the department of logistics).This team
was assigned with the responsibility of over viewing all the storage and
delivery initiatives in order to supply their clients at due time.

4. While working as an analyst I was asked to evaluate the current storehouse

(in terms of efficiency, safety and inventory control) and propose
improvements to increase the storage capacity and the response time.

Personal Activity:

5. The study in hand required for me to raise all the current information PE1.1c, PE3.2a,
regarding the storehouse management. I first measured the dimensions of
the entire warehouse and took the time needed for the operators to
complete their tasks.

6. I drew some MS-Excel and MS-Project charts (PERT-CPM, Grant, PARETO, PE1.3b, PE1.3c,
others) to understand the Time and Motion Study held. Later, I relied on the PE2.2c, PE2.5b,
operators and the floor manager to understand the importance between PE3.1b, PE3.2c,
each element in the warehouse and took this information to generate a
Nodes Diagram that would help me understand the ideal proximity between
the elements.

7. With the dimensions previously taken I drew a blueprint of the warehouse PE1.2c, PE1.3b,
using AutoCAD software to be precise with the proposals. In that blueprint I PE2.1
included every asset in the warehouse as well as every employee and
equipment.
8. Then I came with a redesign of the floor plan that not only improved the PE1.2c, PE2.1,
overall usage of the warehouse by 200%, but also contemplated the local PE2.2b, PE2.3b,
regulations on Industrial Safety and Hygiene and all the ISO 9001:2000 & ISO PE3.4,
14000 requirements just in case the company would want to be certified in
the coming future.

9. I Used the e-LEST software to identify and correct ergonomic issues in the PE1.2c, PE1.2d,
equipment used and the Rockwell Arena software to simulated several PE2.3b, PE2.6b,
scenarios: (1) same floor plan with improved storage process, (2) Improved
floor plan and process, (3) Improved floor plan and process with new bar
code or radio frequency (RF) system.

10. The improved process (120% more effective) required a previous planning of PE2.5b, PE3.2c,
the storage / retrieval (that could be automated with a Bar Code / RF system) PE3.3b,
to reduce / eliminate the re-visiting to a same rack for a different product in
the same order.

11. As I didn’t manage all the information regarding the RF system (it was very
new in Venezuela) I found some technical support from a manufacturing
company from abroad that helped me planed the warehouse needs to
implement the RF System.

12. The department manager didn’t know the budget he could get assign to the
project, therefore I presented a formal report with the issues found and the
several possible changes (with their budget implication). The result gave a
clear impression that something had to change. The company welcomed
another group of students to implement the recommendations.

13. The document included the current floor plan where I highlighted all the PE3.1a, PE3.2d,
hazardous machinery / equipment and poorly planed emergency equipment
and escape routes. A new, improved floor plan that showed all the Hygiene
and Industrial Safety Blueprints, Policies & Methods an extra floor plan that
included the places where Bar code or RF systems should be installed. In the
paper I also included several charts such as the Nodes Diagram and the PERT-
CPM to justify the changes.

14. I was also interviewed by a Jury of both Professors and Professionals (from PE3.1a,
Ericsson) to check if I had reached the goals of the study and everything
worked out for me as I gained perfect grades.

Summary

15. The project essentially required for someone to raised the important issues
at the storehouse and develop a plan to improve the storage capacity and
reduce the leap times to deliver the goods.

16. The warehouse was very poorly utilized and didn’t comply with the local
regulation on safety & hygiene.

17. The proposed plan included the re-positioning of the storage racks, the
alteration of the storage process and the usage of modern computerized
equipment that reduce the storage process.
 CAREER EPISODE 2

Introduction

Title: Solar Oven Design

Company: Andrés Bello Catholic University.

Professional
Position: Industrial Engineering Student. Competency
Element
Dates: October 2005 –June 2006. Claimed

1. This narrative describes a compulsory research paper that the University

(Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Caracas, Venezuela) demands to all
Industrial Engineering Students at the very end of the program to be eligible
for the bachelor’s Degree.

2. The research was called “Study on the design variables of an existing Solar
Oven for the assistance of the poorer strata in the Venezuelan Population”

Background

3. Solar Energy is the most abundant source of energy available in the world.
There are almost no negative effects of using Solar Energy; therefore it has
become a serious alternative for a lot of companies trying to obtain profit out
of the sun.

4. The cost of production should be considered in a broader sense than only the PE1.1a
cost of Raw Material, Packing Material and Labor & Burden. There is a
climate cost in every industrial process due to the impact in the ecosystem
because of the industry’s emanation of gases, liquids and solids (CO2,
Ammonia, Detergents, etc).

5. Around the world there is an insatiable need for energy that has raised the PE1.1a
price of oil to a level never foreseen in the past. This need for energy is
slightly covered by eco-friendly energy sources (such as Windmills, Solar
Panels, Hydro).

6. The greenhouse effect provides us all the technology needed to keep the PE1.1a, PE1.2a,
heat of the sun (in the form of Infrared Rays) inside a glass box in order to
cook food. In addition to the greenhouse effect, it is possible to obtain higher
temperatures by reflecting several parallel rays to a “focus” where the
maximum temperature is reached.

7. The poorer stratums of the Venezuelan population suffer from the lack of
availability on services such as Energy and are used to burning wood or gas to
cook food.

8. The main objective in the research was to study an existing Solar Oven PE1.08
(shared to us by the Rochester Institute of Technology) and adapt it to the
Venezuelan necessities while using available eco-friendly resources.
 Personal Activity

9. I began the project with the theoretical research on solar oven, solar energy, PE1.1b, PE1.2d,
and previous works. I also developed a consumer questionary to evaluate PE1.3c, PE2.4a,
their cooking habits and the feasibility on acquiring and using a solar oven (as PE2.4b, PE3.2a,
a concept), cooking habits and needs, cooking expectations (in terms of time PE3.6a,
and aspect of the food).

10. My personal research included formal literature on thermic conductivity and PE1.2d
light reflectivity of different materials. I also investigated on the polluting
effects of each material and their fabrication processes and finally I also
search for information regarding the life cycle of each material to understand
performance and life expectancy.

11. The materials evaluated included all sorts of recyclable resources, as well as PE1.1b, PE1.2b
translucent materials (that generated the greenhouse effect). I also gave PE2.2b
much detail at the colours and textures of those materials as it could change
the material performance when subdue to infrared rays.

12. Later I received the original Solar Oven from our friends at RIT and I did a PE1.1c, PE2.4b,
cluster of experiments to understand the heating capabilities of the unit. I PE3.2a,
used a thermometer and a watch to evaluate cooking times and determine
the quantity of light through a monitor of lumens (lux meter).

13. Having this first Oven as a benchmark to the new one I had to improve the
design by using cheaper raw materials that could achieve the same cooking
power without neglecting the lack of pollution generated. The task in hand
required for some simulation to be evaluated prior to any prototype building.

14. I first design and created a virtual model using Autodesk Inventor software PE1.2c, PE1.3a,
and later used the same software to evaluate the stress analysis and the load PE1.3b, PE2.4b,
definitions. I also simulated the assembly process and determine the PE3.2a, PE3.2c,
assembly order. In addition I simulated the materials life-cycle using SymaPro
Software (from PRE).

15. At the same time, the consumer research ended and I had to balance the PE1.1b, PE2.1,
design between the economical / social needs (considering the need for a PE2.2a, PE2.4a,
cheap energy source), the political implications (due to the gas subsidy) and PE3.3a,
the environment context (pollution).

16. After finding the correct mix of materials, I went to a production facility that PE1.2d, PE1.3a,
would build the oven for me, so I had to instruct the operator with clear PE2.2c, PE2.3a
instructions on how to build the model. The operator brought some new PE3.1b, PE3.6a,
information on how to reduce manufacture times by modifying the design PE3.7a, PE3.7b,
and after a quick change the oven was built. I must mention that I had to
press the production manager to deliver the prototype in time as there were
some Raw Materials issues that affect my project. The manager understood
my time needs and delivered the prototype with a little time to spare.

17. The new solar oven achieved the temperatures reached in the original oven; PE3.5a,
it had a larger cooking space (important to the end-consumer) but was a little
more polluting than the original because of the economic importance.
18. The project also required me to determine the production needs for a plant PE1.2a, PE1.3b,
to produce the solar oven, so I design the entire plant. From floor plans to PE2.5b, PE3.2c,
equipments needs. I balanced the production lines in a worksheet and graph PE3.5a,
some charts to explain the design variables (Pareto, Nodes Design, PERT-
CPM, Risk Impact/ Probability, Quality Deployment Function, etc).

19. I design the plant to be certified as ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14000 from start; PE1.2c, PE2.2b
this would help the brand image of the organization as “caring for the PE3.4,
environment”

20. Finally, I evaluated the sustainability of the enterprise by estimating the sales
performances (with the help of a sales professional) and forecasting the
production needs, costs and times to calculate the Profit and Loses
(profitability of the product)

21. The project was presented in the form of a thesis to a jury of professors and PE2.6b, PE2.6c,
professionals of the area and after carefully reviewing the charts, graphs, PE3.1a, PE3.2d,
hypothesis (with well-based references from handbooks and correct
literature) the agreed with the conclusions given by the report and gave me
perfect grades.

22. The conclusion was that there is not enough awareness on pollution and PE2.2a
green energies in Venezuela. Venezuela consumer is bound to its economic
needs and won’t spend a penny more to pollute less. The project proved not
to be feasible.

Summary

23. The project essentially required for someone to evaluate a Solar Oven foreign
design in the Venezuelan conditions (both economical and climate). This
evaluation had to offer improvements to adapt the design to local customs
and local needs.

24. The projects results prove that Venezuela was not yet prepared to
incorporate a Solar Oven into their customs and that cost efficient cooking
methods are more important than eco-friendly ones.
 CAREER EPISODE 3

Introduction

Title: Brand Management & Product Launch.

Company: Kellogg Company – Venezuela.

Professional
Position: Assistant Brand Manager. Competency
Element
Dates: January 2006 –September 2007. Claimed

1. This narrative describes a position that I occupy between January 2006 and
September 2007 as an Assistant Brand Manager at Kellogg Company –
Venezuela.
2. Kellogg Company sells “ready-to-eat Cereals” and has more than 80% share
of market in the present. Their mayor consumer segments have been based
on products for the whole family, products for kids and diet cereals.

Background

3. As an Assistant Brand Manager I was responsible for the development and

implementation of the local brand strategy. I was (1) the owner of the
Consumer Segmentation and Targeting, (2) the owner of RTEC Positioning, (3)
an analyst of insight research, (4) support for regional Strategies, (5) the
support for development of Brands, (6) the owner of the Advertising Budget,
(7) the owner of the Brands P&L and I had to contribute in the Forecasting
Process and the Innovation Pipeline Strategy.

4. The RTEC industry in Venezuela has a lot of space for growth and one of my
main duties during my employment was to develop a new segment of cereals
different from current ones in order to guaranty the level of growth achieve
to date (about 30% annually). I used my statistical formation to analyze all
the consumer research and understand and prioritize the things that were
needed in order to develop a great product.

5. On the other hand, I had to ensure that all the product proposals were
feasible so I needed to consider the impact on the inventory (for every new
Raw Material (if any)) and Line Layout if any new equipment was to be
installed.

6. All of these proposals had to have a Profit & Loses workbook that would help
directors approve any given proposal. These P&L had to include all new
materials, labor, burden, etc.

7. Finally all proposals had to include a Forecast of the sales.

Personal Activity

8. To meet the growth wanted for the years to come, I had to think out-of-the- PE1.3c, PE2.2c,
box and find a relevant attribute that would attract non-RTEC consumers to PE2.3a,
 the category. Therefore I decided to execute an insight research on end-
consumer to determine the relevant habits, hopes and needs. The research
was carried out by a third company but I corrected several errors and
approved the final questionnaire.

9. The research found that there was one attribute missing in the RTE Cereal PE1.3a, PE2.1
equation “FIBER”. Most women that didn’t care for dieting felt that there PE2.4a, PE3.3a,
wasn’t a cereal that represented them. They need products that help them in
their daily routines and most of them have digestive disorders (they don’t
evacuate every day). I compared statistically every attribute that came in the
study both on the consumer’s top-of-mind and proposed by the sociologist in
charge of the research.

10. As Kellogg’s owned a High-Fiber cereal (AB Classic), we investigated on the PE1.3a
perception of it as it wasn’t what the women wanted. The answer was that
this cereal was perceived as a drug that makes you evacuate and they shall
only use in case of emergency as it tasted really bad.

11. Understanding that fiber and flavor were the attributes that women wanted PE1.4, PE2.1,
in their diets, I called my plant and asked the Innovation team to develop a PE2.2c, PE2.3a,
new cereal that contemplated these important factors. As the AB Classic was PE3.1b,
the worst performer in the Kellogg portfolio I had to encounter several peers
that weren’t motivated and sometimes made difficult the progress. Therefore
I went to the plant and presented to the production and innovation teams
the results of the consumer research. I also gave a motivation speak on how
they would find in the New Cereal a leverage to obtain the growth objectives.

12. After the pep-talk everyone headed in the right direction; the supply team PE1.3b, PE2.5a,
helped procure the raw materials at due time, innovation did lab samples to PE2.6a, PE3.1b,
evaluate with the end-consumer, etc. I wad to follow every task from every PE3.5a, PE3.5b,
department through a well design MS-Project chart (Grant and Pert-CPM) to PE3.5c,
achieve the results at due time.

13. With the product developed, and the consumer impressed. We had a winning PE2.6a
formula, but this could be a one shot volume gainer, so I decided to extend
the innovation to a couple more cereals that had little variants: (1) a healthier
choice, (2) several fruit flavored cereals to be presented as In & Outs (I&O are
products that go to the market only about 3-4 month a year).

14. After the variants were ready we projected their costs and found that those PE1.3b, PE2.6a,
proposals were too expensive so I decided to limit the amount of fruit that PE2.6b, PE2.6c,
these variants contained and reduce the cost to a great tasting, profitable PE3.1c, PE3.2d,
product. As I knew that new products proposals were difficult to pass PE3.5a, PE3.7a,
through the board of directors, I created a bullet proof presentation and
report (using MS-Excel, MS-Word, MS-Powerpoint and MS-Project) to
convince in a creative approach the directors that this was a “no-brainer”.

15. The proposal contemplated high volumes (that were estimated through a PE1.2c, PE2.6a
simulation that took place in a little city of Venezuela (Barquisimeto) that all
researchers acknowledge as a representative of the Venezuelan behavior)
and high profitability. The Profit & Loses analysis was the better this directors
 had ever seen.

16. The proposal was approved and the product was launched. I also supported PE2.6a, PE3.6b,
the product launch with a 360° marketing campaign that contemplated
everything from TV, Radio, Prints, Point-of-Sale exhibition, Tasting, etc.

17. In less than 6 months AB (the mother brand of the new products and the PE2.6a
classic from above) went from 4 tons to 100 tons a month. The new products
were 40% above the most expensive cereal in Kellogg Portfolio but still sold
more than it was thought. Nowadays, AB is the third largest and the second
more profitable brand in the Kellogg portfolio.

18. During this experience I felt as I was doing much of the decision making PE3.6b,
because of my engineering background. Always putting the commercial /
financial objectives in front of the social / consumer based objectives.
Therefore, I decided to broaden my knowledge in the subject and started a
Master’s Degree in Marketing to gain awareness and literature on the
marketing standards.

Summary

19. The job in hand required for someone that could speak to technical
personnel of different backgrounds as well as managerial staff and every day
consumer. As an industrial engineer I was able to understand end-user needs,
translate it to executable plans and move the entire technical workforce in
order to develop a great product.

20. Statistical Analysis, Probability, Forecasting, Impact (on inventory, line

balance, etc) and Packaging Design were required to understand end-users
habits and develop a great product that would satisfy their needs